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Materials
Materials
An old fur coat, a sheepskin or 1.5 metres of the good fake fur. Don't be tempted to get the cheapo stuff that's usually about £3 a metre - you don't need very much and the crappy stuff will become unwearably awful after a weekend, or sooner if it's wet. You often find the better stuff in with bridal fabrics. But a fur coat is much better.
Thread
Scrap material or leather thonging
Before we start, look at the three pieces on the left. They are a sole (1) an upper (2) and a leg bit (3).
The picture below shows them assembled, with the sole attached to the upper by the green seam to complete the foot piece, and the completed foot piece attached to the leg bit with the red seam. Finally, the leg bit is closed with the blue seam.
Got it? Ok, let's give it a go.
Lay your fur fabric out furry side down. Draw round your foot with a marker, leaving a lot more room than you think you'll need - at least half an inch on each side, and more to be safe if you're using real fur or sheepskin. Now add another half inch. Really. Too big is not a problem. Too small is a disaster. Cut this piece out.
Lay it furry side up on your furry side down fabric, and draw around it. Mark on this piece where the top of your foot starts to rise towards your ankle (there's a bone if you have skinny feet). Draw a smooth curve from one side to the other, and cut it out as shown.
Place those two pieces furry side to furry side as shown, and sew around the curve at the top. Turn it inside to check it fits - voila! You have made a furry moccasin.
With the moccasin inside out, find the centre of the back of the heel. This is the point you will start sewing from, all the way around the top of the foot and back.
Take your leg piece and measure 1 1/2 inches down the edge you're going to sew (this is the long edge). Pin this point (right side to right side) to the point at the back of the heel of the moccasin.
Sew this edge all the way round the sole, then upper, then sole again until you reach the point you started. You should be left with a generous seam allowance at the back.
Sew it up.
Now make another one!
Turn your booties right-side out, and with scraps of fabric or leather, lace them up.
If they are too big, you can carefully and incrementally tighten them by reseaming a bit smaller at the toe and back of leg. Trim off excess.
Now is the tricky bit. From the pictures of the bootie, you can see that we then need to attach a cylinder of fur from the back of your heel, around the foot to the upper, across the upper and back round to the heel. Measure round this circumference and add at least three inches, more if you have enough fabric. Then measure from the floor to how long you want the bootie to extend up your leg, and cut a rectangle out.
If you have Roman-type sandals or boots, they should expand to fit these cosy booties inside. These can even be used to cover non-IC shoes (just draw around your shod foot) but they will wear out fairly quickly.
(If using sheepskin, we recommend making them the same way but wearing them with the leathery side and seams on the outside.)
We also strongly recommend getting a pair of sealskinz, goretex bootliners or other waterproof socks to wear underneath to protect your tootsies from the elements.
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