I have begun adding a few more shoe photos on the footwear page. I am still gathering information about pre-industrial footwear, especially prehistoric types. I hope to make and experiment with these more in the future.
Category: shoes
Ghillie brogues (shoes)
I am all about the DIY. After making a pair of sandals for Winter Count this year (I arrived with only work boots) I got re-interested in making shoes. I have made many moccasins for woods walking, especially when I was into mountain man and F & I re-enactment and decided to make some new ghillies. I like these because there is almost no sewing and I think they are cool. Much of Europe wore a variation of this theme for millenia. I then took it as a veritable sign when I saw this on the Instructables web page: http://www.instructables.com/id/Viking_shoes/. Even though these are listed as Viking style, I think they are commonly associated with their Celtic cousins in Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. And they are very nearly the same as Roman carbatina. Essentially, a basic European shoe.
I made a set of these many years ago with a little instruction from an acquaintance and they were great. These new ones are a little more thought out and I will likely make a better pair based on what I learned here. Click photos for larger picture.
Basketmaker-Anasazi sandals
These are sandals constructed from the narrow-leaf yucca. These designs are based on specimens preserved in caves. These might not be much to look at but they are remarkably impervious to the many sines, spikes, and other poky things found in the deserts of the west. These are two and four warp designs and the yucca is only slightly processed. The leaves should be dried prior to use and then re-wetted just before weaving. This prevents the normal loosening associated with shrinkage during drying.
These are being diplayed at the Blackwater Draw atlatl and Primitive Technology day 2008.
I intend to continue to research these and will try to compare types through use.
Preindustrial Craftsmanship 