Guide to Viking Turnshoes

7/22/2019 Guide to Viking Turnshoes

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Guide to making replica Viking turnshoes. Page 1.

www.aidan-campbell.co.uk Miniature artist, sculptor and traditional craftsman

In order to make your own pair of replica Viking periodturnshoes it is of course necessary to understand whatwe mean by the term turnshoe, and I suppose to a lesserextent the term Viking period. Put simply a turnshoeis any shoe that is sewn together inside out and thenturned right way round to force the seams insidewhere they are less likely to be worn or abraided in use.This traditional way of making shoes is radically dif-ferent and somewhat simpler than the methods used inmodern shoe construction, and it is this simplicity thatI would suggest makes making a pair of turnshoes anattainable goal for somebody with basic sewing skills

but no previous shoe making experience.

With regard to the term Viking period, it can mean manythings to many people. Here in England it is commonlytaken to mean from the rst attack on Lindisfarnethrough to the Norman conquest - roughly speakingthe ninth, tenth and rst half of the eleventh centuries.Elsewhere in Europe it can cover far longer from theearly Migration or Vendel periods through to what wein England would consider the Middle Ages or HighMedieval. It is important to choose a particular stylesuitable for the date you are portraying. So whether

buying shoes or making your own you should notselect a design just because you happen to like the lookand style, or because someone has written the wordViking on the label. The chart below, although somewhat simpli ed, provides approximate periods overwhich the archaeological data suggests some styles ofshoe were commonly in use. It does not cover every

nd, and makes no allowances for regional differences

or odd exceptions to general trends, so please treat itas nothing more than a loose overview. In other wordsalso do your own research into what is or isnt appro-

priate for use within your own re-enactment society.

Whilst many re-enactors are happy to try sewingclothing, making shoes tends to be viewed as a dif-

cult task only suited to experts. This isnt a detailed guide on how to become an expert shoe maker; Its

a set of notes about my own self taught methodswhich evolved to help me to make good looking andserviceable replica shoes using a minimal set of toolsand basic skills which should be within the ability of

any re-enactor used to sewing their own costume.


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In my opinion the hardest part of making a turnshoeis not the actual construction but adapting a pattern to

t your own foot. Much of the cutting and tting of period shoes was done around wooden lasts, however ifwe are to simplify construction to avoid such complexmethods our pattern making must be that much moreaccurate. Period turnshoes would not have been asclose tting or provide the same level of comfort asmodern shoes, and having no cushioned sole or heelis going to take some getting used to on modern pavedsurfaces. Nevertheless, if they were crippling to wear,or so loose and sloppy they became a trip hazard ourViking ancestors would not have worn them and so youwill need to decide for yourself what degree of t andcomfort you are expecting or are willing to tolerate.

Undoubtedly the best way to make a pattern for cuttinga new pair of turnshoes is to start with an existing butworn out pair of comfortable old turnshoes you canunpick and open out at. If you have this option I rec -ommend making your rst pair of shoes this way as ameans of learning a few techniques, or at least use itfor basic dimensions to ensure a good t. However thisdoes pre-suppose you already have a well tting pair ofold turnshoes and merely want to replace them. If youdont have a pair of existing shoes to work from you aregoing to have to draw your own pattern from scratch.This involves applying the measurements of your ownfeet to a generic pattern.

You will need to stand barefoot (or wear period socks/hose if these are part of your normal kit) upon somenewspaper or old wallpaper and get somebody to drawaround your own feet. When you have done this youwill need to draw a straight line from the middle of theheel through the gap between your big toe and the adja-cent toe so as to form the centre line of the sole. Thisline dictates the position of the point of the toe of thesole, and if desired the point of the triangular heel riser.Smooth out the shape of your foot to create the shapeof the sole taking care to add a little length at the toewhich is often the tightest part of the shoe. If you liketo add modern cushioned insoles to your turn shoes addanother 2-3mm outside of the shape you have drawn. Ifa heel riser is required, take care to make this at least aswide as the heel otherwise the back seems will dig intoyour feet as you walk.

