I MADE THESE!!!
OK, maybe I’m a bit biased here, but to my eyes these are just about the most beautiful things in the world right now!!
So I finally did it! and I’m even extremely happy with them to boot (haha!) and after a month or so of mental anguish and metaphorical hair-pulling even I can find almost no fault with my (eventual) finish. It’s true there were some struggles along the way yes; but I’m so happy now, and those dark moments have faded away in the happy, warm fuzzy pink glow in which surrounds me right now. I even dressed today to match it 😉
So, the process…
Pattern; self-drafted. I did buy some long black zips, but eventually decided upon a design which I could just pull on, no zip required, and drafted a pattern to accommodate this… Before starting, I padded my lasts with a couple of pairs of thick winter socks so as to give my foot a decent amount of wearing ease and allow enough room for my own feet to be well sock-ed too! and taped them down firmly with masking tape, to protect them from the boot-making process, and made my pattern to fit the padded last, obviously.
Materials; the upper is black vinyl, from Clark Rubber, this comes in two types and I spent a bit extra and bought the UV resistant kind that is highly resistant to whatever the weather may throw at it; sun or rain. Well, since I plan to be wearing them outside most of the time, and given the amount of work you put into making a pair of boots, the small extra cost is completely justified, in my opinion!
The boots are fully lined in faux chocolate-brown suedette (above), bought originally in the Fabric Store in Melbourne, and which I have used to line nearly all my shoes so far. It’s the same stuff I used for my chocolate suedette top, here.
For the soles and heels, I used rubber matting from Bunnings. I cut these to size, and sanded each surface well before glueing them together using contact gel adhesive, also from Bunnings. Inside the boot, I also glued an insole cut from cork matting, and then over that, is laid a foam inner sole (Coles) which I’ve covered with the chocolate brown suedette, to match the interior. Not that you can see it easily, down in the dark innards of the boot, but still
Decorative details: I had “finished” the boots, and they were kinda plain, and I decided they really desperately wanted some hardware, and maybe some straps. I then planned on some “belts” around each boot with buckles… but unfortunately cool buckles are pretty much impossible to find around about here. Everything I saw was either diamante or leopard print plastic and without exception totally hideous. In the end, I compromised with these nickel finished swivel clips to close the “belts” and you know what? I love them SO MUCH and am actually super-happy I couldn’t find the buckles I originally wanted after all! I bought these from Homecraft Textiles. The three “belts” were all sewn on by hand, after the boots were finished. And before you ask; yes, this was pretty difficult. But I reckon it was worth it! Also, I became acquainted at this stage with how very warm the boots were going to be, even before wearing them, since my hands just about broiled while shoved down in the boots, doing this sewing.
Making the boots…
I made the lower part of the boots first, like sort of ankle boots, and did all the lasting and constructing the toe puffs and heels counters using stiff cotton denim with some stretch to it, and PVA glue, just exactly the same way as previously described in the making of my paprika desert boots here.
My vintage wooden lasts are wonderful things, but because they have a metal plate on the bottom it means you can’t nail into them. So, I pulled in the well-glued up (PVA glue) sides in under the shoe by stitching it all in, in like a cobweb of back and forward stitching, using thick strong Gutermann’s upholstery thread (above). You have to do this reasonably quickly, before the glue hardens and dries too much, but it’s not actually difficult. Then I left it all to dry thoroughly, before skiving and trimming much of the bulky folds away underneath. After this, I glued the sole underneath with contact gel adhesive, and glued and nailed the heel into position, just as for all my previous shoes
Once this was finished, I had two completed ankle boots (above), and it was time to add the “calf-tubes”. Yes, I expect there is some proper name for those, but that is how I thought of them! I found it was impossible to machine stitch anything beyond this stage, with my little home sewing machine, and don’t have access to a shoe-maker’s sewing machine, so all the rest of the construction I sewed by hand. I sewed the lining and outer tubes around the top of the “ankle boots” in a way as to enclose the seam within the two layers, then hand stitched the tubes up the centre back seam using a leather needle and tough Gutermann’s upholstery thread. I used back-stitch for the calf-tube to the ankle boot seam, and ladder stitch for up the centre back seam for this.
