Greetings...
I am looking for a way to make the so called 'turnshoes' and I did find a website that showed how to make these or at least had a pattern. now I can't seem to find that website again,so if anyone knows of the website or knows of a pattern I would appreciate the help.

Thanks,

Nicolai

Well, you could do worse than Footwear in the Middle Ages by Marc Carlson:

http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/~marc-carlson/shoe/SHOEHOME.HTM

:)

Johan Schubert Moen

Marc Carlson's page linked in a previous reply is the best place on the 'net to start.

I've got a blog where I write about shoemaking:
http://wherearetheelves.blogspot.com

There is a yahoo mailing list for medieval shoemakers
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/medievalshoemaking/

I strongly advise getting hold of a copy of Shoes and Pattens. It's 20 year old research but it is still the standard reference for people interested in medieval shoes.

Another of the standard references for people interested in medieval shoes is Olaf Goubitz's Stepping Through Time which isn't specifically about medieval shoes but has a lot of information on them nonetheless.

If you have specific questions about shoes feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer.

For under $20, the best you can do is to look at Talbot's Fine Accesories. Each of his supplements or main manuals is only $5 for PDF, or $6 on CD. There are about 3 different base manuals, and then broken down by century.

Hi Bruno,

Bruno Giordan wrote:

Al Muckart wrote: If you have specific questions about shoes feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer. I'm looking for the pattern of a Xv century soldier's boot. have you got one by chance? thank you

When and where in the 15th century? There was a lot of change in footwear over the course of the 15th century, both in style and construction technique. A 1401 english boot is going to be very different from a 1497 german one.

I don't have specific patterns, I make a new pattern for each foot and style of shoe I make and I don't have any machine-readable example patterns, though that is on my (long) list of things to do.

If you want the shoe to fit well the best bet is to make a pattern on your own foot once you understand what style of shoe you want.

If you want something that will cover your ankles the easiest sort of thing to make is a lace up ankle shoe. There are some pictures of one I made a few years ago at: http://wherearetheelves.blogspot.com/2007/12/...-shoe.html

The text says late 14th century, but that style is also good into the 15th century. It can be made a bit taller and with 3 laces as well. The same basic style can be made with buckles instead of laces too.

Really the best thing to do is to find a picture of the sort of shoes you want and find someone who can help you work out the cutting pattern and the correct sole shape. Once you've done that it isn't too hard to get a pattern with the old masking-tape and plastic bag method. Make a sole template in thick stiff cardboard and tape it to your foot. Stick your foot in a plastic bag and wrap it in masking tape (not too tight). Don't used duct tape -- it stretches.

Draw the shoe you want on the masking tape and carefully cut it off your foot. Slit in appropriate places to lay it flat and turn it into a pattern.

I would recommend "Stepping through time" by Olaf Goubitz. It is hard to get a copy these days, but it is worth the effort. Lots of patterns and examples for shoes from all kinds of periods.

Hi Nicolai,

Nicolai Overgaard wrote:

Greetings... I am looking for a way to make the so called 'turnshoes' and I did find a website that showed how to make these or at least had a pattern. now I can't seem to find that website again,so if anyone knows of the website or knows of a pattern I would appreciate the help.

Has any of this discussion so far helped? Are there any more questions you have?

All this great information has been and is a great help :) thanks all of you. I certainly got an answer for my question.
Thanks a million.

Nicolai