Finished Turn Shoes-Rear View

A view of the back showing a signature feature of leather foot-wear pre 14th century. Shoes before that time had a point in the back of the sole that stitched up into the backs of the uppers whereas later shoes were either formed from more pieces of leather or from stretched leather that allowed a round heeled sole. Mostly it comes from gaining experience with the material and having people who were able to specialize more with their trades instead of being multi-taskers. I punched the holes in the edges of the leather with a four toothed awl I made in my forge and then stitched the leather with two needles on the ends of a long piece of waxed cord. One pass is made through a starting hole in the back of the shoe starting at the heel and each needle is passed through each hole on either side, so every hole gets the thread through both sides. This doubles the stitch and takes more time and thread but is very strong and if the stitch on one side breaks the seam will still hold together. I don't know the name of the stitch but it is used on blade scabbards as well.