half sewn up…
Oh, I did manage to sew the upper “hem” by machine! although this was not particularly easy, what with the thick fabric and the boot and all. I cut the lining to sit neatly underneath the hem, glued the layers together as best as I could, then glued the upper vinyl hem down, and stitched it. It’s doesn’t look like it would be hard to sew the top hem by machine but just trust me, a boot is a far from manoeuvrable thing to sew. The final sewing step was to add those three decorative “belts” per boot, as described above.
Then for the finishing off! I’d cut my heels carefully, but they were still a bit uneven. In previous pairs of shoes I’ve sometimes left the unevenness, because I kinda liked the randomness, but in this case I wanted a more smart finish… I sanded the heels till they were all beautifully smooth, and then “blacked” the heels and the sole edges (above). This also camouflaged some stray small blobs of glue that were here and there, that I hadn’t managed to get off with turps. The very final step was to varnish the heels and soles, so they’re all nice and shiny and clean and, dare I say it? almost rtw looking?!
And done!!
sorry for the picture overload, but honestly; I’m so proud of those boots I could burst!
Details:
Boots; MADE BY ME!!!!!!!!
Jumper; Jo Sharp design and mohair, knitted by me, all details here
Skirt, Paprika patterns Jade skirt, in burgundy silk/cotton knit, details here
Tights; self-drafted, black poly stretch, details here, and my tutorial for making your own custom-fit tights pattern is here
Sienna is thrilled with my boots too; you can tell, yes? 😉
You are amazing, I’m in awe of all the sewing, shoes and now boots! Well done, you have every right to be proud of your achievements.
thank you so much Carmel G! I’m excited now to be moving on from “basic” shoes and I want to make some more interesting ones! 🙂
Congratulations on finishing your first pair of boots! I share your excitement! It’s been fun following your shoemaking journey and seeing how each pair has developed.
thanks so much Philippa! It’s been fun making the basics for everyday life, but now I want to make some more “fashionable” and interesting ones! 🙂
Amazing achievement and pretty damn fine looking boots
They’re amazing. They really do look like ready-to-wear. Don’t envy you all the hand sewing though!
thanks Catherine! I actually love hand-sewing, so it wasn’t too awful 🙂
Amazing!! Nothing you can’t do!!
thank you Vicki! xx 🙂
Amazing you! Well done on persisting to the end, because it was certainly worth it. The buckles top it all off!
Oh I want a pair, they look very RTW, the hardware additions and the fit. You deserve to be very proud of this make.
These look amazing. You are the master of proving that with time & hard work there isn’t anything in our wardrobes we can’t make ourselves!
Such tenacity and talent! Enjoy stomping through the winter in them
These boots are so cool! I love the silhouette and the belts are the little twist. I really admire your abilities and creativity!
You are so clever, these are so good. They don’t look at all handmade. In awe as always.
!!!!!! beautiful !!!
Get outta here! You make that? They look so RTW! I love you. I don’t think I’ll get around to making shoes & boots this lifetime. So it’s so satisfying to read about your shoe- & boot-making adventures. It’s as if I were making them myself! Thanks for the journeys
wow wow wow………….amazing…. and thats just hand stitching the hardwear(my fingers ached at the thought). fantastic finish! well wear
I’m really impressed. The hand-stitching close up is amazing – it is so neat and even! It’s hard to get stitches like that on fabric, much less through two layers of vinyl!
So you should be ready to burst. These are just terrific! You’re one clever lady.
I usually just lurk but had to jump in to comment as these are amazing! Agree that the hardware really sets them off.
thanks so much Dale! I loved them already but twice as much with the hardware! 🙂
Whoah! These are amazing! You’ve got mad skillz, lady!
