My boot collection is made up of some pretty well-loved boots - so well-loved, they're usually falling over in the corner of my closet and making it super easy for dust and spiderwebs to accumulate during the warmer months when they're on vacation :) Speaking of vacation, after finding some old pool noodles in the barn while getting pool stuff reorganized, I realized they would be the perfect solution to this dilemma if they were cleaned up and covered up!
what you will need -
- pool noodles - These were 48" long. You'll have to determine the length you want the inserts to be to figure out how many you'll need - I ended up using three. 16" was a good length for my taller boots, which worked out nicely because you can get three pieces out of one noodle without any scraps!
- fabric to make the covers - For one cover, you'll need a piece with a width equal to the circumference + 3/4" [3/8" SA] and a height equal to the length of the cut piece of noodle + 4 1/2" for SA and drawstring channel, so for my 16" inserts, I used a 8 1/4" wide [7 1/2" circumference + 3/4"] by 20 1/2" piece of fabric.
- ribbon - can be whatever width you prefer; I used 1/8" because that's the first thing I found in my stash that matched :)
- measuring tape, scissors/x-acto knife, sharpie, pins, sewing machine
First things first, you'll have to cut down your noodle pieces to the desired length. I stuck them down into my boots and marked the top on the noodle, then measured it to get a general idea of the length. Tall boots were all around 16", the cowboy boots were 13", and the grey slouchy boots in dire need of some polish were 10". Once the length is determined, use your measuring tape to mark the length several places around the noodle.
Wrap your measuring tape around the noodle, connecting all the dots, then use your sharpie to draw a guide line connecting them all.
Cut along the line with your x-acto knife.
Now that we've got all the noodles cut out, we can start on our covers. Cut out a piece big enough for your noodle based on your measurements. I cheated a little bit because I used old sheets, so my channel for the ribbon was already sewn for me :D If you aren't that lazy [lucky?!], you'll need to sew one on one of the short sides. Press fabric over 1/8", then fold down another 1/2" and press again. Pin in place and sew along the fold.
After you've sewn the channel, fold the fabric in half with the right sides facing each other and the long edges are together. Pin and sew around the edge all the way up to where the drawstring channel starts. You'll need to fold the raw edges of the channel in about 1/4", press, and then sew along the bottom to secure them.
Cut the remaining raw edges with pinking shears to finish them.
Next, cut 14" of ribbon and thread it through the channel using a safety pin to speed things along.
Pull the ribbon taut to close the top and tie to secure.
One finished tree!
So much better! I don't think I've ever seen those grey boots standing up that tall when they aren't on my feet. Lookin' sharp there :)
And the nice thing about the drawstring top is that when they get gross and stinky, as they inevitably will, you can just take them off the noodle and throw them in the wash!
