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 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.
En un coup d'œil
Qui travaille avec
Maisons et fabricants présents sur ce site avec un lien documenté avec Blake stitching.
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.
02
Par ici 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.
03
Technique Hand welting
The shoemaking equivalent of a hand-padded canvas: slow, invisible, and the basis of everything above it.
04
Bottier 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.
05
Tissu 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.
06
Vêtement 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.
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Blake rapid
Terme de glossaire
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.
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Cemented construction
Terme de glossaire
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…
Crédits photographiques 7
- The stitch line inside a Blake-stitched shoe: Original art · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale original art
- A welted shoe cut in cross-section: Original art · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale original art
- An oxford turned to show its welted sole: Original art · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale original art
- Hand-stitching a welt to an insole: Original art · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale original art
- 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
- A rolled calf hide on a tanner's bench: Original art · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale original art
- Black cap-toe oxford shoes: Original art · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale original art