Bespoke Shoemaking

Mean Forme Construction:

A mean forme is the plan of the surface area of the inside and the outside surface of the last, represented on a flat surface.

As the Mean Forme is used to create the Standard, which is then used to cut patterns for the finished shoe or boot that is to be made on a particular last, then extreme accuracy is required from this point forward. It is the fundamental building block for making patterns, whatever method of pattern cutting is used.

Near enough is not good enough because if you are a few millimetres out at this stage, then that can easily be compounded until the final upper does not fit the last at all.

Selecting a last is the first job, and all the requirements of the type of shoe to be made must be considered now, such as heel height, toe shape, suitability for the job, (court shoe or boot), and size and fit. Once satisfied with the last, whether it is built up, or just standard, then proceed to create a mean forme as follows.

Tools required.

Last, masking tape, pencils, tape measure, knife, flexible ruler (optional), compass or dividers.

Covering a last

This is done to obtain a pattern of the surface of the last to enable it to be rendered in two dimensions so that it is possible to create individual pattern pieces. This is usually done on the left last of the pair. Once again this is just convention and if you want to use the right one then go ahead.

Take 20mm/3/4"-225mm/1" masking tape and lay a strip down the centre of the front of the last from the top of the cone to the feather edge at the toe, and press it into place. Run another strip down the centre of the back, from top to bottom. All the tape must run over the feather edge to wrap on to the bottom. This will be cut off later.

Place a strip of masking tape from the toe, overlapping the centre strip by half, and running as far back on the last as possible in a continuous line, starting on the inside of the last. This, and any subsequent strips, run as far back as possible until they either cross the centre at the back, go over the feather edge, or over the top of the last.

The strips are laid on from front to back first, so that when the covering is peeled away at the end, it comes off in a continuous piece. Each strip must overlap the previous one by about half. Keep doing this until the inside of the last is covered completely.

If the strips leave gaps because of the shape of the last then just tear off more strips to cover them, but make sure that the existing pieces and the centre strips are overlapped.

Now cover the outside of the last in the same manner, overlapping the centre tape at the front, and crossing the strip at the back.

The next job is to cover the last with tape running across it, at right angles to the centre tape. Start at the toe and work towards the back.

These strips overlap by half as did the others. As the shape of the last distorts the placing of the tape in straight lines, use shorter pieces to fill gaps, but the whole masking tape cover must be complete with two thicknesses to reduce stretch and distortion.

If the transverse strips are laid across the last before the longitudinal strips, then peeling off the masking tape is difficult but can be done with care. If two layers are not applied, then the tape may stretch on removal, and give a distorted pattern.

To trim off the tape to the feather edge of the last, take a file and work inwards at the feather edge to cut the masking tape so it can be peeled off the bottom where it is not needed. Be careful not to file so hard that the feather edge is damaged if no metal plates are fitted to the last.

Alternatively, this step can also be done with a knife, and requires the loose ends of tape to be lifted from the bottom of the last and held in the left hand while running the knife around the feather edge. Clean up the top of the last too, from the top of the cone to the top of the back.

 

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