Weekly Update: Moccasin Boots

So I'm going to try to write a little each week on what I am working on, and any insights I may have gained.

For the past week and a half or so, my husband has been obsessed with the idea of having a pair of moccasin style boots, so that is my project for the week.

I decided to be smart this time, making several prototypes before messing around with the actual leather. This seems obvious, but sometimes I forget such things.

Here is a later version of the boots. :)

Anyhow, I had the inspiration to go to our Salvation Army to search for prototype supplies. I was originally thinking of purchasing a couple of giant sized jeans (giant to maximize yardage) to get some cheap denim to work with. I figured denim would be a fairly decent stand in for leather, since it is not too stretchy (like a knit might be), and not too thin. The leather I work with does have a bit of a stretch to it, but I figured denim would work okay.

However, when I got to Salvation Army I happened to make a quick pass through the bedding section searching for any old bed sheets that may work for a future sewing project, and I happened upon one of those polyester felt-like fitted sheets that people (I presume) use as an extra layer between their mattress and their pretty fitted sheet.

And guess what? It was selling for $1.99. It wouldn't fray and it was both thicker, and a slight bit stretchier than denim, very similar to the way the leather would work on the foot later.

So I walked out with maybe 3-4 yards of an ideal prototype material for only $1.99. Anyway, the picture above is a picture of version 2 of my prototype for the moccasin boots.

I highly recommend shopping second hand if you want to make a prototype for any project you may be facing, shoes, sewing or otherwise. Its usually super cheap, and lets you recycle as well.

I will make an update on this project next week to let you know how it turned out!