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Technique · Shoemaking

Blake stitching

Blake stitching joins the whole shoe with one seam inside it, giving the slim Italian look but making resoling harder and letting water in.

Blake construction stitches the upper, insole and outsole together in a single seam that runs inside the shoe. There is no welt, so the sole can be cut very close to the upper, producing the slim profile characteristic of Italian shoes. Resoling needs a specialist machine, and the seam is a path for water.

The stitch line inside a Blake-stitched shoe
The stitch line inside a Blake-stitched shoe

The trade-off

Without a welt there is nothing between the upper and the sole, so the shoe is lighter, more flexible from new, and can be built with a very narrow sole edge. That silhouette is a large part of why Italian shoes look the way they do.

The costs are real. The stitch passes through the insole into the interior of the shoe, so water can travel along it, and resoling requires a Blake machine, which not every cobbler has. It can be resoled several times in practice, but the repair network is thinner.

Blake rapid

A hybrid: the upper is Blake-stitched to a midsole, then the outsole is stitched to the midsole from the outside as in a welted shoe. It keeps some of the slimness, adds water resistance and makes resoling straightforward, at the cost of some flexibility. A great deal of Italian footwear at the good-but-not-bespoke level is built this way.

Living with it

A Blake-stitched shoe is comfortable from the first wearing, which welted shoes are not, and it is noticeably lighter. In dry conditions and on pavements it is a perfectly good construction, and the majority of Italian dress shoes use it.

The compromises appear in rain and at resoling. The stitch passes into the interior, so water can wick along it, and not every cobbler has a Blake machine. Neither is fatal; both are worth knowing before buying.

Hand welted
holdfast carved from the insole
holdfast is part of the insole
Resoleable: repeatedly
Goodyear welted
canvas rib glued to the insole
gemming is glued on: the part that fails
Resoleable: several times
Blake
one seam through everything
the seam passes into the shoe
Resoleable: with a Blake machine
Cemented
sole glued to the upper
adhesive only
Resoleable: generally not
upper insole welt outsole
How a sole is attached, and whether it can be replaced The welt in the two left-hand constructions carries the sole stitching, so the sole comes off without disturbing the upper. Hand welting cuts its ridge from the insole itself; Goodyear glues a canvas rib on, and that rib is the part that eventually fails. Diagram drawn for Il Sartoriale.

At a glance

Seam
Single, through upper, insole and outsole
Profile
Slim; close-trimmed sole
Resoling
Requires a Blake machine
Variant
Blake rapid: Blake plus an outside-stitched outsole

Who works with it

Houses and mills on this site with a documented connection to Blake stitching.

A welted shoe cut in cross-section 01 Technique

Goodyear welting

Goodyear welting is the durable machine-stitched construction used on good English and American shoes, letting a worn sole be replaced without touching the top.

 An oxford turned to show its welted sole 02 Start here

Understanding shoes

A shoe's construction decides whether it can be resoled, which is what makes an expensive pair an investment rather than an extravagance.

 Hand-stitching a welt to an insole 03 Technique

Hand welting

The shoemaking equivalent of a hand-padded canvas: slow, invisible, and the basis of everything above it.

 An illustration of a welted shoe of the kind the house makes. Not a photograph of the house's own work. 04 Shoemaker

Paolo Scafora

Paolo Scafora is a family shoemaker near Naples, known for hand-applied colour, lighter shoes suited to the Neapolitan climate, and distinctly Italian proportions.

 A rolled calf hide on a tanner's bench 05 Fabric

Leather

Leather is treated animal hide, and how good it is depends on the animal, the layer of skin used and how it was tanned.

 Black cap-toe oxford shoes 06 Garment

The oxford shoe

An oxford is a lace-up shoe whose eyelet flaps are stitched under the front, giving a clean V and making it more formal than a derby.
  1. Blake rapid Glossary term

    A hybrid shoe construction: the upper Blake-stitched to a midsole, then an outsole stitched to the midsole from outside. Slimmer than a welt, easier to resole than plain Blake.
  2. Cemented construction Glossary term

    A shoe whose sole is glued to the upper. Cheap, light, flexible, and generally not resoleable. The majority of footwear made today, including a great deal of expensive designer…
Last reviewed: September 2026 Report an error on this page

Related

Glossary termBlake rapid TechniqueGoodyear welting Start hereUnderstanding shoes TechniqueHand welting Glossary termCemented construction ShoemakerPaolo Scafora FabricLeather GarmentThe oxford shoe TechniqueThe last TechniqueTanning TechniqueHand lasting TechniqueNorwegian construction
Picture credits 7
  1. The stitch line inside a Blake-stitched shoe: Original art · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale original art
  2. A welted shoe cut in cross-section: Original art · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale original art
  3. An oxford turned to show its welted sole: Original art · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale original art
  4. Hand-stitching a welt to an insole: Original art · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale original art
  5. An illustration of a welted shoe of the kind the house makes. Not a photograph of the house's own work.: Original art · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale original art
  6. A rolled calf hide on a tanner's bench: Original art · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale original art
  7. Black cap-toe oxford shoes: Original art · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale original art

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