Glossary of Footwear Terminology, J-L

Jiggering
v. Using the jigger to set and polish the forepart stitching. It may be used with a bit of soap or dissolved gum, or even heated with a candle to fill, smooth, and strengthen the stitches. [Devlin, 1840]  It should not be heated about "blood heat". [Rees, 1813]

Joints (also Ball of the foot)
The joints are the widest part of the foot, corresponding with the treadline in the shoe sole.

Keepers (Strap Keepers)

1. Vertical incised slots, or loops made by straps threaded vertically through horizontal slots in the upper to hold thongs or laces in position. [Goubitz, 2001]  Goubitz also refers to these as strap keepers
2. Strap keepers  - Small loops for holding buckle straps in place, flat against the upper, after they have passed through the buckle frame. [Goubitz, 2001]
3. In the craft world of belt making, a Keeper is the little metal loop thing the end of the belt goes after it goes through the buckle.

Kit
The shoemaker's tools. [Devlin, 1840]   In the 19^th century, the definition becomes more specialized.

Lace
A long strip of material, usually leather, that is threaded through pairs of holes along either side of an opening, to draw the opening closed. [Thornton/Swann, 1983][Webber, 1989][Grew/deNeergaard, 1988]

Lace hole
See Eyelet [Thornton/Swann, 1983]

Lacing (Other Medieval spellings include: Laas, Lace,  Laise Modern terms include: Drawstring)

1. Some times called a “shoe-lace”, or a “boot lace” is a long strip of braid, cord, leather, line, ribbon, string, tape, etc. used to draw together and close an opening, and in modern shoes to adjust the tightness of the fit.   For this work, lacing will refer to any sort of tie used to close footwear.
2. Horizontal lacing characteristic of the conservative Oxford; crossover lacing is on the Derby is more casual. [http://www.curtin.edu.au/curtin/dept/physio/podiatry/shoeglos/content.html]

Laid in
Rather than pulling hard on the Counter material during lasting, they are merely laid in, or pulled into place and fastened with Lasting Tacks. [Devlin, 1840]

Lapped Seam (Overlapped Seam)
See Stabbed Seam.

1. A wooden model that shoes and boots are made on.  Their use has been a source of some debate; when they were invented, what they were used for.
2. (Obsolete) A footstep, track, trace. After Old English this only appears in the Scottish phrase not a last: nothing, not at all.
3. A stylized foot-shaped 3-dimensional form made on standard size measurements, on which the leather for making shoes is stretched and shaped. While it corresponds roughly to the foot shape, but with certain differences due to fashion and shoemaking requirements. The Romans used flat foot shaped iron items, described traditionally as "lasts" but these were anvils for turning over nail points and not apparently forms for shaping. Before the 1960s, these were generally made from wood, now they are generally carved from plastic. [Thornton/Swann, 1983] Note, that this term does not appear as a name in English before about 1385. (See Appendix) [Martin, 1745]
4. Several medieval lasts appear in the artwork with what appear to be wooden fittings, probably wedges, and are being used as display trees.
5. Holme's last.
6. In modern shoes, all shoes are constructed around a form called a last, which provides the overall shape of the shoe. Lasts can be straight, semi-curved, or curved. The better a shoe's last matches your anatomical footprint, the better the shoe is for you. [www.eastbay.com/help/glossary]
7. A block of wood roughly resembling a foot shape, upon which the shoe is made. [Goubitz, 2001]
8. A wooden instrument used for making shoes. Its shape and dimensions represent the customer's foot and the required type of shoe in abstract form [Vass]
9. Asymmetric lasts: the two lasts are different, reflecting the left and right feet; in use in ancient times and again from the beginning of the nineteenth century. [Vass]
10. Symmetric lasts: measurements of only one foot were taken and used for both lasts; in use from the fifteenth century until the end of the eighteenth; customers always had difficulty breaking in shoes made on them. [Vass]
11. Custom-made lasts: produced using all the foot documentation and thus reflecting every characteristic feature of the individual feet and the type of last. [Vass]

Last removal
The removal of the last from the completed shoe. The shoemaker carefully pulls it out using the foot strap and an iron hook about a quarter inch (6-7 mm) thick, adjusting the pressure with the foot strap. [Vass]

Last, Stretching
See Tree

Last, Upright or Straight
A last upon which an upright or straight shoe is made.  It is symmetrical and not specifically for making either a right or left shoe. [Saguto]

1. This refers to actually forming the overleather to the last.
2. The operation of pulling the lower edge of the soaked upper over the edge of the last and securing it temporarily into position, thereby shaping the upper to the last by means of wet-molding. [Thornton/Swann, 1983][Webber, 1989][Grew/deNeergaard, 1988][Martin, 1745][Vass]
3. The technique of pulling the uppers tightly over the last and fixing them in place with tacks or small nails, in order to prepare the uppers for bottoming. [Goubitz, 2001]

1. The part of the overleather that is pulled under the last and attached to the insole or sole during lasting.  It is trimmed or pared off later

2. The lower edge of the shoe upper which is turned under and fixed to the insole or sole during lasting. [Thornton/Swann, 1983][Webber, 1989]
3. The lower edges of the upper that are pulled snug (lasted) in order to be sewn to the insole and welt strip. [Goubitz, 2001]
4. Sometimes (erroneously) used to refer to the material in a turnshoe held by the seam between the upper and sole. This is based on the fact that the part of the upper which is pulled onto the 'underside' of the last during lasting is later used to join the upper to the sole. The seam usually includes a Welt, though rarely before the 13th century.

