In it, you will learn:
- How to turn tall boots into booties
- How to shorten an unnecessarily long zipper
- How to make fabric boots fit tighter
How to turn tall boots into booties
Let's start with the pair you saw a month ago, in my "Refashioned" outfit.
They
started out a pair of mid-calf boots that began peeling and flaking
almost the first time I wore them. I tried to disguise some of the bare
spots with a similar color of paint, but by two autumns, they were too
ugly to wear.
However, since it
was mostly the shaft of the boot that was damaged, and since ankle boots
seem to be especially popular this winter, I thought I'd give them a
second chance at life.
The shaft
was constructed from a different piece of material as the upper of the
boot, so I left the uppers intact and just cut off all but about an inch
of the shaft.
There was a pleather outer layer and a fabric liner layer. I folded the outer layer down to get it out of the way, then cut off the inner layer (here seen sticking up) at that height.
I used my E6000 glue, and folded the outer layer over to the inside of the inner layer.
To get the fabric to lay flat, I had to cut a few
notches in it at various points around the perimeter.
I clamped it with binder clips while waiting for it to dry.
The
finished product shows some imperfections (and boy, is the glued area
itchy!) but I'll be happy enough to use these boots for at least one
more season.
How to shorten an unnecessarily long zipper
Next
up! My thigh-high brown fabric boots. I've had these for a couple years
as well (since May of 2014, to be exact) but I've never been extremely
happy with the fit.
I only have one clear picture of them in
their pre-altered state, and in that one you can see that the zipper –
somewhat inexplicably – goes almost up to the knee, despite the boots
being made of a stretch fabric with plenty of room for the fattest of
feet. If you know anything about zippers, you know that they tend to
bunch and bulge, and the zipper on these boots made me look rather like I
was walking around on a set of troll legs.
For
years, I put up with it because I was afraid of altering the boots in a
way that would damage them, but finally this fall, I decided to take
the plunge.
I used my seam ripper to remove the zipper from all but the bottom 6 inches.
Then
I carefully closed up the opening with my sewing machine. Sewing the
inside of boots is really difficult, so this time I decided to take the
easy way out and make a modified French seam. I just turned the raw
edges to the inside, and then sewed over them on the outside. My seam is
quite a bit uneven, but it still looks better than it did before!
Once
I was certain I wouldn't need the zipper any more, I cut it off at the
top of the ankle and hand-stitched the top of it closed.
The finished product |
I'd
previously sewn the inside of the back seam to create a narrower shaft
(one reason I know it's difficult to sew the inside of boots!), but
there was still a good bit of slack which I didn't necessarily want to
lose (I might want to wear these boots over jeans which would require
them to be a bit looser, and also the slouchy look helps disguise my
unrefined sewing).
My solution: hidden rubber bands!
How to make fabric boots tighter
This is a reversible no-sew solution to a common problem!
Put
a safety pin into one side of the boot (on the inside), pinning over
one side of a rubber band. Then do the same thing on the other side.
Now there's a rubber band running right across the top of the boot shaft.
When you put the boot on, make sure the whole rubber band goes behind your
leg,* taking up some of the slack and elasticizing the top of the boot.
It makes the shaft fit tighter, and the rubber adds a little bit of
friction to help keep it from sliding down!
You
can adjust the fit by moving the safety pins. Put them closer to the
front of the boot to make it tighter, or move them closer to the back
to make it looser.
Success! My boot is staying put! |
*Before
I figured out a better way, I used to poke my leg right through the
middle of the rubber band, but as you can imagine, wrapping a standard
rubber band around your thigh is not always comfortable and resulted in a
lot of broken rubber bands. So I don't recommend that.
I love the idea of refashioning some old, worn boots and am now wishing I hadn't sent a box of them to Goodwill. Thanks for the inspiration :)
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