Peternes—flax twine bast shoes

Master: Salimons ?ip?uks at the Ludza Craftsmen's Center

Twine bast shoes or peternes are typical footwear of Latgale. They are made of flax twine which has been twisted together by hand. The shoes are suitable for winter, and they are worn with woolen socks and/or puttees in dry weather.

Materials and Tools

Flax fiber, wooden hooks for making twine or ready-made flax twine, wire needle, wooden last, hammer, nails, screwdriver.

The process

Using flax fiber, make medium thick twine (for the peternes to last longer, make the twine of 3 threads). This is done with wooden hooks. The twine is made by turning the flax fiber clockwise using a hook.

To make the twine softer so the shoes feel more comfortable, it is "rubbed", i.e., smoothened out.

Drive nails in the corners of the ready-made wooden last. Tie the loose end of the twine into a knot. Thread one end of the string into the needle and pass it through the knot tied at the other end, thus creating a loop, which you then arrange around the wooden last. Leave the knot at one of the corners of the last. Wrap the twine tightly four times around the wooden last, arranging it evenly around the entire base.

The twine is fastened by wrapping it around one of the nails driven into the corner. Now, the weaving process begins, which is very similar to patching socks. Weave the twine alternately through the four threads—over one, under the other, over and under. Then turn in the opposite direction and repeat it, adjusting each layer of the twine with a tool such as a screwdriver. On the foot area, you must reckon 8 cords.

From time to time, the woven shoe is aligned by tapping it with a hammer and driving in a nail so that the twine is held in place and does not slip down. Drive the nail deep enough so it is out of the way.

When working on the sole, take thicker twine. Start in one of the corners of the sole (for example, on the foot area). Fix the twine behind the loops and pull it to the other side (the length of the sole), fix it in the loop and pull the twine back. Repeat it 8 times and then fix it exactly as described above. To prevent the sole from moving, fix the twine behind the edge loop after every 3 or 4 layers. To make the sole softer, strike its surface with a hammer.

When the sole is ready, pull out all the nails and remove the wooden last. Draw in the drawstring, starting at the heel. The drawstring fixes the shoes to the foot for comfortable wearing.

Both peternesare the same. The left and right shoe is created by wearing them.

May they serve you well!