I would rate this design as Advanced. I don’t normally think of stitch patterns that way — either you can accurately sew a line of stitching right next to another one or you can’t — but this design has some challenges.
Jay Griffith, my boot making mentor, designed this style and he called it #317. I never asked about his numbering system or understood it, so I’ve titled the design “Kansas City Star.” I would guess this catalog is from the early 1960s, so in today’s dollars the boots would cost around $1800. Still too cheap in my opinion, but very much in line with what many boot makers charge today. I did five rows of stitching around the inner inlay. The large star has eight rows of stitching; before stitching the eight rows I draw contour lines to guide me as I’m stitching the points, so they all point in the correct direction and so that each eight-row point is exactly the same length. The challenges are: Multiple design elements have to accurately line up at the side seam or the entire design will be crooked. Also, keeping that Hershey Kiss shape/reverse curve through eight rows of stitching isn’t easy, because it wants to flatten. Jay always said that the best way to evaluate a top stitcher’s skill is to look at the boot top from the back, where you’re not distracted by color, so here you go. Evaluate away.
I'm a custom cowboy boot maker. I own a business, Sorrell Custom Boots, and I create bespoke cowboy boots using vintage machinery and hand tools. I also own www.sorrellnotionsandfindings.com, a company that specializes in tools, supplies, and leather for the boot and shoe making trade.
Lisa Sorrell, cowboy boot maker 