Children's Turnshoes

Our oldest nephew will be attending his first SCA event next weekend, so he and I scrambled together a viking outfit in about 72 hours. One of the things that was really important to him was that he didn't have to wear sneakers with his garb- at 12, he already has a very particular aesthetic and a sneaker-clad viking wasn't the level of "historical badass" he was going for.

I had made a pair of shoes for myself, many years ago, and knew the rough basics. It's a little different with feet that can walk, though! And his feet are growing- the kid seems to be another inch taller every week! So there was an added challenge of making sure things fit, not just right now but hopefully for at least a few months.

We used the Oseberg boots as our rough design, with a center seam and a higher ankle.

We used the sock and duct tape method to create the patten and cut down the center seam to remove it from his foot. I then cut along the base of the foot to create the patterns for the upper and the sole.

I flattened out those pieces as best as I could and then traced around them, using the packing paper from a recent package as pattern paper.

I was unsure about how much seam allowance to add. I was really worried about making them too small because that would have wasted the leather and they would have needed to be completely remade. Too big could be fixed with extra lambswool inside and he would grow into them- probably sooner than later. I added a half inch seam allowance to the sole and 3/4 of an inch to the upper. They came out a bit big- more wide than long- so in the future I might go 1/4 inch on the sole and 1/2" to the upper. The sole still needed to be trimmed down about 1/2" at the toe to fit the upper properly and they still curve upward a bit.

I then transferred the pattern to the leather and cut them out. The center seam was sewn first using a saddle stitch in holes I pre-punched. I used a little glue to help hold the leather in place while I punched the holes and sewed the seam. I then flattened out the top and pounded the seam flat with a mallet to help smooth down the top ridge. I also shaved down the excess leather at the top of the seam to get things as smooth and even as possible.

The soles were then stitched to the upper using an edge/flesh seam. I dampened the leather with a small paintbrush and water and made the holes with an awl before stitching. I pulled the waxed linen thread tight before making the next hole so the holes didn't distort or rip.

The finished boots were then soaked in water for about a half an hour and flipped inside out. O took over to finish them with two coats of saddle oil once dry, and then he cut rubber soles. (I know rubber soling isn't period, but I have a feeling that viking children complained less about walking on gravel). We glued the rubber soles on, clamped around the edges and left everything to dry for several hours. Slits were cut into the edges and laces were added. And then they were ready to wear!