Footstool

“ Footstools of reed are preferable, in the home, to those made of other materials, because of their light weight, rounded edges, and comfortable, yielding tops. Reed, rattan, and similar material, used in their construction, withstand hard wear, and will not easily mar floors or furniture, a feature not to be overlooked, especially since the footstool is a favorite seat or play table of children. Several types of stools and foot rests are shown in the illustration. A stool having a framework of dowels, covered with reed, and utilizing the frame to produce a paneled effect, is shown in Fig. ”

“ The footstool shown in the illustration can be made from any kind of wood, but when it is intended to be finished in mission style, quarter-sawed oak will produce the best effect. The material needed will be as follows:
1 top, 1 by 9-1/2 by 12 in., S-1-S. 2 legs, 3/4 by 8 by 12 in., S-2-S. 1 brace, 3/4 by 7 by 9 in., S-1-S.
Order these pieces cut to length, squared and sanded. A full-sized layout of the front view should be made to get the correct bevels for the legs and brace. The design of the legs can be varied to suit the fancy of [Pg 102] the maker. ”

“ In this design, the shelf is dispensed with, and two stretchers or side pieces substituted; stock 7⁄8 and 3⁄4 inch thick took the place of 1⁄2 inch. The two ends were glued together with paper [298] between, cut out as one piece, afterward separated, and the paper and glue planed off. The curved outline was drawn on paper, traced on the wood, sawed out with turning saw, and finished to line as in previous work.
Fig. 176. Fourth footstool design
The joint for fastening the side piece to the legs is shown in the drawing. It makes a strong and rigid combination, calling for a good fit. ”

“ In all my experience with knee and arm hitters I have found the offending foot too high on the outside, with the most of the foot from the center of the frog on the outside of the leg. With height and width of foot on the outside of the leg, it is just contrary to science. To straighten the line of action this needs to be reversed; edge up the outside edge of the foot from the outside toe to the point at quarters as much as it will stand, do it at every shoeing and you will be getting the leg closer to the middle of the foot. ”

“ Exercises on tip-toe, especially with a skipping rope, massage, rest and tonic treatment will give relief, and shoes or boots may be supplied with the heel and sole thickened along the inner borders so that the weight may be received along the strong outer border of the foot. When the flat-footed individual stands it should be upon the outer borders of his feet, or better still, when convenient, on tip-toe, as this posture strengthens those muscles of the leg which run into the sole of the foot and hold up the bony arches. ”

“ A false habit, tending in the same direction, is that of changing the shoes of children to make them wear evenly or prevent their treading over to one side at the heel. It is a practice productive of far more harm than good—a saving of shoe-leather at the foot’s expense. After one foot has shaped a shoe to itself, to put the other into it [Pg 26] forcing the great toe into the curve made by the little toe and outside of the foot, must do much toward bending the toe permanently out of place. ”

“ Neither ricketty legs nor yielding plantar-arches are strengthened by tightly laced boots, and although ignorant bootmakers will frequently recommend them, they must be strictly avoided, for what the muscles of the foot and leg want is freedom of action, not compression, which will impair their development.
That very rare thing a well-formed foot in middle life is nearly straight on the inside from the heel to the tip of the big toe; but in infancy the great toe stands out from the others, giving a wider spread to the toes, so that the inside of the foot is concave. ”

“ With such ill-made boots (see Plate 8, Fig. B) owing to the bones of the feet being prevented from exercising their proper movements in walking, the muscles below the knees, which are connected with those bones, waste for want of use. The foot, cramped into a motionless mass by the boot, thus becomes in its function, or rather want of function, very like the deformed "lily" of the Chinese, and the shrunken, calfless leg is in a similar way used simply as a stump. ”

“ One of the close-laced shoes is given in pl. I., fig. 4, from a specimen in the British museum. It embraces the foot closely, and has a thong or two over the instep, for drawing it tightly over the foot, something like the half-boot of the present day. The sole and upper leather are all in one piece, sewn up the back and down the front of the foot; a mode of construction practised in England, as late as the fourteenth century. ”

“ It is necessary to work the heel in two sections at each side, and the foot sole is worked on to these pieces for the lower portion, the upper part of the foot being a continuation of the leg and the whole is secured by a seam along each side of the foot. By this system of manufacture it becomes possible to make a much more roomy and capacious heel than is general on the automatic seamless machine, for it can be made square-shaped and of any convenient size by enlarging or contracting the heel portions. ”

“ It consists of a skate blade attached by means of plates screwed to the sole of the boot. The front plate is under the ball of the foot, and the heel plate at the heel, and if a very thick-soled boot be used, the absence of support between the two points of attachment, is not practically felt. But a heavy boot is not only unsightly, but fatiguing. If a thinner-soled boot be used, the heat of the foot softens the leather of the sole, which, bending, no longer supports the instep, and fatigue and cramp ensue. ”

“ When the boot is made the leather is stretched, and worked into a definite shape—that of the last. When a foot large enough to fill it is put inside, if it be of a different form there will be more or less force exerted to change the shape and adapt it to that of the foot. This is one reason of the difficulty often experienced the first time, or first few times, a new boot is worn. The resistance, pressure, and friction may be considerable, or only slight, with a corresponding effect. ”

“ In walking the muscles and tendons of the 6foot are in constant action and it is of vital importance to the comfort of the individual that the footwear should be worked in the most suitable fabric. To have footwear in the woven texture is unthinkable if from no other reason than the seams which would be necessary, and to have one of these located at the heel or along the sole of the foot would render the wearer unable to walk in a very short period. ”

