Footwear Terminology

A to Z of footwear technical terms, construction methods, part names, and more.


Buff
To remove material by a sanding or roughing process. For example, EVA midsoles are buffed before assembly to help break the smooth surface for better adhesion to the upper.

Cement/Board Lasting
A lasting process where the insole board (carboard or texon) is inserted onto the last bottom and the lasting margin (excess) material of the upper is lasted onto the board and cemented to the insole board. Shoes of this type are usually more stiff and heavier.

Chemi-Sheet
A nonwoven reinforcement material that is impregnated with a chemical hardener that sets with application of heat or another chemical. Used commonly for counter or toebox reinforcement.

CM EVA
Compression Molded EVA. A foamed midsole material that offers good cushioning and compression set.

Collar
The opening area of a shoe at the top.

Colorway
A color/material combination.

Cosmo
An type of non-woven upper lining and reinforcement material used commonly on cross training and hiking boots that provides a stiffer (compared to Tricot) lining and support for the shoe.



Coutner
The back/heel of the shoe.

Eyelet
A hole through which you lace up a shoe.

Eyestay
The part around the lace opening (throat of the shoe). Can feature webbings, eyelets, etc.

FG
Firm Ground. Refers to football/soccer boots/outsoles designed for use on hard, natural surface.

Insole Board
The bottom part of the lasted upper.

Last
Anatomical representation of the foot for constructing a shoe

Lasting
The process of stretching the preassembled upper around the last, by machine or by hand.

Lasting margin
The upper material part that when lasted folds over the edge of the last onto the bottom, overlapping the insole board.

Midsole
The component of a shoe between the upper and outsole used to provide cushioning, fit, comfort and support.

Outsole
The bottom component of a shoe that provides grip and traction.

Overlay
An upper part which is over another part.

Padding
Refers to foam or other material usually inside the collar or tongue to add thickness/cushioning and improve fit.

PU (upper material)
PU upper materials usually use a thin layer of PU foam with a non-woven or fabric backing for reinforcement and strength.

PU
PolyUrethane. Synthetic (plastic) material with minute bubbles or cells and a skin like surface. Used for upper materials, and in a different form for midsoles or padding foam.

Pullover
A prototype sample for checking pattern and fit.

Quarter
The side of the shoe. Can have many subcomponents and parts.

SG
Soft Ground. Refers to football/soccer boots/outsoles designed for use on soft (wet) natural surfaces.

SKU
Stock Keeping Unit. A unique model/style/colorway/size. Commonly used to refer to a unique colorway. Ie, if there are 2 models each with 5 colorways, there are 10 SKUs total.

Slip Lasting
A lasting process where the insole board (usually canvas) is stitched around the last bottom edge to complete the upper. Usually used for more lightweight, flexible shoes such as running shoes.

SMU
Special Make Up. A special request by a customer (ie. distributor, retailer, etc.). It is normally just a different colorway of an existing shoe, but in some cases can also be a whole new shoe. There is not much more to it, really, just that it is requested directly. In some cases it may be part of a special marketing campaign (ie. one of those "exclusives" for Foot Locker you see), or might just be a product to better serve a particular niche covered by the market demographics, location, etc. (ie. maybe some country/market sells more brown colored shoes, but there are none in the main collection).

Stitch and Turn (seam)
A seam which is stitched to join two parts then flipped inside out so the stitch is hidden.

Toe Cap
Upper part on the toe, usually and overlay.

Tongue
Part which covers the top of the foot. Usually a separate component stitched inside the shoe at the bottom of the throat.

TPU
Thermoplastic PolyUrethane. Synthetic (plastic) material usually used for molded details and components on a shoe such as a molded eyestay, logo, counter reinforcement or waist stabilizer.

Tricot (a brand name, used to refer to a material, also Cambrelle)
Upper lining material, usually used on running shoes that is made from a sandwich of mesh type fabric, that allows a lightweight, breathable construction.

Turf
Refers to football/soccer boots/outsoles designed for very hard/round natural surfaces like dirt or turf and also synthetic grass surfaces.

Underlay
A part of a shoe upper that is under another part.

Upper
The part of a shoe created around the last.

Vamp
Area of the shoe/last on the front/top.

how to make a last > part 2

This post covers the production of an aluminium last. Surpringly, as I saw in this last factory in Taiwan, it is a really intense, old school hand made process. Even the molten aluminium is poured by hand from the super hot over.

Click the Read More link below for all the pics and info on the process.

