DIY Faux Fur Boot Cuffs

 

Lucy & Ethel were definite trendsetters in Paris & this is by far, one of my favorite episodes:)  I love Lucy's pouty lips and aloof expression as she struts down the avenue with her new hat aka horse feed bag!  And Ethel's ruffled potato sack and champagne bucket hat are priceless!

So, one of the trends appearing all over are boots with fur cuffs- they've been growing on me, alas the price tags are not (especially for something so permanent)...

...enter DIY faux fur cuffs!

These were fun & relatively quick- I say relatively as it will depend on the faux fur you choose.  Something closer to a shearling won't fray much- my fur was molting quite badly thus I added some extra hand stitching so I wouldn't leave a trail wherever I walked!

I loosely followed this tutorial with, of course, a few tweaks & added the hemming with bias tape step from this tutorial:)

• I didn't have any freezer paper for tracing my pattern so I used wax paper (not ideal!).
• I hand sewed the hems (lengthwise) on each cuff due to the molting factor- really glad I took the time!

As usual, I was working on this at night while watching a Christmas movie, hence my tired & messy hand stitching- it won't show though, so no matter.  I didn't even have appropriate bias/hem tape on hand- oh well.  No one will know...except you:)

And here they are!  My DIY faux fur boot cuffs, transforming a very old & tired pair of boots into something 'new' & 'trendy'!  Too fun!

Let me know if you have any questions & let me know if you try this too:)
Tiffany

DIY Shoe Reashion

Yeah!  I just completed my first shoe refashion & I'm so excited- it worked!

I was inspired by this DIY post and after finding the perfect pair of heels at Goodwill over Thanksgiving weekend, I couldn't wait to try this out!

I've been wanting some 'low & pointy' heels for a while...who knew they were orphaned & waiting for me at Goodwill?  And they weren't even paired...I had just about given up hope when I finally spotted the 'twin' across the store!

The shoes were exactly the style I was wanting & in good shape on the outside, however, they were looking a bit fatigued around the inner seam...

...and wanted to prolong their life for as long as feasibly possible, a plan of rebirth was hatched:)

So, heels in tow, I purchased some bias tape to achieve a more neutral & monochromatic look as opposed to the inspiration pair.  I went with khaki bias tape which should work well year round:)

I followed the tutorial (it's great!) with just a few tweaks:

• I used 1/2 inch bias tape only vs 1/4 + 1/2 inch- there had obviously been a run on the 1/4 inch khaki bias tape, leaving me with no other option!
• I made my bow a bit smaller based on scale 

Tip: less is WAY more with fabric glue.  I'm no connoisseur of fabric glue but mine seems to be a bit gloppy and so I ended up with my first shoe resembling the above, and then promptly redid it!

 I found that a light smear of glue was all the bias tape could handle before leaking through to the other side...patience...breathe...

Ha!  That's a laugh!  I got a bit antsy as I was trying to get this finished before tucking Livy into bed so there are a few little spots of glue peeking through- hoping they'll dry completely????

 Also, I found using my handy dandy little clip magnets made clamping my bows a breeze!

Snapping pics at night- pardon the horrendous lighting!

 So in approx one hour, I had a brand new pair of shoes!  And it really was pretty easy:)

Refashion Cost:
Shoes- $7.99
Bias Tape- $2.29
Glue- free (already had it in my growing stash!)

Total cost= $10.28!!!  And what I love most is that these are unique and I won't feel badly about replacing them a ways down the road:)

Thanks for stopping by,
Tiffany