Konnichi wa. I’m taking an online sneaker deconstruction/reconstruction class from the Shoe Surgeon and am documenting the process as I go. If you missed the first two parts of this series you can check Part 1 out here and Part 2 here.
Days 8-17, Part 2: Bond & Sew the Heel, Side and Toe
It might sound like a dope Jay-Z lyric (yes, Mr. Z, you can have that one for free (and that one, too)), but when you bond and sew the Heel, Side and Toe the shoes are coming together in a real way. This is also the point at which my lack of experience becomes obvious.
In general terms, one thing that’s struck me is that there are a lot of common sense techniques throughout this process that make it a lot easier to rebuild the shoe than I thought. One of those things is building the Heel and Side on the Main Base.
The Main Base is a piece of felt (or some other thin, soft material that sure as sh!t feels like felt) that you can assemble the pieces upon. Before anything can be sewn, it needs to be bonded first.
Bonding basically means stick two pieces together so they don’t shift while sewing and/or is used to fortify construction. This is done either with double sided tape (see below image) or with contact cement. It seems that the tape is used on areas where the bonding is basically holding the piece in place so it doesn’t budge while sewing, the thread doing the lion’s share of the work to keep the piece connected. The cement is used in combination with the thread to create a stronger bond to keep the shoe together at high stress points, like the Heel and Toe.
The Collar is the first piece to be bonded on to the Main Base. I’m using double sided tape here, obviously.
The Wings then get bonded to the Collar (also by double sided tape). The first bit of sewing comes to affix the Wings and Collar to the Main Base. If you ever take this class my recommendation is to not think too much about the sewing. The amount of practice and preparation you’d need to avoid the inevitable initial mistakes is unreasonable. Instead, follow the time honored tradition of learning by doing.
The great thing about learning by doing is that you will really fu@k some things up. Did I say great? I meant sh!tty and annoying. For example, while I love the look of the cowhide Quarters, bonding the Swooshes to them with tape was not an effective method. One of the Swooshes started to move while stitching and I ended up with this:
I also had a problem sewing the Eyestays on. Not only did the layers of material present a challenge for my sewing machine, but the Eyestays shifted on the cowhide.
Okay, time for a perspective shift through a Last Time Meditation. What if I was walking by some guy cutting up a tree with a chainsaw and, through a series of irreplicable mishaps, his chainsaw ends up flying through the air, cutting off both of my hands. This awful Eyestay stitching would be the last Eyestay stitching I ever do with my natural hands. It’s a gift to be able to sew Eyestays, including the bad ones. I am now grateful for the sh!t stitching I have done all over these Eyestays because my hands have not been grotesquely chewed off by an aerial chainsaw.
Okay, I feel better. I hope you do, too. In all honesty, I’m deciding to not feel bad about any poor stitching. This is part of the process of developing the craft. What am I afraid of anyway? Judgement? The vast majority of people will only see these shoes from feet away. It will be the rare individual that has a chance to scrutinize the stitching. In the context of the broader world, it doesn’t make one sh!t’s worth of difference whether the stitching sucks or would win you Project Runway. So I won’t fret over my bad stitches, I’ll just maintain the desire to do better and learn from my many, many mistakes.
After bonding and sewing the Collar, Wings, Swooshes and then Quarters, I used the contact cement to glue the Toe Caps to the Toe Boxes and sewed them together. Here’s how that all ended up (yes, I sewed on the Eyelets during the next step and after this pic was taken, sue me):
I have no regrets on the design at least. The blue/green leather pack I chose came through with some nice colors and textures.
Days 8-17, Part 3: Attach Eyelets, Heel Foam and Heel Liner
I’ve already showed you the Eyelets. Exciting, I know. The rest of this week has been putting the necessary infrastructure into the shoe like bonding the heel counter to the back of the Main Base (white, stiff material) and bonding the Collar Foam to the Heel Liner (a.k.a. interior lining) of the shoe. The foam will make it feel all nice around the ankle.
I sewed the Heel Liner to the Main Base and when I flip it over, oh boy, this thing is more shoe-esque by the moment.
Days 18-23, Part 1: Flipping the Liner and Punching Perforations
And now to spice up the bonding with a new noxious material, I use some spray glue for the other piece of the Collar Foam (there is one piece that sits on the main base and one that sits on the Heel Liner). You’re supposed to do this in a well ventilated area, which I didn’t do, so I should be dead any day now.
Next, I add a little contact cement to the insides of the Main Base and the Heel Liner and mash that sh!t together.
I got the Heel Liner to lay wrinkle-free on the Main Base for the most part. Apparently it’s okay if the bottom parts don’t line up exactly (as one of mine doesn’t above). The liner is also bigger than the Main Base, which I’m assuming is intentional in the design? They don’t address it!
I’m off to sew the Main Base and the Heel Liner together now that I’ve bonded them. I believe there are more steps here in Part 1, but I’ll have to report back next week. Will I have a completed shoe by then? No idea!
Have a great week, everyone.
-MG
