Boot Making...Part Dos.(two)

Steps many steps..Now that two pair have gone home to their new owners I will continue....

This is a brown paper grocery sack. Yes they do still exist and I might add that you have to ask/beg for them at your small local store. I have found that it sometimes puts people in a snit to provide them..I guess reaching under the counter to grab them is hard work..anyway, moving on.

DH likes them because they are heavy. He draws out the boot top to the size he has measured. I need to explain how he measures but not in this post.

Then he decides on what kind of stitching pattern he will use. Believe it or not this makes for many deep discussions. Our talented little daughter-in-love drew her own..she is quite the artist! Always good to have one in the family.

You draw the pattern onto the brown paper and then go over it with your machine don't use thread! You just want holes punched. After this is done you are ready to "mark" your boot top.

This is a cotton bag filled with baby powder..you can use corn startch as well..I prefer corn startch, DH prefers baby powder.

Now you "pounce". There is a trick. Pounce to hard and powder goes everywhere...usually up your nose. Pounch to lightly and it won't go through the holes on your paper. Sometimes you need to use the famous "pounce/wipe" method.Only recommend as a last resort..

After your pattern has been transfered you are ready to stitch.

Pattern marked...

Off we go!

We did three lines of stitching on these. Lots of curves Oh MY! The little wheel on the shank makes turning in tight places easier.

While I was stitching away DH was working on the "last". A last is what they make boots and shoes on. He prefers the old wooden ones, but they are alittle harder to come by then the pastic ones. When he measures your feet he sees what size you need and then he goes from there. He has to make the kind of toe the person wants..he does this by adding leather and grinding it down, adding more and grinding till he has the shape toe they like.

These will be made with a really old fashioned square toe. DH hates these newfangled wide toes. Sorry, nothing personal just his opinion. He says they look like boots did way way back in the day when they didn't even make a right or a left..just the same for both feet! Can you imagine what they felt like! He thinks a "cowboy" boot should look like a "cowboy" boot and not like a "clodhopper" boot. I sometimes have to remind him he married a so called "clodhopper". And I also have to remind him..the customer is always right! You make what they pay you for!

That is just one step in "building" the last. He measures around the ball of the foot and the heel and makes adjustments as needed. A custom boot should be built to your own personal foot measurements. He can accomodate a high arch, low arch etc. I have flat feet so when he made mine he added to the arch which pushed it up a tad and makes them very comfortable to wear and help my feet to not hurt as bad. There is a lot to getting a good fit and I don't even pretend to understand it all. DH is still learning about all of it, but he does a good job with fit for the most part. Oh and once he makes your last up and he gets a good fit then it is yours for all time and eternity. Any boots he makes thereafter will be made on the same last...unless you want something different.

Well thats all I have today.

God Bless and Happy Tails
RanchWife