Wow Carolyn! These are amazing. Your journey has been so inspiring; I can’t get over how each time I wrap my head around what you’ve achieved, you manage to take it up to the next level – or in this case, 2 or 3 levels! Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience along the way.
I’m so pleased that you found hardware which finished off your boots perfectly. These are an epic effort which has paid off with stunning results.
There is nothing you can’t do! And your whole outfit is on point!
Absolutely amazing!
These are amazing! Great finish!
thank you very much!
I can’t belive it !!! You’re a enchantress !!!
It’s difficult to appreciate the enormous effort that goes into each pair of your shoes, but this post gives a good idea of it. Amazing! The hardware worked out so well and they look fantastic. I bet you were pleased to snuggle your feet into them today.
I have been in awe of the things you’ve done for the last few years. Now I am totally stunned!
thank you very much Gert! 🙂
Fantastic. exactly what you would want in a pair of very cool winter boots. I LOVE them.
Caroline what an amazing pair of boots! I was wondering how you’ll ever allow yourself to actually wear them out but then of course you can always fix them yourself! Boots for life 🙂 Love them and your skirt too – I didn’t know you could even buy “cotton/silk” knit. I will have to investigate that!
thanks Kathleen! I bought the silk/cotton knit from KnitWit in Perth, I think they do mail order and send out swatches, if you wish to get some for yourself 🙂
You never cease to amaze me! What an amazing pair of boots!
YAY! winter boots. I hope they love ya back, they are fantastic. Jo x
Well done! Thanks for all of the pics to show the amazingness of them. : )
thank you Brenda! xx:)
What an achievement! These are really good boots – I was glad of the picture “overload”. I just wanted to keep looking at them.
You are an inspiration! Beautiful boots.
thank you very much Daisy! 🙂
Those are amazing. They look store bought. Great job. 🙂
thank you!
That is seriously the most impressive thing I’ve ever seen from a home sewist. No joke.
thank you very much Becky! I’m happy that I have my “basics” covered now, and am excited to be able to move on to some more “interesting” styles in footwear next 🙂
These look fantastic! I am such a boot person and nothing beats a black pair of boots!
Omigosh! These are definitely definitely fabulous!
You should be thrilled with yourself. I wouldn’t know where to start! These are amazing.
Well you are certainly set now with your winter footwear. These boots are all sorts of awesome. So interesting to see the process behind their creation too.
You are too talented and making us all feel inadequate! I can’t believe how great these boots are. If you want to come East to run a workshop, I reckon I could gather a paying crowd.
thanks Gail! You actually have some really terrific shoemaking workshops already running i Sydney… like Andrew McDonald, and also at School of Footwear. If I lived over there I’d be signing up like a shot!
Mind blown. What a fascinating process..thanks for sharing it!! They look awesome!
All I can say is WOW!
Carolyn, you should be so proud of yourself. Always look forward to see what you are doing.
thank you so much Lois :)xx
You should be proud, those boots look amazing. Noone would guess that you’ve made them! With your own hands! Your shie making skills have improved so much and it is a lot of fun watching the progress! So thank you for sharing Carolyn! Have I mentioned that those boots are awesome? They truly are!
Very inspiring work! Pretty boots and really love the details. You are awesome Carolyn 🙂
AWESOME!!! I’ve been waiting to read about your boots and ‘life’ kicks in and I’m late to the party…. but oh my goodness, what a fantastic job you’ve done and all your hard work looks so perfect and so wearable. Wondered how you might construct the bottom for comfort, and sounds like you figured out that part of the puzzle well. Love, love the ‘buckles’ you chose and overall simply adore your new boots! You should be ever so proud of yourself!!!! Congratulations!!!! 🙂
Wow, those look amazing! I love the little straps & hardware, and they’re hardly distinguishable from rtw. So cool. 🙂
These are fantastic!! I dream one day of making boots which will fit my narrow calves, but for now I’ll dream and be inspired by your blog.
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