As mentioned in part 1 (how to make a plastic last), aluminium last are every common in mass production of shoes because they can be made fairly cheaply (even though there is lots of labor involved), and they can also be recycled after use. As you'll see later in future posts of factory visits, the amount of lasts a factory has in inventory can quickly accumulate, and storage is big problem. In this respect, being able to recycle an alumimum last is a big advantage. All things considered however, plastic lasts are still more common in quality athletic footwear production because the fit, sizing and shape is more accurate. A solid plastic last will change shape less in different temperatures compared to a hollow aluminium last.



The process of making an aluminium last is called sandcasting. This is a common mass production process for aluminium and metal products including faucets and some things that dont need too much detail.




The first step of sandcasting to to make a positive core from sand that is the same as the shape of the last required, only differening in dimension a little bit to account for shrinkage of the final aluminium part (the hot aluminium after cast will shrink when it cools down).



This core is made using two halfs of a pattern made from aluminium. Like making sand castles on the beach. The sand is a special kind of sand that packs well and has some sort of binder material in it to help it stick together.








The second part of the process, is to prepare the mold. The mold is a 4 sided aluminium box called a flask. There is a top and bottm mold parts. The top is called the cope flask, and the bootom is the drag flask. The process starts with what will be the top part of the mold, flipped upside down. Sand is put into the bottom container (cope flask) until it is about halfway filled.



At this point a plastic last that is the same shape as the aluminium last they are trying to make is buried halfway into the sandfilled box. It is used to make a cavity in the sand. Here you can see the lastmaker using the other part of the mold (drag flask) to scrape of the excess sand so the filled box is perfectly level to the top. The sand is packed well into the box and around the last.



The white powder on top is some sort of release powder so that that the sand in the other half of the mold wont stick to it when it is put together.



The plastic last is then removed from the box of tightly packed sand, and small foam spacers (the little white squares in the picture) are put in place where the plastic last was. These spacers are will create a space where the aluminim will go. When the hot molten aluminium is poured into the mold, these spacers will melt away and disappear.



The sand core that was made in the first part is then carefully placed into the cavity on top of the spacers.




The bottom half of the mold is then added on top (the drag flask) and filled up with sand and packed tight.



The whole thing is then flipped over and the can be filled with hot molten aluminium that is poured into the mold through a small that is put into the sand that goes into the space inside where between the sand core and the sand all around it. This is the casting process.



The result is a hollow aluminium last. For production typcially at least a few thousand lasts are needed depending on how many shoes are being made at one time.

how to make a last > part 1

By popular demand (based on email inquiries about the post the last is first, this post will cover how production plastic lasts are made. The scond post in this series to come later will feature how sandcast aluminium lasts are made.



Plastic lasts are commonly used for athletic shoes, as they can be cheaply and accurately produced and stand up well to the wear of high volume production.

Below are some commone techniques used on a last factory to modify lasts and make plastic lasts for production. Custom lasts or completely new lasts for performance footwear or specialized shoes may be made differently using more complex computer software or traditional hand last carving techniques.

New lasts can be made based on modifying an existing last. Here lastmakers add filler, file and sand stock last shapes to adjust the look and fit of the last.






Once a Master Last has been made (by the above method or by other methods) it can be scanned by a computer and the data set that describes its 3D shape can be programmed in 3D computer controlled lathe to make duplicates of the last to exact specifications.





Copies of this Master Last can then be easily produced by a mechanical lathe copying machines that works similiarily to a key copying machine, tracing the outline of one last it turns, while cutting the same profile in a last blank to make a copy.





These copies are not as exact to dimension and specification as the Master Last, but are good enough for mass produced footwear. The End.




coming soon... part 2, how to make a sandcast aluminium last.

the last is first

I've started with the definition of pullover to explain the naming of this blog. To further outline some of the terms and definitions I will be using in future posts, these next few posts will cover some of the basic terminology and concepts used in footwear design and development.

A last is an (usually) generalized anatomical representation of the human foot shape. Created from a data set and functional requirements specific to a sport (ie. soccer, running, etc.) or desired look (rounded, narrow, pointy), or athlete (in custom made footwear), a master last is created from which production copies can be made.

Production lasts are made from either turned (on a machine lathe) plastic, or sandcast aluminum. The last is the starting point for any footwear development and is very important in determining, the look, fit, comfort and performance of a shoe.

BTW- If anyone else out there has further information or corrections to my posts, please let me know. Also, I will try not to get into too much technical detail on these concepts, but if anyone is interested, feel free to email me with questions or comments. Thanks. R