Bubba136

Good point, Dawn. Since he's in the U.K., Wez can easily make the connection and get his boots fixed right.

hart88

last winter I had a woman who is Asian, who had matchsticks for legs...
Nice, but STRAIGHT.
Of course, the boots were those stretchy vinyl, and I told her that that stuff doesn't sew very nicely. In a case like that I would pinch the material against her leg, and mark with tape, or white pencil and draw from the top as far down to the point where the leg touches the material again.
In her case I could go almost all the way down to the bottom of the zipper, practically all the way down.

I decided to do something that I have never done before, I took the stitches loose from the zipper, called her, she came and I measured the boot by pulling the material in from the zipper opening....

I sewed one line, and had her come in...It was almost perfect, I only had to pull the material in about 1/2" more toward the zipper bottom

Cutline----\ @@@@@@@ / ----Cut line
@- spacer to keep redlines in place-Just look for the Red # that is zipper
@@\@|#|@/ -the slanted lines are the cut away
@@\@|#| / <the # is the zipper..the | | lines the
@@>\|#| / <original zipper Lines. cut away the
@@>\|#| / <material- material is apart
@@> |#| <I then glue the leather onto the zipper
@@@ |#| tape,then call the customer to see if I
am on the right track. If okay, then I
sew the rest and lining if necessary.

I have done this trick for many other slender legs... it takes some creativity to make the cut line and the stitch line mold into one near the bottom, but that is where the ankle bends, anyway. If you want more shape for the calf, cut the lines accordingly to make the shape you want.

letting a boot out, is alot more difficult, as You have to match the grain of the leather, find out which seam works best, either the back to make a V or a side to add a V. When you match the grain, and if you dye the leather to match, and it slowly fades, the grains will match... If you don't match the grain of the leather, fabric or vinyl, when it ages, the difference will magnify.

Good night everybody!

__________________
Gene H.
Hartlandshoes
Saint Paul Minnesota
651-646-4326

Dawn HH

Hart88:-)

After studying your illustrations for a while, it finally became clear in my mind what you had in mind to make the boot shafts fit that Asian ladies legs. I'll bet the boots looked a lot better on her legs after the alterations than before. I'm sure she was well satisfied with the "after look" over the "before look". You really do know your craft. Amazing what you are able to do. Any more stories from your past jobs that could help out the guys?
Cheers---

Dawn HH

__________________
High Heeled Boots Forever!

hart88

One point I want to make clear is I cut the stitches from the top side, not by cutting between the material and the zipper. I figured if I cut the stitches, I could carefully pull the vinyl away from the zipper...It worked. It takes alot of Patience, cutting stitch by stitch, and I had to be careful not to scratch the vinyl material. Leather would be a bit more forgiving, as I could polish the leather to fix minor scratches.

If you cut the zipper tape, or the vinyl material, you could have a disaster.

They say measure twice, cut once. Making the customer return a couple of times is better than having to take it apart two or three times. Repeated cutting, and sewing will leave you open for more mistakes.

So the moral of the story, is be patient. Plan ahead. If you need something for a costume, or event, try thinking a couple of months ahead. It would take the pressure away from the shoe repairer and they will enjoy doing the job more. I know in this day of microwaves, we think we can get what we want immediately...Most people in this business want to do a perfect job, but if you rush them, it might make the job less perfect.

__________________
Gene H.
Hartlandshoes
Saint Paul Minnesota
651-646-4326

hart88

Dawn HH,

at the top of the shaft of the boot, the last few stitches, I sewed a bit of a curve, so that the boot top had a bit of shape, not just flat. It gave the boot some shape. Vinyl material is nice to shape, but hard to sew...
Because I had her come back, It gave me more ideas as I was working on the. It was kinda difficult to make the ankle are wrinkle free, but because I had her return, It was fairly simple to reshape the ankle area also. They fit her "like a glove" {with leather that wouldn't be as simple because leather is more bulky}

When I started "back in 1969" Vinyl shoes were just coming into the market. Now they are here in force. Some due to Vegetarians, some do to lower costs of production.

__________________
Gene H.
Hartlandshoes
Saint Paul Minnesota
651-646-4326

Dawn HH

Hart88:-)

Thanks for the added information on that boot job. For me, it was quite interesting and informative.
Cheers---

Dawn HH

__________________
High Heeled Boots Forever!