About The History Of Shoe Making
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The majority of shoes consist of very basic structures that can be called sole covers or foot covers, in which the sole and upper part are made of one piece. The oldest known leather shoe was found fairly recently, in 2008, in a cave in Armenia. This shoe was 5,500 years old, much older than the Egyptian pyramids and Stonehenge, and was surprisingly well preserved and was a single piece of leather attached to the top of the foot with laces.
Shoes have followed the development of societies, become increasingly diverse, and have become not only a utilitarian product as clothing, but also a signal of various developments. But for about .97% of its existence, the uppers of the shoes have been made entirely by hand. Even when truly complex and detailed decorative tops were made, this was entirely hand-stitched.
Shoes have followed the development of societies, become increasingly diverse, and have become not only a utilitarian product as clothing, but also a signal of various developments. But for about .97% of its existence, the uppers of the shoes have been made entirely by hand. Even when truly complex and detailed decorative tops were made, this was entirely hand-stitched.
The first sewing machine was actually made for sewing leather and thick canvas fabrics and was invented by Englishman Thomas Saint in 1790. It took several more decades for the development of sewing machines to reach a level where they could be more widely used. It was first used for clothing, but later also for sewing shoe uppers. The first shoe upper sewing machine saw the light of day in 1851. Eventually they moved to shoe factories, initially steam-powered and eventually electric, and shoe upper making has never been the same since.
Sewing by hand takes time, and doing hundreds of stitches by hand takes even more time. This is of course the main reason why sewing machines are taking over handmade. It is difficult to sew tight, straight, even stitches by hand, and even more difficult to sew two rows of stitches side by side with the same high quality. Frankly, the machine outperforms most people (although the best can outperform a machine on hand-sewn tops, a skill that very, very few people have). When a machine does this just as well or better and much faster, it makes sense that this technique would also come into play on the most expensive and best shoes.
Sewing by hand takes time, and doing hundreds of stitches by hand takes even more time. This is of course the main reason why sewing machines are taking over handmade. It is difficult to sew tight, straight, even stitches by hand, and even more difficult to sew two rows of stitches side by side with the same high quality. Frankly, the machine outperforms most people (although the best can outperform a machine on hand-sewn tops, a skill that very, very few people have). When a machine does this just as well or better and much faster, it makes sense that this technique would also come into play on the most expensive and best shoes.
Now sewing the upper is only a part of the upper making. There is much more than this, of course. Pattern making, how to put the pieces together, how to reinforce the top, many details, etc.
It can be said that most of the developments that resulted in better uppers were made until the mid-1900s, after which it was basically just a development in upper making.
It can be said that most of the developments that resulted in better uppers were made until the mid-1900s, after which it was basically just a development in upper making.
