EYELET. A small ring of metal, etc., placed in the holes for lacing; the eyelet holes are sometimes worked with thread like a buttonhole.
FACING. The bleached calf or sheepskin used around the top of the shoe, and down the eyelet row and inside of the upper.
FAIR STITCH. Term applied to the stitching that shows around the outer edge of the sole, to give the McKay shoe the appearance of a welt shoe.
FAKING. Putting a gloss on any part of the bottom of the shoe.
FINDINGS. The small parts of a shoe, such as blacking, cement, nails, wax, tacks, thread, etc.
FLAP, LIP, AND SHOULDER. Terms used in connection with the channel or with the operation of sewing.
FOLLOWER. Any last or form put in a shoe from which the original last has been pulled.
FOREPART FINISHING. The staining and polishing of the forepart of the shoe.
FORM. A term applied to a filler last. It may be of wood, papier-mâché, leather board, or any similar material, and is used to enhance the appearance of sample shoes, in salesmen’s lines or in window displays.
FOXED. Having the lower part of the quarter a separate piece of leather or covered by an extra piece; “slipper foxed” is a term sometimes applied to women’s full vamp shoes.
FOXING. The name applied to that part of the upper that extends from the sole to the laces in front, and to about the height of the counter in the back; being the length of the upper. It may be in one or more pieces and is often cut down to the shank in circular form.
FRIZZING. A process to which chamois and wash leather are subjected, after the skins are unhaired, scraped, “fleshed,” and raised. It consists in rubbing the skins with pumice stone or a blunt knife till the appearance of the grain is entirely removed.
FRONT. A term used for part of a congress toe.
GAITER. A term usually applied to a separate ankle covering or to a congress shoe.
GEMMING. The operation of making gem insoles.
GEM INSOLES. An insole for welt shoes of leather.
GLOVE GRAIN. A light, soft-finished, split leather, for women’s or children’s shoes or topping.
GOODYEAR WELT. A term used to denote the process of attaching the sole to the upper of a shoe by means of a narrow strip of leather called a welt.
GORE. A rubber elastic used in a congress shoe. It is also applied to the long, wedge-shaped piece of leather set in an upper to widen it.