Shoemakers today used pitched hemp thread for their sewing work. But what did shoemakers use during the 13th century? There are only a few finds of remaining sewing threads in all the shoe finds I know of. But this also tells us one thing: The threads must have consisted of a material which needs a different Soil for good preservation. Therefore it annot be something like sinew or gut, cause they have similar preservation conditions as leather. More
Childs shoe for 13th century

Our son is now old enough to join us on the events, therefore he needs his own equipement and clothing. I’ve also been interested in how long it takes to make a pair of childs shoes. So, this was the perfect timing. I was planning to make a simple par of type “Lübeck” (Volken, Marquita 2014, p. 507), shoes which have been in use between the mid of the 12th century till the 15th century. More

I have been asked by Gerald von Ameningen, during the Bachrittertage 2016, if I am interested in participating in the 5th Mittelaltertag Sargans 2017 (Switzerland). I’ve been very honoured by this invitation and having the possibility to participate in such a high class event made me very excited. Therefore together with my family, and a bunch of equipment, I headed for Switzerland on last friday. Luckily I received one of the few places under a roof and therefore did not need all my camping equipment including sail and tent (I am very gratefull for that! More
Shoes with doubled sole made after finds from Altenberg

Many, mostly complete, shoes have been found in abandoned mining adits in Altenberg, in Siegen-Wittgenstein in Nordrhein-Westfalen Germany, next to textile-, metal and other leather fragments. Except for one leather fragment all leather finds have been dated to around 1235 +- 6 years 1. The special feature from the Altenberg shoes are the doubled soles at the front and the heel which where sewn to the main sole. These doubled soles have been used as an additional protection for the miner against sharp rocks2. More
New trousers from yellow wool twill

Since I am currently moving all my equipment from chemical to vegetable dyed fabrics, it was time to exchange my old Hoses with new ones. The old pair of Hoses, shown in the following figure, were made of chemically dyed gray-mottled 2/2-woolen twill. My old pair of Hoses made of chemical dyed 2/2 woolen twill For these the surviving Hoses from the grave of the Archbishop of Bremen, dated to the first half of the 13th century, served as a model. More