Latchet (Other Medieval spellings include: Langett, Languets, Languids, Languides  Latin: Tenea.  Also called: Tab C.f  Latchet fastening)

1. Straps, and latchets are formed by bringing tabs from the quarters forward over the instep for fastening the shoe.  Straps are used to buckle or button the shoe; latchets are used to tie the shoes.  Latchet fastening is a modern term that confuses the traditional meanings, as it refers to both ties and buckles.  The term latchet is often incorrectly used to refer to strap.
2. The top fronts of the quarters (q.v.) are extended into straps which pass over the instep of the foot, sometimes resting on the tongue of the shoe vamp. These straps or latchets may either not quite touch each other, in which case they may be joined by a string or ribbon, or they may overlap and be joined by a buckle. [Thornton/Swann, 1983].
3. A triangular split thong which is threaded through a pair of holes for fastening. [Grew/deNeergaard, 1988]
4. Straps formed when the top fronts of the quarters are extended and pass over the instep of the foot, sometimes resting on the tongue of the shoe vamp. These are used to fasten a shoe with laces, ties, straps or thongs, etc. [Webber, 1989]
5. Sometimes erroneously used to refer to Straps (q.v.). [Saguto]
6. Latchets or Ties are stitched to the shoe with a stabbing stitch. [Devlin, 1840]
7. Languides or straps, the one tied with shoe ties, the latter with buckles. [Holme, 1688]
8. Latchet fastening A shoe fastening consisting of extensions of the top fronts of the quarters, which carry a lace or a buckle. [Goubitz, 2001]

Laying the Stitch (also Beating too the stitch, Bedding the Stitch) See also Leveling
Whacking the finished seam with a hammer and slickening them to close the stitches tightly to the thread, and to flatten a seam. [Holme, 1688]

Lead (also Cisterne) 
A small pan of water, used to hold the balls of code in, and keep them cool so that they don’t soften too much in warm weather.

Leather (Other Medieval spellings include: Barkyn, Lešer, Lešyr, Leder, Lider, Leer, Leyre  Latin: Coreum, Frunio, tanno, tannio)
The skin or hide of an animal that has been chemically rendered impervious to decomposition and resistant to change by water through tanning.  Tanning also makes the skin stronger and more resistant to wear.  Some skins are loosely referred to as leather, which have been treated in some other, less permanent fashion such as tawing, oil dressing, and so on.  See Tanning and Tawed Leather.

Leather, Jack
Hard leather covered in or impregnated with wax, tar or pitch

Leather Thread (Heel Thread)
The thread used to stitch the heel to the shoe [Holme, 1688]

Leg
The part of the upper of a high shoe or boot, covering the heel, ankle and calf. [Goubitz, 2001]

Leggings
There are many illustrations of leg coverings of leather or cloth stretching up from the feet, to the knee or the waist, with a strap passing under the shoe.

Lifts (Jumps, Tanners Scraps, Fleshings)

1. Leather pieces stitched between the welt and the outer sole.  Use to make a spring heel.
2. The small pieces used in building stacked heels, which are not the full size of the lifts. [Thornton/Swann, 1983] while Jumps are pieced fragments.
3. Jumps for heels are the shavings of leather, beaten together, of which the heel is raised. [Holme, 1688][Devlin, 1840]
4. Lifts of the heel are those whole pieces of leather of which the heel is made [Holme, 1688]

Line (Line of inches)
Tape measure divided into inches and tenths. [Martin, 1745]

1. Shoemaker's thread, probably that’s been cered and bristled. (See End.)  From L. Lingula - Shoemaker's thread.  Related to Layner/Lanear leather thong which also derives from Lingula.
2. From the Scots (Lingle) and French (Ligneul, Lignoul), a shoemaker's sewing thread, waxed and bristled (See Waxed End) [Saguto]

Lining (Lyning, Internal strengthening)

1. In medieval footwear, this refers to the material that has been attached to the inner side of the overleather to reinforce specific areas. These are usually whipped into place.  Types of lining can include any of the following: facing, heel lining, side lining, toe lining.   As a verb, lining refers to attaching such material.

2. Material attached to the inner side of the upper, either for the backpart only (quarter lining, or Stiffener), the side ("Side lining"), just the toe "toe lining",or extending the length of the foot (fully lined).   These can be whipstitched inside an otherwise unlined upper. [Thornton/Swann, 1983][Webber, 1989][Devlin, 1840]
3. A layer of leather covering the inside surface of the quarters, may extend in a winged shape over the side seams and onto the vamp, can resemble a heel stiffener in form. [Goubitz, 2001]

Lodger
A traveling shoemaker.  A Box-Lodger has a larger Kit than a Kit-Lodger. [Devlin, 1840]

Long Bone
See Bones and Sticks

Long Stick
In unturned shoemaking, this tool is used for general slickening the outer sole after rounding and tacking it, but before cutting any riggott.  See Bones and Sticks

Louis Heel
The front surface of the heel (or breast) is covered by a downwards extension of the sole and was splayed at the base with a wasted section. This was thought to be invented by Louis XV (1715-1774), albeit it was in existance since 16th century. The shape and height of the heel have varied considerably and the Louis heel remains popular today. The term is used to describe a method of making the sole and heel in one section. A thick heel often covered that curves in at the mid section before flaring out. [http://www.curtin.edu.au/curtin/dept/physio/podiatry/shoeglos/content.html]

Low Profile
This is a pointed shoe box with a generally flat shape and a relatively small space between the outer sole and the top of the box. [http://www.curtin.edu.au/curtin/dept/physio/podiatry/shoeglos/content.html]

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Footwear of the Middle Ages - Glossary of Footwear Terminology J-L, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005 I. Marc Carlson. 
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