A toe cradle is any fixture designed to hold the forepart of a shoe being made, typically upside-down, so the top of the vamp rests in the curve of the toe cradle.
Toe cradles are frequently built into, or used with, lap boards and lasting jacks. They serve to fix the position of the shoe on the wider fixture, preventing rotation around the lasting post of the jack or sliding along the surface of the board.
Toe cradles are often made or lined with relatively soft material, to avoid scuffing or scratching the uppers.