reconstructed boots

(Moved from my old account. Crossposted on Craftster.org.)

Man, these boots took me SO DAMN LONG. But they're pretty!

Process:
1) Materials:
- shoes
(I used an old pair of cheap Doc Marten knockoffs. After this, I'd recommend picking something without laces. Save yourself the torment.)
- your chosen fabric
(Mine is a rayon/poly brocade. It was kind of a bitch to work with because it frayed like hell even when it was cut on the bias. Whatever you choose, make sure it's not too stretchy and stick with weaves instead of knits.)
- fabric glue
(Any glue that's waterproof, flexible, and dries clear will probably do. I used Elmer's Craft Bond Fabric & Paper glue. Aleene's makes decent fabric glues as well.)
- scissors
- straight pins / clothespins
- scrap fabric
-tailor's chalk or similar marking tool
- optional: fabric protectant (Scotchgard, for example)
- optional: details
(I have satin cord, quilt binding, ribbon, and Chinese button fastenings on mine.)

2) Patterns
Grab some scrap fabric (old t-shirts, muslin, etc.) and trace the various sections of the first shoe to make patterns. Figure out how the fabric will lie across the surface; it may require slitting and overlapping, particularly around rounded toes and heels. Look at the closeup of the toe to see an example of this.

The patterns will work for the other shoes when reversed.

3) Trace your pattern pieces onto your fabric with tailor's chalk, pastel pencil, anything that you can dust off later. Leave yourself a little room for error in case your pattern pieces are a little off.

Try to cut on the bias (with the weave running diagonally instead of up-and-down), since this makes the fabric a little stretchy and less prone to fraying.

4) Spread the glue on each section and lay your pieces down. Make sure any air bubbles or loose edges are smoothed out.
You can use straight pins or clothespins to hold the fabric in place while it dries if you need to.

If you have overlapping sections, like where the toe cap meets the foot, do the underlying sections first.

5) Details: Ribbon, cord, buttons, small taxidermied rodents, whatever. Aleene's makes several different kinds of fabric glue, one of which is intended for glass or plastic embellishments in particular. I just used the same glue I had, and nothing's fallen off yet.

I held the satin cord and the thin ribbon in place with straight pins, and the quilt binding and button loops with clothespins, while the glue dried.

I also melted the ends of the ribbon (and the edges of some of the fabric, for that matter) to keep them from unraveling. Make sure you have a nylon, polyester, or rayon fabric or ribbon, and hold the match a bit away from the target, or I won't be responsible for your project catching on fire.

6) If desired, spray your shoes with the fabric protectant to keep off water or dirt. Test it on a scrap of fabric to make sure it doesn't mess it up.