Next take a long length of ribbon or string and tie a knotat roughly its mid point. This will be used to measurethe dimensions of your foot at various places, thesedimensions are needed for marking out the shape ofthe upper. Mark two lines at right angles to the centreline of the sole. One line should be at the widest pointof the foot, usually the ball of the foot. The other lineshould be at the highest point on the arch of the foot.Lay your string across one of these lines with the knotat the centre point where the lines cross. Hold thisstring in place with masking tape or other low tack tapeat the edges of the sole leaving the free ends of thestring extending past the width of the sole. Stand backon the paper pattern and string and then lift the freeends of the string up to meet on top at the mid point ofyour foot. Mark on the string where they meet, then laythe string back at along the line on the paper sole andtransfer these distances to the paper pattern to denotethe circumference of the foot at each point. It is impor-tant the knot remains stuck to the central line to ensurewe get the correct distance to either side of the foot. Ifwe dont, although the upper will be big enough, it maytwist the shoe out of shape. All of this is complex to

describe but very straight forward to do, so I hope youhave followed my attempt to describe the process.


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Now comes the complicated bit as we must reducethe length of these cross lines by the width of the sole.Measure the width of the sole from its centre line toits edge, then measure back in the same distance fromthe end of the cross line and mark this point. Havingdone this for each end of both cross lines we will havede ned the critical dimensions of the upper

This takes a bit, and perhaps if this is your rst attempt,a lot of trial and error to get a smooth curve of thecorrect length, especially if you are trying to match theshape of a cut out at the heel to take the heel riser. I willstrongly recommend that although you should markthe point you expect the closing seam in the upper to

be, you actually cut the upper a little longer, both toallow for a seam allowance and also to allow minoradjustments later on. Similarly the shape and height ofthe top edge of the upper does not need to be markedexactly at this stage. Once done this should give you a

pattern for both parts of your shoe.

When drawing the shape of the upper it is important thatthe length of its outer edge is exactly the same lengthas the outer edge of the sole, otherwise they wont ttogether. To do this take your piece of string, tape theknot to the point of the toe of the sole then carefully layit around the outline of the sole you have drawn. Markthe string where it reaches the point you would like theseam in the upper to be (usually on the inside of thefoot at about the arch). Mark the other end that passesall around the sole where it too meets this desired seemline. If the sole has a triangular heel riser, then mark onthe string the points where the heel riser starts and endsand also the position of its pointed tip.

Without un-fastening the string from the toe end of thesole, gradually open out the string to try produce theshape of the outer edge of the upper using one of the

patterns at the end of this guide for help. The modi edends of the two cross lines marked on the sole will giveyou the width of the upper at these key points. Use themarks on the string to adjust the length/shape of theouter edge of the upper to correctly position things likethe cut out for the heel riser or the join in the uppers.Once happy with the shape of the string sketch in this

line to mark it on to the paper pattern.


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Made traditionally the pattern does not need to be veryaccurate as the leather can be trimmed to shape to tthe wooden last. In simplifying the construction toavoid using wooden lasts, accurate pattern making isvital and so the outer edge of the upper must be exactlythe same length as the outer edge of the sole. Beforecutting your leather think about where you do and donot need to leave a seam allowance. If you are sewinga thick sole with an edge/ esh stitch (see later) youwont need a seam allowance on the sole. However it ismost probable that you will need to allow approx. halfa centimetre outside of the outline of the upper to allowthe shoe to be sewn together and turned. As mentioned,the height of the shoe up the side of the foot is notsomething that needs to be cut exactly at this stage.Most Viking shoes were cut to about the height of theankle but as the exact height and shape can be trimmedafter the shoe is sewn and turned it is merely advisableto leave enough height to provide plenty of leather.

Each style of shoe has its own idiosyncrasies whencutting a pattern. I have for this introduction focusedupon perhaps the most typical; A simple slip on slipperconstructed from a separate sole and upper made with aside seam and characteristic heel riser. These shoes arewide spread geographically and cover the main periodof Viking occupation in England. Subtle variations mayinclude the shape of the throat and they may or may not

be fastened with a draw string about the ankle. If youcan make a pair of these shoes then you should have

learnt enough to cope with other different stylesAccept that you will not get a perfect t with the rst

pair of shoes you make. Note also that with wear yourshoes will stretch, so what may start out a little tightmay soon end up a little too loose. As you wear your

rst pair of shoes, jot down where you need to add orremove a fraction of a centimetre of leather. Go backand amend your paper pattern prior to making a second

pair of shoes. Date and keep all your old paper pat-terns, along with all the notes about how each tted.They will form a useful reference each time you needor wish to make new pair of shoes enabling each pairto be modi ed to get a better and better t.

