Turnshoes
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

A turnshoe is a type of
leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hogs, ...
shoe A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. They are often worn with a sock. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration and fashion. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture t ...
that was used during the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
. It was so named because it was put together inside out, and then was turned right-side-out once finished: this hides the main seam between the sole and
vamp The VaMP driverless car was one of the first truly autonomous cars Dynamic Vision for Perc ...
—prolonging the life of the shoe and inhibiting moisture leaking in through the seam. In the beginning, turnshoes consisted of only one piece of leather sewn on only one side (see carbatinae). In the late early and the high medieval ages, turnshoes mostly consisted of one sole (cowhide or bovinae) and one piece of vamp or upper (goat or cowhide or caprinae/bovinae). In the
late Middle Ages The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the Periodization, period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Eur ...
, additional elements were added, like doubled soles. Later turnshoes often have more elaborate seams. The cross-section image shows how the seams are on the inside; the turnshoe shown has a topband (dark leather edge strip), a heel stiffener, and a rand (a thin strip sewn into the seam between the sole and the upper). Some turnshoes lack all of these. Turnshoes were eventually made with
outsole A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. They are often worn with a sock. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration and fashion. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture to ...
s sewn onto the rands; then the shoes came to be sewn right-side-out, creating the welted shoe, which displaced turnshoes in the beginning of the 16th century. Since welted shoes did not have to be turned inside-out, they could be made of much thicker leather.


Materials and manufacture

Turnshoes were generally made of cowhide.
Sheepskin Sheepskin is the Hide (skin), hide of a Domestic sheep, sheep, sometimes also called lambskin. Unlike common leather, sheepskin is Tanning (leather), tanned with the Wool, fleece intact, as in a Fur, pelt.Delbridge, Arthur, "The Macquarie Dictiona ...
and goatskin were briefly popular in Scandinavia, and to a lesser extent in England in the 12th and 13th century. Soles were generally about 3-4mm thick, with the uppers made of thinner leather, about 2mm thick. Modern turnshoes are often made with thicker leather, 4-6mm on the soles; this makes them quite difficult to turn, but it is possible with vegetable-tanned leather (which softens when soaked in water). Shoes were sewn using waxed wool (which rots quickly), waxed
linen thread Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong, absorbent, and dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. It also h ...
(which rots more slowly and soon displaced wool), or a thong of leather or
sinew A tendon or sinew is a tough, high-tensile-strength band of dense fibrous connective tissue that connects muscle to bone. It is able to transmit the mechanical forces of muscle contraction to the skeletal system without sacrificing its ability ...
. Modern turnshoes are usually made with waxed nylon, often in the form of synthetic sinew, which is harder-wearing but stronger than the leather, meaning it may tend to pull through during stitching. After turning, the shoe was shaped while still soft (traditionally on a last). The dry leather was stuffed with waterproofing agents (like cooking oil,
tallow Tallow is a rendering (industrial), rendered form of beef or mutton fat, primarily made up of triglycerides. In industry, tallow is not strictly defined as beef or mutton fat. In this context, tallow is animal fat that conforms to certain techn ...
,
lard Lard is a semi-solid white fat product obtained by rendering the fatty tissue of a pig.Lard
entry in the o ...
, or
beeswax Beeswax (''cera alba'') is a natural wax produced by honey bees of the genus ''Apis''. The wax is formed into scales by eight wax-producing glands in the abdominal segments of worker bees, which discard it in or at the hive. The hive workers ...
), which darkened it. The raw materials are fairly cheap; in the early-21st-century
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, no more than £10-£15 for a pair. Closings includes various forms of lacing and rolled leather toggles, and vary by time period. Topbands (a method of edging at the ankle opening) are also common. More than half of Northern-European turnshoes were embroidered, with the embroidery recessed into the leather. Silk is the most common material for embroidery; linen was also used. Turnshoes can be made with basic sewing skills but no shoemaking experience, though practice, and using a broken-in, well-worn turnshoe as a pattern, improves fit. Historically, they were often initially roughly-cut, and fine cutting and fitting were done over wooden lasts; modernly they are usually cut carefully to shape, then sewn without lasts. In the latter case, it is the pattern, instead of the last, which needs to match the shape of the foot. Turnshoes were most often made in the home.


See also

*
Shoe A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. They are often worn with a sock. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration and fashion. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture t ...
*
Crakow Crakows or crackowes were a style of shoes with extremely long toes very popular 1400–1500 in European fashion, in 15th century Europe. They were so named because the style was thought to have originated in Kraków, the then capital of Poland ...
; pointy toes *
Duckbill shoe A duckbill, bearpaw or cow's mouth was a style of shoe with a broad toe which was fashionable in the 15th and 16th centuries. This style started with Charles VIII of France, who had an extra toe, and was later worn by Henry VIII of England. ...
; wide toes *
Bast shoe Bast shoes are shoes made primarily from bast — fiber taken from the bark of trees such as linden. They are a kind of basket, woven and fitted to the shape of a foot. Bast shoes are a traditional footwear of the forest areas of Northern E ...
, used from prehistory to the 20th century


References


External links

* (reconstructions) * (includes pattern-drafting) * (pre-drawn patterns)
An example of turnshoe construction
{{Footwear Medieval European costume Shoes Articles containing video clips