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Daggrim

Medieval Turnshoes

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I'll try posting pictures of my most recent turnshoes. For those who aren't familiar with the term, turnshoes are basically pre-Renaissance European moccasins. They're sewn inside out, then turned the right way, which protects the seams.

One pic shows soft shoes with blue ceramic buttons

Another pic shows a heavier shoe with an extended heel.

Final pictures show a Viking boot made with an extra heavy outsole, which is glued and riveted on. The rivets also act as hobnails for ice.

Daggrim

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Oops, goofed. Here's the shoe with the ceramic button.

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Those are gorgeous!

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Those look great Dag!!!

I liek them better than the pair I made from vegtan. I am working on a pair from heavy brown upholstry hide. Hopefully they turn out as good as yours.

What kind of thread did you stich them with? Did you hand sew them?

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Awesome! I'd never heard of these shoes. Thanks for the quick history lesson. Looking forward to seeing more of your work.

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Calanneh,

I machine stitched the upper to the sole with nylon thread, and hand stitched the visible sewing with artificial waxed sinew.

Dag

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Dag

They're great! Where did you obtain the pattern for the turnshoes? They're exactly what I need for an event I'm attending in the spring, and I've not been able to find a suitable (and understandable) pattern. I'd be most grateful for a clue!

Terry

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Terry,

I got started by googling "Marc Carlson footwear" and looking at his dark ages patterns. After that it was typical prototyping , paper and cardboard cutouts; thin leather pattern; glueing, cutting, stapling. And lots of persistence. I made probably a half dozen pair before I felt I had it figured out. Anyway, PM me and we can talk. Glad to help out.

Dag

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Terry,

I got started by googling "Marc Carlson footwear" and looking at his dark ages patterns. After that it was typical prototyping , paper and cardboard cutouts; thin leather pattern; glueing, cutting, stapling. And lots of persistence. I made probably a half dozen pair before I felt I had it figured out. Anyway, PM me and we can talk. Glad to help out.

Dag

Would you feel generous enough to share your final pattern? (Also with recomended type of leather to use). They look fantastic! I want to have a go at a pair!

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Yes, I'll send you an email with an attachment of my pattern, and you can enlarge it. Sorry about the late reply, but I was focused on some other things. Give me a couple days to get some of my backlog shoveled out of the way and I'll PM you the pattern. And also, thanks to everyone who liked the shoes. I've taken them off my website for now, as they were eating my time up badly.

The leather is 6-7 oz oil tan (difficult to glue), and sometimes veg tan. Doesn't make much difference. I like to put the flesh side out on the sole, for traction.

Daggrim

Would you feel generous enough to share your final pattern? (Also with recomended type of leather to use). They look fantastic! I want to have a go at a pair!

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Daggrim,

those look fantastic. I hope my first pair comes out HALF that good.

Another resource for those looking for patterns and whatnot. A book was published by the SCA on turnshoes not long ago with all kinds of information including how to make your own patterns. I gain no benefit from anyone purchasing the book, but I own it and have found it very informative, even though I havent tackled the project yet myself

here is a link to the websiteSCA Marketplace - Compleat Anachronist CA 0140

if you have any trouble finding it the SKU number is CA 0140 title is "the basic craft of turnshoes"

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Thanks PaganBear,

I didn't know about that book. Is there a way to get a look at a sample of what's in there? I just purchased a book about turnshoes from ther Museum of London, and it's in shipment. A friend loaned me his copy, and now I'm hooked. So nice to have all the details explained, and photographed, and drawn out. Nice to not have to rely on one picture and some generalized info, then having to answer your hundred questions by making a pair of guesswork prototypes. Aaah, I'm gonna love this book.

Dag

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Dag, those are awesome! What's the longevity of the soles?

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Thanks PaganBear,

I didn't know about that book. Is there a way to get a look at a sample of what's in there? I just purchased a book about turnshoes from ther Museum of London, and it's in shipment. A friend loaned me his copy, and now I'm hooked. So nice to have all the details explained, and photographed, and drawn out. Nice to not have to rely on one picture and some generalized info, then having to answer your hundred questions by making a pair of guesswork prototypes. Aaah, I'm gonna love this book.

Dag

I'll see if I can get some scans or something from my copy. I dont know of any way to see the content. it is a worthwhile book though. Shoes & pattens is a great book with lots of historical documentation also.

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Yes, I'll send you an email with an attachment of my pattern, and you can enlarge it. Sorry about the late reply, but I was focused on some other things. Give me a couple days to get some of my backlog shoveled out of the way and I'll PM you the pattern. And also, thanks to everyone who liked the shoes. I've taken them off my website for now, as they were eating my time up badly.

The leather is 6-7 oz oil tan (difficult to glue), and sometimes veg tan. Doesn't make much difference. I like to put the flesh side out on the sole, for traction.

Daggrim

Well done, nice, are you willing to send me the pattern aswell?

thanks,

Gunter

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http://www.amazon.com/Stepping-through-time-Archaeological-prehistoric/dp/9080104469

and

http://www.amazon.com/Craft-Industry-Everyday-Life-Anglo-Scandinavian/dp/1902771362/ref=pd_sim_b_2

are the other two (along with the Museum of London book "Shoes and Pattens") that are the must haves for medieval shoemaking. I noticed that "Stepping Through Time" has gone up a lot. Hopefully, you can find it for less.

Jon

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If you want Stepping Through Time I recommend buying it from Oxbow Books, not Amazon.

http://www.oxbowbooks.com/bookinfo.cfm/ID/32567

Oxbow do a lot of work to keep books like this available to specialists, and on a corporate level they're a lot less evil than Amazon.

The best book for these shoes is Leather and Leatherworking in Anglo-Scandinavian and Medieval York which is part of the York Archaeological Trust 'small finds' series. Sadly it is out of print now so I'm not sure where to recommend getting a copy.

This is my personal opinion only, but I disagree with a fair bit of the content in the Compleat Anachronist on turnshoes. I think the techniques are overcomplicated and a bit inaccurate.

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tks, lots of info there

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Hi Daggram,

Is there a way you can email me the pattern for the high top shoes? I'm trying to get my wife ready for Gulf Wars that's next month.

Damon

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Dmitri, Thanks for the link! That's quite a lot of info.

tks, lots of info there

Edited by shinobi

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