Heel Liners
Yes sure we can pop a new piece of leather in the back of there, it will be glued in and then you'll see a row of stitching around the top here... that stops the leather coming unglued as your foot slides in each time you put them on.
Why are we doing this?
Main Steps
1 Fold tongue and insole out of the way
2 Select and try new liner for fit
3 Glue any tatty bits,
4 Glue new liner in while wet,
5 Replace insoles, glue if needed
6 Stitch and Trim
7 Tap around all edges to set stitching and soften
8 Polish, check and put on shelf.
Main Steps Explained
1 Lift insole up if possible, pushing it forward into the shoe to keep it out of the way. If there are laces, loosen them to get them out of the way.
2 Pick out and pair up your heel liners to thickness and colour, or cut out a fresh pair from a suitable hide if you need an odd size. Skive front 2 edges
3 Glue any Tatty bits of the old heel liner down or trim them off. Replace any foam in the backs of the heels if necessary. Less rather than more.
4 Put lots of glue onto heel liner and put in while still wet with the shorter of the two long edges at the top. Push together well so that glue gets onto shoe, but don’t roll it over the top edge! Let sit for a while then push together again.
5 Replace insoles, glue down if needed. If the shoes are still quite smelly from glue fumes, then leave in fume extractor for a while before stitching.
6 Stitch along existing stitching at the top of the shoe, or, approx. 4mm down from top edge of shoe if there is no stitch line. Trim excess with sharp knife held on a really steep angle, watch out that you don’t nick the stitching. As you trim, pull on the piece of leather you are trimming off, this will help avoid leaving an uncomfortable edge.
Reasons Why
1 Fold tongue and insole out of the way
So they stay clean and glue free! Insoles are less likely to be lost if they stay in the shoe
2 Select and try new liner for fit
Do this before we do any gluing so that we keep new Heel liner clear of glue till we are ready to glue it!
3 Glue any tatty bits,
Stops them rolling up when we are putting the new liner in, and enables us to get the top edge looking good
4 Glue new liner in while wet,
It's quicker and easier than waiting for it to dry and then heating and then trying to line it all up
5 Replace insoles, glue if needed
6 Stitch and Trim
7 Polish, check and put on shelf.
Potential issues
New liner gives blisters
Identify exactly where it is wearing into the customer’s foot
1. Tap on last
2. Maybe try stretcher?
3. Redo with less padding and smoother leather
What about when the back of the shoe is munted?
Put a patch up and over the top first, then do the heel liner like normal.