Boot Buddy - Fabric Boot Form Tutorial

I may or may not have a boot obsession.

I have a lot of them. 

My husband can't seem to understand why in the world I would need more than 1 pair of brown boots. Bless his heart...

He also couldn't understand the absolute mess that they made it our closet.  I agree, see for yourself!

I know, so scary. They flop around all over the place, look a mess, get lost, and sadly there were even getting folds and cracking! *gasp*

I tried everything to find a better boot storage solution: 

Laying them down, 

squishing them together,

putting them under the bed (that's how you lose a pair ladies),

and if you look closely at the picture you can see that I even tried using hangers to form them. 

No good. 

But then I had one of those "Ahah" moments!

Why not make something that resembles the shape of a leg to hold them up? 

BINGO!

     Here's what you'll need:

 *  Strips of fabric that are appox 5"x 32" -give or take a bit

(You could take a 1/4 yard cut of fabric and cut it in half)

*sewing machine

*stuffing

Let's get started.

 1. First I trimmed my fabric scraps (yes, I totally used scraps) to the right length and width.  They don't have to be exact.  In fact, some of mine were wider and taller than others, and they still totally worked. I wouldn't recommend using fabric that is less than 4.5" wide, it will be way too hard to stuff.

 2. Fold your fabric piece like the picture above, right sides together, so it is approximately 5"x16". (One of my ends has a fold, but yours doesn't have to, you can cut it into two 5"x16" strips if you like)

3. Now, starting at one end, sew down the long side of the form, just a basic stitch.  You will want to leave one of the ends open for stuffing. Then sew down the other long side.
MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE AN END OPEN FOR STUFFING!

 4. Turn your form right sides out, and start stuffing.  You can use anything you want:

Plastic bags

batting

fabric scraps

old t shirts

whatever!

Plastic bags were definitely the easiest to stuff inside and move around.  I would suggest using them. 

But I did use a little bit of everything. 

 5.  Once your form is stuffed to your satisfactory, you need to sew up the end.
 Fold the unfinished edges inside, and shove it under your machine.

Like this...

 The sewn up end will look like this. Not the prettiest, but I'm not too picky. 

How long did that take you....4 minutes? 

I guarantee the next one will only take 3.

So make a bunch!!!!

They looked so cute it was hard to hide them inside the boots.

 This pair of boots was my worst offender for floppiness. 

And now look at them! Standing so tall!

 My closet looks much better, don't ya agree?

My husband was happy, I am happy, and I'm sure my boots are smiling too!

So go ahead, make some boot forms and get happy!

This is a great tutorial for beginner sewing.  Quick, easy, and fun to make!

New Fabric Friday

It has been a VERY BUSY week over here!

We are starting out February with a BANG!

Lot's of beautiful prints have arrived and I am so excited to share them with you this fabulous Friday!

New from Dear Stella

Piper

Words cannot describe how gorgeous this collection is!

New from Moda

Posy by Aneela Hoey

 Ladies, it is ALL about the mints and corals these days.

 

In fact, I happen to be OBSESSED with these colors right now!

 Throw in some Lavendar and you are set for Spring!  I am making my girls' Easter Dresses out of this collection and can't wait to get started on them! 

(I realize the Mint Stripe and Mint Cirlces are missing from the photo, they are due to arrive next week, *squeal*)

How cute would a Spring Quilt be out of these Precut 5" Squares?

 

 New from Riley Blake Designs

Little Matryoshka

Be still my heart....I LOVE this collection.

The aqua and purple combo is delish!

We also have in the 10" Squares and the 5" Squares!

 Restocks this week

This little beauty from The Sweetest Thing Collection is back in stock!

As well as these 3 awesome Chevron Prints!  Get them while the're hot, they won't last long!

Minky Quilts

With the hustle and bustle of the Holidays, and then the fabulous round of sickness we had over here, I totally forgot to show you all the quilts I made my kids for Christmas!

I decided to bust out these quilts towards the first of December. 

And I didn't finish them until Christmas Eve! 

I seem to have a time management issue. Even still, they turned out just as I wanted. 

I let each of them pick their fabric collection, but I didn't tell them what it was for.

Brooke chose "Happily Ever After" and Jack chose "Rev 'Em Up" 

Two fabulous choices if I do say so myself.   

I might have steered them the right way.....there is no harm in a little persuasion :) 

Out of the two, I have to say that the "Princess Blankie" is my fave!

And it was 100% the hardest!  Sewing with minky can be a challenge in and of itself, but add in a little Satin Bias Tape and try to ruffle it in between the layers......and there might have been some cursing. 

Totally worth it!

 (Check out that squiggly sewing job around the edges!  No one is perfect, right?)

My little buddy's "Fire Blankie"  was everything he ever dreamed of. 

I didn't quilt either quilt, in fact, I tied them.

If you look closely you can see little tiny ties.  I didn't want the quilting to take away from the soft and snuggliness of the minky back. 

His was quite a bit easier to finish.  I just rolled the minky from the back onto the front and stitched it down.  No cursing here, and it turned out great. 

 They didn't mind snuggling right up to their blankies!

Maybe I need a minky blankie.....

And don't you worry....I didn't forget about this little tootie!

(never mind the blurry Christmas morning phone pic)

Since she got THIS new blankie for her Birthday last Summer, I decided to make her something else.

 I used my left over minky pieces and made her a Taggy Owl.

 She absolutely LOVES to stick her fingers in the tags of things, so I filled this soft and squishy owl pillow with all sorts of loopy tags. 

I have already decided that if I ever want to make my kids handmade gifts for Christmas in the future, I will start in July.  1 month was just not enough time to make 3 handmade gifts!

Have a great weekend all!