Turnshoe

Shoe turn designates a shoe sewn together at the upper and sole to the left and then turned to the right so that the bottom seam comes to lie inside.

History

The turning shoe first appears at the time of the great migrations. Its heyday he experienced then in the Middle Ages. By the early Middle Ages have the turn shoes no particularly pronounced toe, but serving one of the stiffener, tapered heel area of the sole. During the High Middle Ages, the toe was longer, up to the pointed shoes of the 12th and 14th century. Shorter forms remained as work shoes but still valid. In the 16th century, the turn of shoes were increasingly being replaced by more stable welted shoes and today one finds after turn stitched style handmade shoes for example in the form of pointe shoes ballet dancers and often with slippers.

Construction

A turning shoe sewn together with the inner side pointing to the outside and then turned inside out so that all the seams of the shoe are protected on the inside. Due to the reversal process, it is not possible to use it as thick and strong leather, which is why turning Shoes principle constitute a very flexible footwear, although additional part of soles were sewn for reinforcement.

The seams were possible set so that they should not hurt the grain side of the leather. Often a triangular or semi-circular wedge was sewn to the reinforced heel in the shoe. Midsole and leather upper an edge strip was used from the 12th century, most of which was to give the design a higher stability and better water resistance. At this edge strip a second sole was sewn in the late Middle Ages.