A shoe construction in which a row of stitching joins the insole, upper and outsole directly.
In Blake construction a single machine-sewn seam runs straight through the insole, the upper and the outsole. Carmina describes the upper and insole as stitched directly to the sole. There is no welt and no second row of stitching, and the outsole is stitched rather than glued on.
Paraboot says Blake shoes are lighter and more supple than Goodyear-welted ones. Carmina attributes the extra flexibility to fewer layers of leather, which also make the shoe less water-resistant and less durable. Resoling a Blake-stitched shoe requires a specific machine, which Carmina says makes it more complicated and costly than resoling a welted shoe, and Paraboot does not offer a resoling service for its Blake-stitched models.
In job listings
Listings seldom name Blake stitching. It falls within the footwear construction knowledge that assembly and prototype roles ask for, alongside lasting and finishing, and that development roles bring to prototypes and samples. See current footwear assembly roles.
