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Leather, Ink, and Miscellaneous: Shoes

Care of Boots and Shoes. Have two or more pairs, and wear them alternately to let the leather dry and rest. When not in use, keep them on wooden shoe trees.

Or make homemade shoe trees by filling a pair of thick socks or stockings that fit the feet with fine, clean sawdust or bran, and tie the tops tightly. These shoe trees will absorb the perspiration and keep the shoes in perfect shape. The socks can be emptied, washed, and refilled when necessary. These shoe trees can be easily made and are a great aid in preserving shoes. On taking the shoes off, stretch out the wrinkles and bend the soles straight. Keep buttons sewed on and set back as far as is comfortable for the foot. If the heels become worn, have them straightened at once. - Shoe Cleaner.

A large, coarse scrubbing brush hanging near the kitchen door is a good and cheap shoe cleaner in muddy weather, especially when children are running in and out.

Or nail or screw a coarse-fibered scrubbing brush, bristle side up, to the edge of the doorstep.

Tight Shoes. - If the soles of shoes are of the right size, but the uppers do not quite fit the foot, put on the shoes and sponge the uppers with hot water, letting the shoes dry on the feet.

Or lay a folded cloth wet in hot water over the spot that pinches. Repeat several times if necessary. Or press against the lining with the curve of a button hook so as to stretch the leather outward. Work thus over a circular spot outwardly from the point that seems to be tightest. This is often done by salesmen in large shoe stores.

Or, to ease a swollen joint, have a shoe repairer cut a slit in the leather an inch or two long close to and parallel with the sole on the inside of the shoe where the swollen joint comes. Stretch the shoe, and over the opening between the leather and the sole fit in a patch of soft leather to match the material of the shoe. Stitch the patch to the sole, but paste its upper edge over the upper leather of the shoe to avoid a ridge of stitches.

Such a patch properly cemented is hardly discernible.

To draw on tight shoes, if a shoe horn is not convenient, use two or three thicknesses of newspaper or the inside of a towel. Warm a tight shoe slightly before trying it on.

To Stop Creaking in Boots and Shoes. The creaking or squeaking of boots and shoes is caused by the LEATHER, INK, AND MISCELLANEOUS rubbing against each other, while walking, of the two or more pieces of leather that make the sole. This is prevented in the finer grades of shoes by careful adjustment of the pieces, smoothing their surfaces, and the use of lubricants, prepared chalk, and the like.

If shoes squeak, saturate the soles with linseed oil, sweet oil, or melted lard. Let the shoes stand in one of these lubricants over night.

Or drive a few small pegs across the middle of the sole.

Or, if necessary, have a shoemaker take off the soles, and dust some powdered soapstone or French chalk between them.

Shoe Strings.-Pound the tin flats on the ends of new shoe strings before using them. They will not pull off so readily. If they come off, wax the end of the lace, and with a needleful of well-waxed thread begin an inch back from the end, take a back stitch, wind the thread around the lace twice, and stitch through the lace to the end and back. Beeswax stiffens the end, and the stitches keep the winding thread from unwinding.

Wax the laces, especially for children, to prevent them from constantly getting untied. Or wet the finger and place it on the knot part of the tie just before drawing it up tight.

Or tie a bow like an ordinary bowknot, but whip one loop in underneath the bow and the first knot. Pull it tightly together.

When a shoe string breaks and a new one is not available, sew the ends together instead of tying them in a knot.

For Nails in Shoes. Cut an insole of thin pasteboard, as the side of a cracker box. The nails will not hurt the feet, and the pasteboard lasts a long time.

To Keep on Pumps. - Fasten a small piece of elastic two inches long across the heel inside. Attach the ends only. When the pump is drawn on, the elastic stretches tight over the ball of the heel and prevents its slipping off. Fasten other pieces of elastic on either side of the instep so as to be stretched when the pump is on.

This prevents its gaping at the sides.

Or sew a piece of chamois to the lining inside the heel.

To Mend House Shoes. - When the soles of house shoes and slippers begin to wear, cut a piece of kid from the top of an old shoe and glue it over the worn sole. Go over the bottom and edges with hard white copal or other varnish applied warm.

Care of Kid Boots. - Kid tends to harden and crack. Hence it should be kept clean and rubbed once a week with castor oil.

Or, to soften kid, melt equal quantities of tallow and olive oil. First wash the kid with warm water, dry, and apply the mixture with a flannel cloth.

To restore the color to black kid, mix ink with the white of an egg and apply with a soft sponge.