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Flat soles hinged-pattens

June 18th, 2005

My other pair of pattens work great indoors but aren't very practical for outdoor events since the heels and soles are very high. So, before I break my neck, I've decided to make myself another pair for the up-comming events. I'll also be making a pair for my son. Since they are also meant to go with my long-toe shoes, I'm using the same pattern as the last time to draft the shape of the sole.

I've cut the main shape out, sand all the edges and then I've cut them in two in order to create an hinge. Both pieces are joined together with a band of leather or suede that is nailed on both side.

I then used some heavy suede to create the upper part
(same shape as I used last time since the sole is of the same shape as well)

The pieces were assembled in the same way too.

And here's what they look like with the poulaine... They work incredibly well and they are surprisingly comfortable too !

My son's pattens will be constructed the very same way except that his will be shorter since his latchet shoes don't have a long-toe like mine. I'll be posting pictures as soon as I'm done.

June 22

I'm finaly done with my son's pair as well. Since he'll be running around a lot more than I do, I've decided to add a bit of support at the back so that he doesn't lose his pattens while he's playing. They work extremely well, I've been walking around with them on for about an hour earlier ; Since they aren't as wide as mine and since the shape is less squarish, I managed to make the top of the foot in a single piece without having to cut any form into it.

June 24

And here's what it looks like with the latchet-shoe.
(Sorry, I didn't have time to go looking around for my hose just for that one picture)