Menu Close

Snapped a bootlace?

Fix it authentically without a knot, using this ‘slit and pull’ technique:

Cut small slits near the ends of the pieces to be joined, then thread them through each other and pull tight.

This repair is documented in medieval (6-9th cent. AD) Egyptian sandals [1].

Multiple ‘slit and pulls’ were also used for interweaving thongs to make decorative straps:

 

Anglo-Norman shoe, c. 1100AD from St. Magnus House, London (author’s reconstruction, after [2]).

References

[1] André J. Veldmeijer, Sandals, Shoes and Other Leatherwork from the Coptic Monastery of Deir el-Bacht: Analysis and Catalogue. Sidestone: Leiden 2011.

[2] Francis Grew, Margrethe de Neergaard, Susan Mitford, Shoes and Pattens: Finds from Medieval Excavations in London (Medieval Finds from Excavations in London, vol. 2). Museum of London, HMSO: London 1988.

Related Posts