Theatrical Shoe Making: Rowena Rebuild

I made this pair of heels several years ago and (for obvious reasons) was never happy with how they looked, especially when they were not being worn. See Coalminer Shoes

 

I decided to give each of the three pieces a lining and at the same time stiffen them using my Gorilla Glue technique.

I started with the vamp which needed an extension to the last in order to get the little forward "flick" at the top.

I made the extension to the lasts from plywood and attached them with a screw. Then I used some very thin pigskin soaked in water so that I could get it all in one piece. The pigskin is so thin that I use leather strips to keep the staples from slicing thru it.

With a very careful application of G-glue to the dampened outers I placed them in position, tied them in the direction of the laces and wrapped the with stretch tape.

The finished pieces now stand proudly on there own.

I repeated the process for the heels and the toe straps.

Both the heel and toe straps wrap around to the underside of the shoe and so had to be lasted with the shoe attached to the last. To protect the black suede I again used the stretch tape.

The project is almost complete, more to come...