A really snappy pair of 1600s heels with a stacked leather sole. We’ve incorporated a thistle design into the upper, and the the edges have been bound with white, which makes a stunning statement when peeking out from under a dress or while dancing. The leather stacked heel was well in vogue towards the end of the 16th century, as was the leather-covered timber heel.

These shoes are randed, meaning that the welt was pulled down on top of the insole and held in place with stitching cords.

The cut-out leather pieces themselves.

The uppers bound and ready for final closing. As a matter of course, I tend to close the quarters first, bind all edges, and then do the final closing.

Closing the uppers!

One of the closed and bound uppers.

Fast forward to inseaming and bracing – you can see how the rand has a slightly “round” appearance compared to the welt which mostly sticks straight out.

A close up of the heel – the leather is trimmed, rasped, and then glassed to make it smooth and even. It was quite late while this was happening, so I did not perhaps do as fine a job of rasping and glassing as I could have.

A close-up showing the pegged on top piece for easy replacement.

Finished and tied off with pretty bows!