I’ve started work on my first pair of Chelsea boots. These are on a size 12.5 B SNF55.
The extra lines are me tracing the outlines of the last backpart and vent. I use those mostly for keeping an eye on the counter point. They also make handy reference lines for checking symmetry side to side.
Any thoughts on this draft pattern will be much appreciated!
I’m trying for a crimp-free pattern and one-piece combo heel counter cover and backstay. In sketches, I ended up with a bit of a hybrid of Patrick’s Chelsea and Grecian Slipper patterns.
While sketching, I probably looked at White’s relatively recent C350 Chelsea the most. They’ve also shared some footage on YouTube of the making process, including most of the closing order.
I like the way the vamp and counter cover curves compliment. I also took from the video that they join the side quarters along a basckseam as well as along a front seam on the main axis, over the cone, but just for about an inch at the very top. This creates a little bridge of the bell of the vamp to sew down on.
The White’s clearly resembles this Red Wing Chelsea. White’s did its MP-boot style combo counter cover, while Red Wing sticks to its hourglass backstay.
While I was sketching, I ran into another design that was closer to the hybrid I had in mind. Bed|Stü has this “Nando” model:
The 55 last I’m using has a higher heel pitch than I’d really like for this kind of design. If I do a wedge sole, I’ll need some kind of wedge-shaped lift to take up the vertical space. But I’ve got the last and I’m confident it fits from me from factory boots. I want to spend the lastmaking energy on pairs for a couple friends, and I’d like to move these Chelseas along a little quicker to making and bottoming, where I’m itching for practice.