164 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



December 1. 1920 



Rubber Shoe Designing and Pattern Making 



By Robert C. KeUey, A. U. 



WiTHix this generation, when a person asked for a pair of 

 rubt)er3 at a shoe store, the clerk went to the back of the 

 store, pulled open a drawer containing a heterogeneous 

 assortment tied together with red strings and sold him a pair 

 which would stretch over the shoe. The question of fit was never 

 considered, for the chances were that the dealer carried but a lew 

 ill-designed lasts. 



Today the same store carries as many as a dozen lasts or 

 styles of men's and w^omen's light rubbers. The red string has 



Hartford Brothers 



CoMBix-\TKix Sole and Upper ("iR.\ding .\l.\LHi.\h 



gone. The clumsy, ill-fitting gum shoe has been replaced by its 

 stylish, modern successor, wrapped in tissue and packed in a 

 neatly labeled carton which reposes on the shelf along with the 

 leather shoe. 



The significance of this development in the rubber shoe industry 

 is not to be underestimated. With it has come a chain of workers 

 who bond together the leather and the rubber shoe industries 

 and w'ho have placed the craft of the rubber shoe designer on 

 the same plane with the tire engineer and the originators of all 

 modern utilities from women's corsets to men's collars. For the 

 rubber shoe must now have style, fit and durability. 



It is true that the styles in rubber shoes must follow those of 

 leather shoes. But this is only a starting point. If the rubber 

 footwear manufacturer attempted to get out a rubber to fit every 

 last carried by the shoe dealers, he would soon find his outlay 

 for lasts and patterns absorbing all the profits. Here is where 

 the shoe designer finds his utility. He gets his ideas from his 

 own sales force and the leather shoe trade. He attends every 

 shoe style show, gathering information and watching the trend 

 of styles. Of course, all shoe styles are modifications of previous 

 models and in an established concern, part of the designing is, in 

 reality, remodeling. But let us take, as an illustration, the case 

 of a manufacturer who is just starting in the rubber footwear 

 business. Before he can throw a batch of compound on the 

 mill, he must design his lasts. The designer obtains samples 

 of an assortment of leather shoes from the territories in ivhich 

 he expects to market his product. If they are women's shoes, he 

 will have a varied line of high heels of the Louis type, of medium 

 or Cuban heels, semi-high heels, low heels, long vamp», short 

 vamps, high insteps and low, with a multitude of variations. He 

 must analyze trade conditions to determine what kinds are the 

 most popular and which ones are most likely to stay in vogue 

 the longest. In many ways it a gamble, steadied by his judg- 

 ment and knowledge of conditions. 



The next step is a grouping of the styles according to points 

 of similarity. He simmers the groups down to individual shoes 

 which possess the most points in common. The shoe ot each 

 group that comes the nearest to the specifications of all of 

 them is sent to the lasl maker, who reproduces a model of it 



in wood. It will be noted that the last over which the leather 

 shoe was made will not answer the jiurposc, as the rubber is to 

 be fitted over the leather shoe. This model brings him a step 

 farther in the process. He may add to it, take off a little here 

 and there, change the balance between heel and toe, as he com- 

 pares it with the other models of the group, always keeping in 

 mind the most popular and enduring styles. 



When the model is finished, as far as he can tell from the 

 evidence at hand, it passes to another worker in the chain, who 

 fits up the last. This work requires an eye for artistic details 

 and a thorough knowledge of rubber shoe construction. The 

 fitter measures the height and depth of the last, and sets the 

 gage line of the upper for a storm, half storm, or croquet, as 

 the case may be. He traces the exact outline of the bottom of 

 the last for what is known as the "bottom pattern." 



After these measurements are taken, he must have samples 

 of the stocks to be used on the inside work of the shoe to deter- 

 mine the percentage of stretch to the material, such as the net 

 lining, made of cotton stockinette coated on one side. The parts 

 of a woman's light rubber, exclusive of the gum outsoie and 

 upper, arc: lining; rag heel or junior for stiffening the back, made 

 of rag stock ; the cloth heel made of light sheeting frictioned 

 both sides ; the insole, made of light sheeting coated one side 

 with rag; the heel lift of friction to reinforce the heel; filler 

 and toe cap, also of friction; and the joining friction strip 

 which binds the seams. The lining must come up above the 

 upper line on the instep and pull down smooth and tight when it 

 is lasted over. This surplus stock is trimmed off after vulcan- 

 ization. 



The line of the upper is used to design the engraved roll for 

 imprinting the bind, and margin enough is left to enable the gum 

 to be pulled over the bottom of the shoe and lap in the back for 

 seaming or stitching. 



The insole, outsolc and filler are all graded from the bottom 

 pattern. The lines of the heel pieces (rag and cloth heel) are 

 determined, first by the height, and then drawn with the aid 

 of a French curve down the sides of the shoe. These first 



Harlford Brothers 



P.\TTERN Shears 



Corner Cuttixc, Machine 



patterns are cut from light cardboard and can be used to cut 

 the parts for tlic model shoe. It is very rare that the parts 

 fit perfectly after the first trial, and the fitter must go through 

 the same process of experimentation that the designer did in 

 modeling his last. 



After the model rubber is made and cured, it is tried on the 

 different shoes which it is made to fit, and any defects remedied. 

 The salesmen arc often consulted, and the shoe passed around 

 for criticisms and comments. When its final form is settled 



