How Shoes are Made: 2020 Update
How Shoes are Made Books
Originally published in June of 2014, How Shoes are Made, has been continuously corrected, updated, and modified. With feedback from our readers, reviewers, editors, and friends, we have worked to make this newly updated edition more useful, interesting, and concise.
We have made some major updates in formatting and contents. You will find dozens of new footwear photos and new shoe diagrams. Chapter 3: Making Footwear Patterns, has been completely reworked. I think you will find it much more useful. You will find more information about shoe construction methods, how shoes are designed, how to manufacture shoes, sports shoe construction, parts of a shoe, and parts of a shoe last.
If you have a copy of the original or second edition you will notice that the chapters on importing shoes and starting a new shoe company have been removed. These chapters have been expanded into a completely new book, How to Start a New Shoe Company, which is now available on the SneakerFactory.com website and Amazon.com. We have put many hours into these improvements and we hope you will enjoy them!
Chapter 1: The Shoe Design Process
Two types of design briefs
Get started drawing shoes
How are shoes designed
Chapter 2 : Footwear Specification Drawings
How to make a factory-ready specification drawing
What to include in a specification
Chapter 3 : Making Footwear Patterns
Shoe designer vs. pattern maker
The pattern maker’s challenge
How to make a shoe pattern
Chapter 4 : Shoe Specification Documents
Parts of a shoe spec
How to detail a spec sheet
Sports shoe construction
Chapter 5 : Outsole Tooling Design
Footwear outsole types
Outsole blueprints and tooling development
Chapter 6 : Footwear Development Process
Footwear sample making
Development samples phases
Chapter 7 : Footwear Pre-Production
Production size grade
Production cutting equipment
Lasting methods of footwear
Chapter 8 : Shoe Material Preparation
Material cutting
Logo printing and preparations
Chapter 9 : Upper Stitching Operations
The stitching room
Stitching order of operations
How shoes are made in a factory
Chapter 10 : Outsole Rubber Pressing
Mixing rubber materials
Rubber molds and pressing
How Rubber outsoles are made
Chapter 11 : EVA midsole Forming
What is EVA made of?
EVA pressing operations
Chapter 12 : The Shoe Assembly Line
Cold cement shoe construction
Vulcanized shoe construction
Cementing shoes
Shoemaking equipment
Chapter 13 : The Shoe Last
Parts of a shoe last
Shoe last shapes
How lasts are made
Chapter 14 : Footwear Costing
Where does the money go?
Reading a factory cost sheet
Chapter 15 : Logo Design for Shoes
What is the right logo for your shoe?
Shoe logo constructions
Chapter 16 : Leather for Shoes
Leather basics
Common leather for shoes
Chapter 17 : Textiles for Shoes
Fabric weaves
Backing and surface treatments
Chapter 18 : Synthetics for Shoes
Synthetic types
Application on shoes
Chapter 19 : Foam for Shoes
Foam types, open vs closed
Foam compounds, densities and use in shoes
Chapter 20 : Know Your Footbeds
Footbed parts
Material types for shoes
Chapter 21 : Footwear Material Suppliers
Working with material suppliers
List of top shoe material suppliers
Chapter 22 : Shoe Designers Tools
The Pantone™ color system
Common tools of the trade
Chapter 23 : Jobs in the Shoe Trades
Getting started in the trades
There is a job for you
Chapter 24 : Footwear Quality Control
How to grade shoe quality?
Standard shoe inspection procedure
Chapter 25 : Life at a Shoe Factory
Look inside a real factory
Working conditions
