I decided to challenge myself with something truly difficult — plain black boots. You can’t hide mistakes on plain black boots; there’s nothing to distract the eye and every error is clearly visible. Wish me luck. Throwing them out and consoling myself with something colorful is still being considered.
Lisa Sorrell, cowboy boot maker 
…do I understand correctly—is the front part (vamp/shaft) a single piece?
It is! It’s actually not very simple at all.
Oh yes, I can imagine! That’s a huge undertaking! And is the lining a single piece too, or is it made of two?
The lining is also one piece for the front panel. I crimp vamp and lining together, at the same time/on the same board, and I did the same here.
For the back panel, the lining is cut as if it were a regular four piece boot and the hard counter is sewn to the bottom of it, and then I glue the one-piece back to it.