Having drawn our pattern we need to think about theleather we are going to use to make the shoe. Mosttypes of leather available in the modern world will beunsuitable. Mainly because most modern leathers areextensively dressed to produce a very smooth, polished,shiny surface which may also be dyed an even colour.Having dealt with many genuine Viking turnshoeswhen working as an archaeological conservator I canstate with a fair degree of con dence that we need to

be using leather with a slightly more irregular surfacetexture, grain pattern and growth marks. I have two dif-ferent friends both of whom make a full time living outof making reproduction shoes for re-enactors, both ofwhom claim that they cant sell shoes made from thesecharacter leathers as their customers dismiss them aslooking cheap. Consequently dont assume that theshoes you are trying to make should be like those forsale at re-enactment fairs. These people make what theircustomers will buy and struggle with the educationalaspects of persuading people to buy whats authentic.

We also need to think about the method of tanning usedto create the leather. Modern nickle/chrome tannedleathers wont soften when soaked, making it dif cult toturn thick shoes. Traditional veg-tanned cattle skin willsoften in water making it easier to work with. Cordwain(sheep/goat skin) showed a brief spell of popularity inEngland around the twelfth/thirteenth century and wasmore popular in Scandinavia, but nevertheless mostturnshoes were made from cattle hide. As far as we cantell, and allowing for a fair bit of variation, uppers weretypically thin, less than 2mm thick whilst the soles werea little thicker at around 3-4mm. Given the surfaces wetend to walk on in the modern world, most re-enac-tors prefer more substantial shoes with thicker uppersand a sole about 4-6mm thick. Turning a shoe madefrom thick leather is dif cult, making good veg-tannedleather essential. Veg-tanned leather will normally beavailable in un-dyed and un-waxed condition which ishow we want it. The nal colour and appearance of theleather will darken and change a lot once we stuff

and waterproof the nished shoe so dont feel you needto buy dark brown leather to make dark brown shoes.


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Different people have different methods of transferringtheir paper pattern to the leather. I like to lay my paper

pattern onto the hide and trace around it with a leatherworkers over-stitch wheel. This leaves a row of tiny,evenly spaced pin pricks in the surface of the leather.Using a cutting mat or old wooden board and a heavyduty craft knife with a new blade tted I can then cutthe sole out exactly along this row of dots. With theupper this row of dots will form each stitch hole and assuch I will cut about half a centimetre outside of thisdotted line so as to create my seam allowance. Markingthe exact line to be stitched and allowing extra leatheroutside of this for the seam, is more accurate than addinga seam allowance to the paper pattern and guessing justhow far inside this to pierce the stitch holes. Having cutout the upper, I will use the awl to open up each stitchhole around its edge.

With later Viking/Medieval period turnshoes it iscommon to see more advanced techniques involvingadditional strips of leather inserted into the seams.Much of this can be very interesting to those with adesire to undertake an in depth study of period shoemaking. However, for the bene t of those who simplywant a rst pair of shoes I do not intend covering rands,turn welted construction the use of wooden lasts therendering of tallow, the making of code to proof theleather and thread or any other of the more accurateyet complex period techniques the novice shoe makeris unlikely to consider. A full in depth study of period

shoe making would entail much more that I myselfhave yet to attempt .

It may be stating the obvious to some people but whendealing with novice shoe makers attempting their rst pair of shoes, many people get themselves into a lotof dif culty through muddling up left and right. Likemodern shoes Viking shoes were made differently foreach foot, so a right shoe is clearly different to a leftshoe. If your feet are pretty much the same size thenit may be acceptable to make a pattern for one foot,cut this out, then simply turn this the other way up totrace and cut a mirror image for the other foot. If youknow your feet are different you may want to make twodifferent patterns. Whatever you do clearly label boththe paper patterns and the cut leather to distinguish leftfrom right. When taking into consideration the extracomplication of sewing the shoes inside out it can bevery easy to get muddled and end up sewing a leftupper to right sole or end up with one part of the shoethe wrong way around once turned.

