Thread Making

process of making tapers and waxed ends

Overall

Shoemaking thread is typically made from spools, balls, or skeins of unwaxed spun cord. For each ply of the thread to be made, a length of cord is unwound and severed away from the remainder by untwisting and drawing apart, rather than cutting. Untwisting and drawing apart separates the staggered fibers of the spun cord, creating an end that tapers down to a single fiber.

One end of each ply is then brought together, the tip staggered a short distance behind the last. This creates a taw of tapers, the combined thicknesses of the plies increasing from the single fiber of the furthest ply to the full thickness of all the fibers of all the plies laying side by side. With plies of the same length, staggering creates the same effect at the other end of the new thread.

The full-width middle section of the plies are then twisted together to form a single thread.

The thread is waxed. Individual plies or groups of plies may also be waxed during the process of making.

Finally, the thread is burnished and skeined.

Untwisting Cord

Spun cord is typically Z- or right-hand twisted. Any twist in the opposite direction will tend to unwind the fibers. There are a few common methods. All involve holding the cord someways in to prevent it from unwinding past that point, then unwinding the cord ahead of the hold.

Some makers untwist cord by placing over a thigh and rolling forward with the palm of a hand toward the knee.

Other makers untwist cord in a hand by rolling the thread with the thumb up the lengths of the fingers.

Twisting Plies

Since spun cord is typically Z- or right-hand twisted, the strongest threads of several plies have plies twisted in the opposite, S- or left-hand direction. That way, a twisting motion on the finished thread only tends to either untwist the plies or untwist single cords of the thread, not both. The motion for twisting several plies is therefore the same as untwisting a single cord.

Since threads of several plies are much thicker than single cords, makers tend to twist them on their thighs, rather than in their hands. The whole bundle of plies to be twisted is passed around a hook. One or both sides are laid on the thigh like a single cord to be untwisted, and rolled forward under the fingers and palm.

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