SewCatSew

Hello folks I'm so happy to be guest posting here in Melissa's world!  I'm Wendi from SewCatSew Creations.  I love to sew (did the name give me away?), craft, design and drink tea to excess.  I do a lot of hand sewing with felt, but also enjoy machine sewing for charity projects and home decor adventures.  Do stop by my space and say "hi"!  But now, let's get to the project I have for you...Quick 'n' Easy Boot Fillers.

I use these to store my good boots over the winter, but also between day-to-day wearings to keep them from drooping and wrinkling.  They take less than an hour to make and only require a few supplies that you likely have on hand.

For today's tutorial I used a piece of flannel that I bought on a whim from the remnant bin, bamboo batting, a piece of ribbon and basic sewing supplies.



First cut out 2 rectangles 22 inches by 10 inches from your fabric.  Fold each length-wise, right sides together and pin.

 

Next you'll sew along one 'short' end and along the long side across from the fold leaving one 'short' end open.  I used a 1/2 inch seam allowance, but precision is not important in this project (bonus!).  Repeat for your other piece of fabric.



Now, turn both rectangles right side out so you have a sort of long, skinny pillow case.



Next up is the batting - I simply rolled out a "log" of batting to the approximate size of my case and cut it off the roll.  I didn't even unfold it from it's original shape out of the package.  Easy peasy!



Stuff the batting into the case.  If you find it's a bit bigger than you need, simply unroll and roll tighter and smaller.  If you didn't get enough from you first cut, just wrap another thickness around to enlarge.  Once the tubes are stuffed, all you need to do is finish them.  I like to pull the bottom sewn corners together and tack them with a few hand stitches for a neater look, but if you're just interested in function, you can skip this step.



To finish the open end, roll the raw edges down into the tube until they meet the batting.



Next, take about 15 inches of your ribbon and tie a nice tight knot and bow around the 'neck' right at the top of the batting.

 

And that's it you're done!  Slide your new fillers into your boots bow side up and smile at how tall and proud your slumpy boots stand and how easy it was to give them a pick-me-up!

I hope you enjoyed this quick and useful project.  Thank you again for inviting me to your blog, Melissa!   Have a great weekend everyone!