Store your boots well – padded and protected!
I have been making boot fillers from my fabric stash, and they are great! I also keep an unfinished one by my sewing machine when doing other projects to use as a scrap and thread bin until it is full and ready to close up. I’m making long boot inserts but you can also make them shorter and they would be great for shorter and longer boot. It’s important to support boots at the ankle so they don’t fold into themselves.
I love boots! I have quite a few and for a long time I’ve kept them stuffed with paper or bubble wrap to keep their shape.
On a side note, I’ve been obsesssed with a certain pair of Nero Giardini brown boots for years and when my beloved pair split at the soles I went searching for any other identical pair… even though the model would be around 10 years old now! Guess what!? I found them on Vinted…I bought a used pair (really hardly used) and was delighted, but two unfortunately things happened…
….When they arrived, they came in their original box and with the original rolled up card inside that supposedly should keep them in shape. Being card is was folded flat and the leather had taken on a clean fold down the front. Ok, not the end of the world – and I would start storing them with a dedicated boot insert… but oh no…first use and the soles split on these too. Being hopelessly in love with these I found another pair on Vinted, hardly used…but I’m sad to say everything just said happend again. I spoke to a cobbler and they took a good look at the boots and with a sad and supportive face told me that they make these soles with a composite material that breaks down over time and there’s nothing that can be done. It just basically biodegrades in front of your eyes (I left a nice mess around my office desk the last time I wore them out).
After a shortage of bubble-wrap I realised it would be super useful to have something easier to use and made to measure. Fabric boot inserts are also washable!!!
What you need:
- Any old fabric
- Needle and thread (machine is quicker!)
- Scrap fabric / cushion filler to stuff
What to do:
- Lay one boot over two layers of fabric
- Draw around the boot
- Cut out the form and chop of the toes (the fillers are most important up to the ankles)
- Sew ’em up!
Tip: If you’re using fabric scraps like me, make sure to compact the bits enough before closing up, otherwise it might settle later and leave some slack (no big deal really though!).
To close them you can just sew across the top, or, as in some I’ve done, add a circle of fabric to keep the round shape. I save time on these by doing this with visible stitching – they’re just for me, but you can do them way better! I also use the fabric that has been hanging around so long and I just don’t know what it will be good for.
You can also make these for friends and family and cute them up as gifts, adding bows and frills if you like. I think any girl with a pair of boots can put them to good use. Fill them up with anything that you like!
