CREATIVE // Homemade Boot Laces

 Home Made Boot Laces

I absolutely loved my friend Charlotte's boots when I saw that she had purchased some handmade boot laces off Etsy. This was nearly 2 years ago, when I first got my Grenson boots. It coincided with her getting hers and we both were so happy with them. Seeing Charlotte's boots dressed up with her own personal touch really made me want to try it out. After all this time has now passed, I finally got on and brought the one tool I needed to be able to make my own boot laces and here we are. 

There are loads of tutorials online about making your own shoe laces, before you start any though there is this one particular tool that can help you get a professional finish; the loop turner. This little contraption is a long, thin hook which enables you to turn tubes or thin ties the right way round after sewing them inside out, to give you a smart finish. It is so useful for all sorts of little projects where you need to turn thinner items inside out. Its much easier than my go to method; the classic biro. Anyway, that's a lot of chat on a tool which I don’t really know the name of, I wanted to get it out there though because makng these laces was only made possible by it. 

How To Make Boot Laces

I had a lovely scrap of Liberty Tanna Lawn fabric left from previous projects, and with it not being too wide, but very long it was really perfect for lace making. 

I pressed the fabric until it was smooth and cut inch wide strips, the length of the fabric. Mine happen to be just over a metre which was plenty for my boots. I suggest measuring laces that are already in your shoes to get the perfect length for you. 

Having cut 2 lengths I then folded them in half, longways, with the right sides together, so that the clear print was on the inside. Instead of using an iron I actually used my hair straighteners. This was because they were so small and fiddly, I found them so easy to hold and press between the two iron plates. 

Once pressed in half I did a simple straight line stitch up the whole side on my Juki DX7. Do not sew across the ends though, this is where we will be turning the fabric so that the print is the right way round. 

Once sewn you will need to grab your turning loop tool. I would first watch this super short tutorial which really clearly shows you what to do. 

Thread the lace onto the turning tool all the way to the end and hook the small hook onto the end of the fabric. This is so fiddly. My first lace took me 5 minutes to do, my second took nearly half an hour! The hook should just catch on the fabric. Once hooked, you pull the tool out of the lace, so that the fabric turns in on itself and becomes the right way round (this was the part that took me ages as it wouldn’t budge).

Once the lace is the right way round, press it flat again with an iron, or in my case, hair straighteners, then sew up the open ends of the lace. As it is small you might find hand stitching is easier.

Now re-lace your boots!

I am not going to lie when I say, some parts of this simple project are really fiddly. But the satisfaction you get once you look down at them on your feet really outweighs the fussy parts!