When you make shoes or plan to learn shoe making you should know that there are many small but very important pattern making and shoemaking details that you need to know.
Sometimes many of them overlooked, although they will make your shoemaking experience easier and better.
Let’s be honest, to make shoes is not an easy task, but it doesn’t have to be hard. Shoemaking is all about the little details that makes this craft. So, if you want to make shoes that are beautiful and comfortable, pay attention to the details.
In the previous shoemaking post, I already talked with you about 3 important marks that you should know to make your shoes correctly.
These 3 pattern making marks is one of the examples of how such small details can influence your work.
Now, in today's post, I want to expand the value of the center mark on the top of the upper.
In the previous shoemaking post ,“3 Must Know Marks in Shoemaking To Make Your Shoes”, I explained one of the uses of this mark and in this post, I want to list other important uses of it that usually dismissed when you make the shoes.
How and when the center mark on the top of the upper can help you to make shoes correctly?!
The center mark on the top of the upper is your friend in the assembling process.
It will guarantee the correct assembling of the upper parts.
If your upper pattern consist of few parts, never start to assemble them from the edges, because you will get the crooked upper pattern.
It will be crooked because, when you will cut and skive the parts, the leather will stretch, deforms and becomes bigger a little bit. There are different leather types you can use in making your shoes, and each of them has different qualities.
So it won’t be the same as your original cardboard patterns.
That’s why you should start to assemble all front parts of the upper (and lining as well) from the center mark on the top of each upper part.
So when you will make your shoes start to assemble the leather parts form the center mark!
It is small shoemaking detail but it will improve your work 100%.
Now, in the shoemaking tutorial that is at the beginning of this article, you can learn how to use the center mark of the upper during assembling of its parts. Additionally , if you want to learn more about different pattern making techniques, techniques to solve most of your shoe making problems, you are invited to visit this directory: "Shoe pattern and templates".
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If you are into reading about shoemaking, here is a transcript of a video for you:
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00:00 You don’t value the importance of the center mark enough.
Only working with this center mark you can assemble parts of your upper part of your lining correctly, so let's learn how to do it and why you need to have this center mark.
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Now, let's talk about one of the most common mistakes that you as a beginner do.
If you have pattern no matter what footwear type is it, that consists of few details in the front part of your upper,
so never assemble those parts starting from one of the edges.
01:05 Meaning that never assembles uppers from one of the edges, from this edge or this edge,
why, because during cutting of these parts from leather.
You may stretch one of the edges and you will deform it,
you may caught it not accurately and you will change the length of your upper
when you will cut it.
01:30 or after you will skive one of the edges, you also may stretch it and you will have a longer part
so because of this, if you will assemble if you start to assemble this parts from one of the edges what you will get?
now I will demonstrate it to you.
02:00, First of all, you during this assembling, you may stretch one of the pieces,
and you will have the situation when one edge is longer than the other edge, and as a result, you will have crooked upper, ok? and if I will continue
I will have the same situation with this piece.
so how to assemble them?
02:26 to assemble from parts correctly you need to have this important mark.
This mark is on the middle of the center line of your upper.
It must be on each part of the upper,
you see I have three parts so I have this mark on all parts,
one two and, and then I will start from the center.
I will start to assemble from this point,
I will assemble it like this starting from this central point and then I will assemble the third part, also from the center and in the end, I will have correct pattern.
and it doesn't matter if I will stretch it during cutting or not I will have perfect upper.
03:15 So you see I have this mark on leather and I have this marks on each part,
so I will start to assemble it from this point,
the center of the upper first I will attach each part according to this mark,
and then I will just continue to attach the side of this part until the end.
Let's see here the same thing here, I have this point the center of the upper,
and I have same point center of the upper on this detail,
so we'll start to assemble from the center first I will attach both parts in this place,
and then I will continue to attach it on each side of this upper.
This is how you should assemble a few parts of your upper
if you have them on the front part of your upper.
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Waoo great tips, you know I have been making those mistakes without knowing…. hoping my next shoe practice will take these advise into consideration.. thanks
Good! You know that I explain it in the courses too?! But I understand there is a lot to take in.
Thanks for an informative article. I feel empowered.
I’m not sure I was successful in joining your mailing list. I would like to learn how to how to make simple shoes—clogs and ballet flats. I have wide feet with large bunions and it is difficult to find comfortable shoes. My interest is to be able to make my own shoes, not to make and sell shoes.