Eugene Pik Cowboy Boots Series

YouTube video series by Eugene Pik explaining patterning for a pair of cowboy boots

Part 1

• last taping
  • start from the heel, pull to the toe
  • just taping the outside half of the last
  • uses a sanding block to break the tape at the featherline
  • check the middle point of the toe from the bottom
  • finds the center points on the heel with a ruler to measure the center
  • connect lines for main axis using a strip of tape as a ruler, laying the tape down then tracing along its edge
• flattening
  • removes tape from the heel forward
  • stick down in center of side of heel and nearly at the toe
  • then press down between the points
  • press down spreading out from that line
  • slash cuts along the bottom feather edge
• repeat for the other side of the last
• mean forme
  • match three points
    • heel curves meet in the middle of the back
    • points where heel curves meet featherlines
    • tops of toes meet
  • take
    • largest bottom line
    • average heel curves
    • average lines toe, cone, top plane

Part 2

• [Eugene has laid the heel of his last on the head of a mallet to raise to proper heel pitch. Neat trick.]
• patterning based on Modern Pattern Cutting and Design, page 5
  • “standard last length”
  • conversion of French and English sizes
  • “Brooke’s Method” for “Men’s Riding Boot, Standard”
• Points: S (seat), CP (counter point), J (joint), I (instep point), X (contact point)
• [Eugene works in metric units]
• [Eugene uses a compass set against a ruler to space points on the mean forme]

Part 3

• trace onto larger piece of paper
• marks heel height on the paper first
• align heel height to point S (seat), point X on the ground plane line
• marks the points from the mean forme with an awl
• uses triangles to mark parallel lines
• point P
• point B (bottom of heel)
• boot height measured up from the ground plane
• Point T (top of the boot top)
• Points D and D1 for edges of boot top front and back pieces
• pass line
• at this point, have patterned an English riding boot
• now make cowboy boot adjustments
• add space for hard heel counter
• add 1.5 cm lasting allowance
• straighten the line over the instep to the toe
• curve at turn of instep over ankle
• move the central seam to the central by making front and back of shaft more symmetrical
• draft the front vamp seam
• vamp-shaft seam must cross line I-S

Part 4

• [the drawing has been gone over in ink and is much clearer]
• uses an awl to transfer points to pattern paper below
• cuts out pattern piece templates
• for halves of shaft, fold paper in half, trace once, cut once
• creating a unified vamp pattern
  • line D-H along the folded edge of the paper
  • vamp springing by rotating the pattern
• counter, vamp, front shaft, back shaft