boot toppers

it all started with a cute pair of boots…

yes, the boots were cute, but they didn’t seem to match all of sunny’s outfits.

buying multiple pairs of shoes for a little girl who will only wear them for 6 months didn’t seem very practical.

i began browsing online, and that’s when i happened upon boot toppers – a very frugal (and fun) way to get practically a new pair(s) of boots –  instant love!

the possibilities are practically endless, and i had to make myself stop after making two.

For both of these, I used scrap fabric that I had on hand and cut up a leather belt from Goodwill to make the straps on the second pair.  The only thing I purchased was the buckles, so these toppers were practically free.

I apologize for not taking pictures of the process, but i’ll try and run through it.

First, I had Sunny put on her boots.  I measured from the toe of the boot where the topper would rest to slightly under her knee. (or however high you want yours to go)

I then cut a rectangle of scrap fabric that approximate height and placed it on top the boots, pinning in the back to form a tube.  Sunny removed her shoes, and I carefully slipped the pinned fabric off her foot .  I marked where the pins were, added 1 inch for seam allowances (1/2″ seams) and this piece became my pattern piece.

After this you basically just form a tube which you could turn under and hem or line with a coordinating fabric.

I chose to line my boot toppers (I also added interfacing to the gray pair for stiffness) to give them a smoother finish, but this is slightly more complicated as you have to figure out how to stitch the outer fabric and the lining with right sides together in order to be able to flip them right side out.  I did mess this up….a couple times….but no worries, just take out your stitching and try again.  Basically you need to stitch the tops and bottoms and a little bit of the sides together, leaving a hole in the side seam that you can flip your boot toppers right side out through.  Top stitch the hole closed and you’re done!

Any questions, just leave a comment and I’ll do my best to answer it.