Easy Renaissance Fair Boots - PART ONE

I know a lot of people that go to the renaissance fair don't want to pay a boatload of money for genuine leather boots, so here is my cheaper alternative that hopefully doesn't take to long. :)

Materials:
1 pair of old boots or shoes
Cutting Materials (Scissors, Seam Ripper, X-acto knife)
Synthetic Suede, Leather, or Fur Fabric
Sewing Machine
Needle and Thread
Elastic
and unless you have a good eye for shapes and sizes, I used pieces from Buttericks B5223 pattern

Step One:

Start with a pair of old boots.  Note where they are stitched together and how the sole is attached.  Many soles are glued on, but if you have flips flops or sandals, they might be stitched on.  Think about how you want the end product to look and think about which pieces might be useful to keep.

Step Two: 

Now using the cutting materials start deconstructing the boots/shoes.  I started with the bottom and worked my way up.  I left the lining of the boot intact for comfort, and I also left the leather around the sole intact for shaping purposes.  Everything else though, can go.  I used the seam ripper for most of the pieces, and scissors for trimming away unneeded areas.

Step Three:

Because my shoes were leather and very hot to wear I made new tongues for the boots out of a lighter material.  I just traced the old tongue on the fabric and cut out two pieces (one for each shoe).  Then I took the tongue apart (setting the leather aside and keeping the lining and the foam insert) and sewed the new fabric onto the old tongue (make sure you sew the lining FACING the outer part of the new fabric, and then place the foam insert on top and leave a little space so that when done, you can turn the whole thing inside out). 
I then sewed the tongue back onto the shoe in the original position and sewed the front part shut so that I wouldn't need laces. 

I then also added a small piece of elastic to the top of the boot and sewed it in place so that the boot didn't feel like it was going to fall off when I was walking around in it.  Very helpful.

Step Four:
For this part I cut out three pieces of the pattern from Butterick for their boots.  The two back pieces, and the piece that covers the top of the foot.  I sewed them together as per directions in the pattern set.  I then also cut out a long strip of fabric about one and a half inches wide and sewed it to the bottom of the piece (as you can see in the photo)  this piece helps cover the sole of the shoe and also keeps the rest of the fabric in place.  If you don't have the pattern, you can make your own pattern I'm sure by tracing around your foot and making measurements as to how tall you want the boot. 

Then place the piece you just made over top of the modified boot and voila, we are getting somewhere.

PART TWO will be posted later this week