“ The upper can be sewed together without lining, only some eyelets being necessary for lacing, and when drawn over such a last as is judged likely to fit the foot it may be roughly fastened down all around with a waxed thread. After trial on the customer’s foot, the upper can be ripped off and the sole-leather used for an insole or something else, while if the shoe fits badly the last is easily modified, before making a permanent article. ”

“ The shoe should be long enough to extend well forward of the toes—two-thirds of an inch longer than the longest measurement of the naked foot; the inner sole border should be straight, broad across the ball and for average work on the roads need not be heavy but above all things it should conform to the foot. Have the heel fit snugly but across the ball or front of the foot arch no compression at all.
The tendency is to overdo foot covering, getting the shoes too heavy. There is no need of lugging around extra weight. ”

“ A waterproof top boot, so devised as to leave a fairly wide air space between the boot and the greater part of the foot, ankle, and lower part of the leg, would be more efficient and probably more convenient, provided the material used was soft and light, and did not interfere with movements. ”

“ Stockings, Washing the Feet, &c.—Much more of comfort to the feet depends on the stockings than people are aware of; nothing can be worse than a stocking too large or too small, the more common case is its largeness, and when I see a cotton or thread stocking tucked under at the toe, and by the perspiration of the foot and the tread, become quite hard and compact, a hard ridge of a seam pressing on the toes, which show the marks produced by the pressure all over the surface, I wonder how persons can expect comfort. ”

“ The right foot must not be allowed to touch the floor, nor the ankle released from the right hand.
A large bottle is placed on its side. The forfeit payer is seated upon this, with the heel of his right foot resting upon the floor and the heel of his left against the toe of the right. A good sized needle is then given him, and a thread, which he must endeavor to pass through the needle’s eye without losing his balance.
Set an ordinary chair front downward on the floor in such a way that the legs and back [147] are horizontal. ”

“ They cause the foot to pitch downward on the toes, sometimes pushing it a size farther forward into the boot than it would go if the heel was only moderately high, thus creating the necessity for a longer boot. The crowding of the toes is increased; and as they meet with resistance or a backward pressure from both sides and the end of the shoe, at the same time that there is a forward pressure from the heel by the weight of the body, of course the angle formed at the joint must be pushed out more acute, the foot making room for itself by stretching and treading over the upper at the sides. ”

“ Then it is just such a shoe as would fit easily and comfortably a foot that treads outside; and for that very reason it is exactly such a one as ought to be worn by a foot that treads inwardly. All the force exerted by the stiffness of the counter, and the inclination of the whole shoe, goes toward righting up the foot and pushing it over outwardly. Still there is nothing that can hurt the foot—only a steady and gentle pressure in the right direction, which does not interfere with the use of the muscles. ”

“ When the shoe is made ready there may still be some difficulty about getting the foot into it. There must first be a toe made in the stocking; which can be done in a rough way by sewing two parallel seams, an eighth of an inch or so apart, from the end of the stocking to a depth equal to the length of the great toe, of sufficient width to give room for it, and then cutting down between these seams with the scissors. ”

“ No. 2 requires considerable fulness of the inside joint, to allow for a bunion; the great toe requires a bed for the ball to rest in; the waist must be very hollow, else the quarter will bag; while No. 3 requires a wide flat tread and great thickness of wood, for the toes which are covered with corns.
Many persons have an idea that right and left shoes are a comparatively modern invention, but the illusions and illustrations to the contrary, in pages 39-44 disprove this ”

“ It may be also an additional thread is introduced to reinforce the wearing qualities of the heel and toe, or a differently colored yarn may be thrown in to give figure, but all such movements are now automatically controlled by a pattern mechanism. The ribbed leg portion of a stocking is formed either145 in the same machine that fashions the foot or in a separate machine to which the foot is transferred, but in either case the pattern mechanism again controls. ”

“ Treatment.—Flat-foot is incurable. All that can be done is to pay careful attention to the shoeing, and so prevent the condition from being aggravated. In trimming the foot the sole should not be touched; the frog, too, should be left alone, and the wall pared only so far as regards broken and jagged pieces.
The most suitable shoe is one moderately seated. If the seating is excessive, and bearing allowed only on the wall, there is a tendency for the wall to be pushed outwards, and for the sole to drop still further. ”

“ In founder or chronic laminitis, where the sole of feet are dropped, caused by the displacement of the weight-bearing bones of the foot, fix the feet by lowering the quarters and heels so as to get as much frog pressure as is possible, without making the foot tender, and your foot is ready for the shoe. A shoe for a dropped sole foot must be a bar shoe, thick at the toe and thin at the heels, with a wide thin bar to receive the frog pressure. ”

“ For common tramping they are ideal, for the constant exposure of the feet to the wet is to be anticipated and the thickness of the wool softens the shock and pressure of foot work on rough trails, diminishing the danger of friction and impact. In fitting shoes or moccasins over your heavy wool socks allow a half size larger in length and two letters in width over your street shoe. Even then your foot covering will be about three times the bulk of your tight fashion-plate town footwear. ”

“ The toe-knife is a very convenient instrument for him, and plenty of horn can be struck off with it, or removed by the rasp, to make the foot as small as the shoe; while he cares little, although by this destructive method the crust is materially thinned where it should receive the nail, and the danger of puncture is increased, and the danger of pressure upon the sole is increased, and a foot so artificially diminished in size will soon grow over the shoe, to the hazard of considerable or permanent lameness. ”