Bill Bird How to Make Stiffener Patterns Series

Part 1

upper drawn on the last
design stiffeners on the last to see how they fold and bend
standard pattern [for heel counter]
- notch in lasting allowance to mark medial side
- dip for ankle bone further forward and higher medially, further back and lower laterally
they have paper patterns they’ve just kept copying for decades
measure from just behind joints for length, find the nearest match to cut down
cut paper with a clicking knife
- extend the index finger straight and run along the paper while cutting
- run the side of the thumb along the paper, too
- feels awkward at first
- worth it for controlling curved cuts
three lengths of stiffeners
- long: to just behind joints
- mid-waist
- short
- variation: short outside, long medial, to support fallen arch
medial longer than lateral
back height
- generally: 1/5 standard last length plus 3mm
- too low: feel like shoe will fall off
- too high: painful, digs into Achilles when flexing
- “C Point”
- 1/5 of last length will be off for very pointy toes
- measured from above the insole
- adds 3mm (1/8”) because shoe shrinks down
shoe mustn’t cut into ankle bones
will really hurt!
outside quarter heights
- small lasts: ≤40mm
- big lasts (45-50): ≤45mm
inside quarters
- small: 46-47mm
- big: ≤50mm
have to stitch upper to can insert stiffener

place on the last
gap beneath paper above and below CP should be about the same so it pulls taught without dipping below the featherline at the front
lay paper on the last and fold the leading edges at the joints
trace the featherline onto the pattern
mark back height and other features, including quarters/topline
8mm lasting allowance, 10mm to be safe
Bill cuts on a green self-healing mat mounted to a board
label shoe, client, date on pattern
draw the topline on the pattern
will stretch forward a bit

Salvatore Ferragamo trick
- from checking museum exhibition pieces
- keep stiffener high toward the back, but cut a curved dip 2 or 3 mm right at the back where it crosses the back line
- felt the shoe when a museum guard wasn’t looking
- can keep the last high there, but it’s soft and doesn’t hurt
- did it in all the shoes
- “Ferragamo dip”
compares the pattern he just made up to a stiffener he made for the same shoe the day before
to store stiffener: stretch apart and fold in half
skiving:
- skive the top edge from the flesh side
- skive the lasting allowance from the grain/hair side
- leave the middle full thickness
- feel with the hands for lumps and bumps
apply paste with fingers
making a laminated shell of the lining, stiffener, and upper leather around the heel