Look: these boots are very, very simple. Actually sewing them together is no problem once you’ve got it drafted.
It is, essentially, a sock. A sock with a fancy cuff, with a sole glued to the bottom. It is also zipper-free. You are going to make a sock that fits over a shoe, and you are going to use a knife to peel off the edges of the sole, tuck the fabric under, and then glue the soles back in place so you have a nice, clean edge.
You will need:
- Spandex fabric in whatever color you need.
- Extra spandex fabric with the same amount of stretch for drafting your pattern.
- Pattern paper.
- A pair of ballet flats (or whatever shoe type you need.) Make sure you get the right “shape”; Supergirl’s boots, for example, have a pointed toe, and look out for sole color; we usually just go with black because anything else will get dirty/paint will chip. You also want to find one with an easily removed sole; as a general rule, the cheaper the shoe, the easier time you’ll have with it. We usually spend about $5 tops on our flats, haha. If you’re trying to do heels, be very, very cautious; if you damage the structural integrity of the shoe, you might be in some trouble when you need to walk on them. You also want to make sure they are as basic as possible; remove any bows and whatever possible.
- An exacto knife.
- Hot glue
- Usual sewing implements; pins, scissors, rulers, whatever.
You can draft it yourself easily: take your scrap fabric and wrap it around your leg as I’ve pictured above in the pink, and pin it along the back. You want to make it snug, but not so snug that you can’t get your foot out of it either. POINT YOUR TOE WHILE YOU DO THIS. Additionally, wear the shoe while you pin it around your foot; it’ll need to fit over the shoe in the end anyway. Don’t worry about the bottom of your foot; it’s easier if you make the curve under your heel snug, and the front of your toes, but you’re not going to be closing off the bottom.
When you have it pinned neatly and evenly, trim the edges down. Leave enough excess for seam allowance along the back, and enough for tucking on the bottom. (Tucking into the sole, that is.) Take it off your foot and you should have some weird shape (like a mirrored version of the pattern I have pictured above.)
Now: if you trace that onto pattern paper and smooth out any raggedness you may have made in cutting, you have your basic pattern. Then all you have to do is alter the top of the pattern: a /\ point for Wonder Woman, a V for Supergirl, etc. Because we’re making Supergirl, here, you’ll want it to be in two pieces, as shown in the pattern above. Wherever you cut to change the design, be sure that you add seam allowance (as you can see on our bottom pattern.) Also make sure that the top edge of your sock is snug enough to your calf that you won’t have to constantly bend to fix them.
I’ve taken pictures of my and Christine’s patterns. Obviously, if you don’t want a seam down the front, you need to cut the fabric on a fold. You will need four of the top cuff and two of the “sock”; the top cuff is two-layered so it’s got a clean top!
Sew all the cuffs: in the last picture, that’s what they should look like. First, sew them all at the back seam. Then layer them together to sew the top seam, so that when you fold them right-side out, you have finished cuffs as pictured. Topstitch whatever you want.
Sew the sock’s back seam.
Sew the cuff to the sock. Be very careful about the corners, so that they are sharp. Again, topstitch whatever works.
Use the exacto-knife to separate the shoe from the sole. Don’t take the whole sole off — you don’t want to pop it out of alignment, or compromise TOO much of the shoe’s integrity. You just need enough opened that you can tuck the bottom edge of your sock into the space between.
Once your whole sock is finished, it’s time for the crazy part: put it on, with your shoe. Then, with the help of a friend or with the acknowledgement that your spine will hurt trying to do it to yourself, start putting the bottom edge of the sock under the edge of the sole, and gluing in place. We have found hot glue works best because it hardens/sets fast: anything else and you may be stuck sitting there wearing your shoes for HOURS trying not to ruin your work.
Now you have boots.
Go kick some supervillain ass, girl.