With respect to sewing leather it has two sides referredto as esh and grain. The grain side is the less roughouter side which shows the creasing, growth marks and

pattern from hair removal, the esh side is the inside ofthe animal with the rougher suede nish. The nishedshoe should have the grain side of the sole and upper

outermost. This generally means sewing them withsuede or esh sides outermost before turning.

Though there are lots of variations on exactly how theupper can be attached to the sole the following diagramcovers the three most common methods found in periodshoes. Perhaps the most common is the edge/ eshstitch, here the awl makes an angled hole in the edge ofa thick sole and comes out the esh side of the leather.A more complex and dif cult to sew variation on thisis the tunnel stitch where a curved awl is used to piercea very thick sole, the entry hole in the esh side comes

back out the same esh surface it went in, trapping thethread in the body of the leather. Perhaps the simplestmeans of sewing a shoe is the esh/grain stitch. Thisonly works with thin soles but treats the leather as youwould woven fabric; that is you put the two outer sidestogether and sew straight through them, turning theseam inside when complete.


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In terms of thread for sewing your shoes we have a fewchoices. Some of the earliest shoes were sewn withwoollen thread which quickly rots and the shoes fallapart. Most shoes were sewn with waxed linen threadwhich will still rot and fall apart. Some were laced withthin leather or sinew thong. Study of surviving shoesfrom the period shows that repairs were a regular neces-sity. If you value authenticity and want the full experi-ence of caring for your shoes then use wool or linenthread and take care to wax it well. If/when the noveltyof mending shoes starts to wear off you may want toconsider modern alternatives. Nylon thread will not rot,

but as it is much stronger you do need to take care notto rip the leather when tightening each stitch as yousew the upper to the sole. Most commercial produc-ers of replica turnshoes use synthetic sinew which is

based upon waxed nylon. I certainly found that when Iswitched to using this that much more of my time wasfreed up for tasks other than mending my shoes.

When we come to sew our shoes together the rst few

stitches are always going to be problematic as we needabout ve hands to hold everything in place. This iswhere nailing and shaping the shoe around a properwooden last may make the job easier. However, lastsreally arent a necessity so dont worry about gettingthe tension right immediately, just get the threadthrough all the holes for the for the rst three or fourstitches, then tighten these up to pull the shoe together.By the time the rst dozen stitches are done the soleand upper should hold together suf ciently to make allthe remaining stitches easier.

With respect to using the awl to pierce the holes forsewing, I stated earlier that I start by using an over-stich wheel to mark the positions all of the holes aroundthe outer circumference of the upper as part of cuttingthe pattern out of the leather. Having cut out the upper Ithen use the awl to open up each stitch hole. However Ido not pre-mark or pierce the corresponding stitch holesin the sole at the time I cut it out. Whatever your bestintentions if you try to pierce all the stitch holes in boththe upper and sole at the start, once you come to try sewthe shoe together you will nd that as the leather movesand stretches around the curves of the shoe, the two setsof stitch holes wont line up.

Consequently I will only pierce the next stitch hole inthe sole once the previous stitch has actually been sewnand tightened. I do this by passing the awl through the

pre-made hole in the upper to ensure perfect alignment.Similarly it is wise to start sewing the upper to the soleat the point where there is the tightest radius or point asthis is where it is most dif cult to adjust the shape and

t if you nd your measurements arent quite accurate.This usually means starting at the point of the triangularheel riser and working forwards towards the toe of theshoe. If the shoe has no heel riser than it is best to start

at the slightly pointed toe and work back to the morerounded heel.

Though examples of a wide range of types of stitch can be found in period shoes one type dominates in terms ofattaching upper to the sole and that is saddle stitch. This

basically entails putting a needle on each end of yourthread and using each end to sew two simultaneous yetopposed running stitches through the same set of holes,one sewn from each side of the leather. This providesa rm fastening to hold the shoe together when turned,and if one stitch rots the other will still hold, at least fora little while longer. However, whilst I talk about sewing this isnt actu-ally an accurate description. Unless you happen to haveimmense strength and dexterity in your ngers, sewingthick leather is impossible. What we actually mustdo is use a sharp awl to pierce holes in the leather foreach stitch, the needles then act as nothing more thana guide to help lace the threads through these holes.Traditionally boars bristles were attached to the ends ofthe thread which were exible and allowed the threadto be laced through the holes. I favour curved needles,as even with a pre-made hole you may still need a good

grip on an otherwise smooth needle to pull the threadthrough the leather.


