Footwear construction and method for manufacturing same

An article of footwear comprising:

• an upper having a stitching allowance;
• a bottom having a stitching allowance, said upper stitching allowance being stitched to said bottom stitching allowance along a seam extending substantially horizontally;
• and
• a sole having separate heel and forefoot portions, said heel portion and said forefoot portion being spaced from one another to expose at least a portion of said bottom in an arch region of the shoe;
• wherein said seam includes an outwardly-turned stitch in a forefoot region and a heel region, and an inwardly turned butt seam in an arch region.

An article of footwear comprising:

• an upper having a marginal allowance extending around its periphery;
• a bottom having a marginal allowance extending around its periphery, said bottom including an underside;
• a seam joining said upper and said bottom at said upper marginal allowance and said bottom marginal allowance, said seam extending substantially horizontally, said seam including stitching extending through at least one of a forefoot region and a heel region;
• and
• a sole having a heel portion and a forefoot portion, said heel portion being spaced apart from said forefoot portion in an arch region, whereby said underside is exposed at least in said arch region, wherein said seam is located substantially above and is separate from said heel portion and said forefoot portion.

An article of footwear comprising:

• an upper having a marginal allowance extending around its periphery:
• a bottom having a marginal allowance extending around its periphery:
• a seam joining said upper and said bottom at said upper marginal allowance and said bottom marginal allowance, said seam extending substantially horizontally, said seam including an outwardly-turned moc stitch extending through at least one of a forefoot region and a heel region;
• a sole having a heel portion and a forefoot portion, said heel portion being spaced apart from said forefoot portion in an arch region, whereby said bottom is exposed in at least the arch region;
• an adhesive intersecuring the upper marginal allowance and the bottom marginal allowance along said outwardly-turned moc stitch;
• wherein the outwardly-turned moc stitch extends through both the forefoot region and the heel region;
• and
• wherein said seam includes an inwardly-turned butt seam extending through said arch region.

A method for manufacturing an article of footwear having a wrap-around construction, comprising the steps of:

• forming an upper with a stitching allowance extending around its periphery;
• forming a bottom with a stitching allowance extending around its periphery;
• securing an outsole to the bottom, the outsole having separate forefoot and heel portions, the forefoot portion and the heel portion being spaced apart from one another in an arch region to expose the bottom in at least the arch region;
• and
• stitching the bottom to the upper along a substantially horizontal seam, the seam joining the upper stitching allowance and the bottom stitching allowance, the seam being disposed substantially above and separate from the forefoot portion and the heel portion.

A method for manufacturing an article of footwear having a wrap around construction, comprising the steps of:

• forming an upper with a peripheral stitching allowance;
• forming a bottom with a peripheral stitching allowance;
• stitching the upper stitching allowance to the bottom stitching allowance in a forefoot region with an outwardly-turned moc stitch, the forefoot moc stitch extending substantially horizontally;
• stitching the upper stitching allowance to the bottom stitching allowance in an arch region with an inwardly-turned butt stitch, the butt stitch extending substantially horizontally;
• stitching the upper stitching allowance to the bottom stitching allowance in a heel region with an outwardly-turned moc stitch, the heel moc stitch extending substantially horizontally;
• attaching a sole to the bottom, the sole including a heel portion and a forefoot portion, the heel portion being spaced apart from the forefoot separate portion in the arch region to expose the bottom in at least the arch region.