I'm pumped about my latest "creation". It's no secret that my girls and I have a crazy boot collection. A perk of having daughters around your size… Is sharing shoes & clothes! I borrow from them and they dig in my stash too. But taking care of boots can be important to their last-a-bility.
My hubby kindly uses the good stuff (leather cleaner/polish) on our boots which cleans them up and keeps them looking new. But when you're not wearing them…they flop over and the leather can crack. While shopping recently, I found boot shapers at TJ Maxx. I loved the idea but hated the price, $12.99! I had a EUREKA moment –> I can make those!
Who wants to pay that much times multiple pairs of boots? Not me, y'all! So, I created my own version… Well, along with my sweatshop assistant. Trust me, you can make these. There isn't any fancy techniques involved or complicated measuring….honest!
Here's our white-trash DIY tute:
Fabric (any cheap or what ya have stuffed somewhere will do). Once I had my vision, I thought of old clothes that I don't want anymore that I could cut up to use. Think: an old plaid shirt! Cute huh?
Printer paper. I know, this is very scientific. I used a piece of paper to measure how wide I needed to cut my fabric. Told ya, white trash!
Now this is a fancy move….I placed one of my boots down to give me an idea of how long to cut my fabric. You can do the same. Your boots may be longer or shorter and this way you can customize.
And BOOM! There you have it. 2 pieces of fabric ready for the sewing machine operator. Oh, and if you have no sweatshop employees or refuse to touch a sewing machine (I loathe threading the needle)…I don't see why you couldn't HOT GLUE these babies!
We used all stuff we had on hand. That includes thread. Color will not matter.
Fold them backwards, of course and hand them to him (my angel). Sew them straight up and then across on bottom. He sewed the top 1/2 way (just to help me) not have so much to hand sew once I stuffed them. That's totally up to you though.
Sorry, I have no picture of this part but all I did was rip open an old pillow (I save them for stuffing reasons) and pulled off bits of stuffing. I shaped it and filled it as I felt would fit best in my boots. You can do yours however. Also, see that ribbon? I used that to sew into the top (by hand) in order to have pully handles to grab them out of my boots. Again, totally up to you if you want them or not.
And there you go! Awesome boot shapers that cost….nada! I had everything I needed to make mine. I bet you do too!
Tada! Don't you just love them? So easy! And if you're like me and have diva friends who wear sweet boots too, they make terrific gifts!
I can't get over the guy who helps me do all the crazy ideas that pop into my brain. I believe that God knew I'd need a guy like him. He's so dang cool and willing to try anything! Plus, he's awesome in everyway.
[THANK YOU, WORLD’S BEST MOTHER IN LAW]