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There is no standardised method of nishing off stitches,either at the end of a seam, or simply the end of a lengthof thread. My favoured method is to simply pass one ofthe two ends of the thread back through the previousstitch hole, knot the two loose ends together with twoor three secure knots and trim off any surplus thread. Ifyou need to continue sewing then it can be advisableto start the next piece of thread two or three stitches

back from where you knotted off the last piece. Byoverlapping the sewing this way you further reinforcethe potentially weakest part of the seams

When you have sewn most of the way around the soleto attach the upper you can trim the excess leather off

the ends of the upper and sew closed the side seam.The stitching for this should start at the top edge of theupper and work down towards the sole. Working thisway you do not get an unsightly or uncomfortable knotat the top of the upper seam. Furthermore it makes iteasier to attached the closed upper to the sole

Turning a shoe inside out, or more precisely turningan inside out shoe the right way round can be dif cult.If youve only used thin leather this may not be quiteso problematic but with a decent thickness of sole youwill de nitely need to soften the shoe rst. If placed inluke warm water, veg-tanned leather will bubble gentlyas it soaks up the water and softens. It may take a fewminutes for it to stop bubbling but it can take more thanan hour for the wet shoe to fully soften. This shouldmake turning the shoe a little easier, though allow forthe use of much foul language the rst time you attemptthis as without practice you will quite literally swear itis #*@$#%*! impossible.

Forcing the sodden shoe the right way around maystretch the leather, so it is important to mould/shape thewet shoe to shape as it dries. Traditionally this would

be done by forcing the wooden last back into the turnedshoe. If you can tolerate it, the best way is to wear thewet shoes and squelch about the house or garden for theafternoon allowing the shoe to mould to the shape ofyour foot as it dries. If not, put a plastic bag inside eachshoe and pack them with scrunched up newspaper. Asthey dry they will become more and more rigid which issomething we will deal with by stuf ng the leather.

All manner of things can be used to stuff the leather to both waterproof it and soften it to return its exibility.These range from simple cooking oil, to tallow, lardor beeswax. Just keep applying these until the leatherwill soak up no more and you are happy call the shoes

nished. Dont be surprised if over a couple of daysyou can get a new pair of shoes to drink all of a small

bottle of vegetable oil as the leather will hold a lot ofstuf ng. It is this oiling and waxing of the leather thatwill also turn the pale leather the rich red/brown huewe associate with traditional leather. A general part ofday to day care of your shoes will be the occasional

re-application of another coat of oil or wax, just as youwould periodically polish any pair of leather shoes.


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Once the shoe is turned the right way round and has been oiled or waxed to make it exible again there may be a few nishing touches to deal with; You may wishto add toggles or cuts slits to apply a draw string oryou may want to carefully trim the leather around theopening of the shoe to provide a more comfortable tat the ankle. One point I will mention is the nishingof the opening. Many period shoes have stitch holesaround the top edge showing the existence of some sortof whipping. Though it is very rare for the thread tosurvive, some have argued this was just a whip stitch toreinforce the leather and stop it from stretching, othershave argued it held a leather thong or cord to strengthenit. A couple of examples from York show a decorative/strengthening top band of ne leather held on with thesewhip stitches. It is also conceivable that a reinforcingcord could be stitched inside such a top band.

Making yourself some decent shoes will take a littletime, but as the leather and other materials used in asingle pair of shoes should cost only around 10-15 atthe time of writing, hand stitching your own will almostcertainly be a lot cheaper than even the most reasonably

priced, budget pair of machine made replicas. What ismore, if properly made from a decent quality of leather,and if they are well cared for, not only will they look

better, they will almost certainly last longer than thecheap budget pairs of turn shoes that many re-enactors

buy and wear out on a regular basis thinking them to bean economic deal.


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Guide to Viking Turnshoes

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