A Manual of Shoemaking and Leather and Rubber Products

by William H. Dooley

Goodyear Stitching.

A machine that sews around the edge of the welt and joins it to the sole exactly at the heel. [Page 119.]

After the outside cutter has cut the skin into pieces to make up the shoe, these are tied up in separate bundles, that is, the twenty-four of tips in one bundle, twenty-four pairs of vamps in another. These are turned over to girls who stencil the sizes on the edge and match them, that is, see that each upper is exactly like the mate.

After the different parts have been cut by the operator of the clicking machine or by hand, the edges of the upper leather, which shows in the finished shoe, must be thinned down (skived) by a “skiving machine” to a beveled edge. This is done in order that the edges of the leather that are to show in the completed shoe may be folded to give a more finished appearance. The machines are operated by girls; each one an expert on one particular piece.

The order number and size of shoe are stamped on the top lining of each shoe. After all linings have been prepared, according to the data given on the instruction card attached to parts of the shoe, the parts are sent to the stitching department, where the stitchers on a multitude of machines stitch all the different parts together very rapidly and accurately.

The toe caps are then given a series of ornamental perforations along the edge. This is done by either “power tip press,” or a “perforating machine.” The first consists of a series of dies placed in a machine by which the leather is perforated according to the designs desired. Each series of dies represents a different design.

The perforating machine resembles a sewing machine, but instead of a series of dies, the one in this machine is made of single or combination dies which make one or more holes on each downward movement. The machine feeds automatically and does the work very accurately. The cutting tool is kept from becoming dull by pressing against a band of paper. Ornamentation on other parts of the shoes, such as the edges of vamps, etc., is made by this machine.

Before going to the stitching room, every bundle is examined by sorters. The sorters are divided and subdivided; that is, one man always sorts tips, another vamps, etc. They examine each piece for imperfection, and if any is found, the piece is thrown out and a new one put in. The last operation is the assembling of pieces. Here each job of twenty-four pairs is brought together and securely tied and numbered.

This stitching department is one in which female labor is generally employed, although in late years more men are being used to operate machines, especially on vamping or other heavy parts. In some parts of the country it is called the fitting room. The work of the department consists of stitching the different parts of the upper together, so that it is ready to put on the last. The terms used mean in most cases stitching the part named to the rest of the upper. There are very many operations in the department, several of which are named below, together with their meaning.