diy boots to ankle booties transformation inspired by "isabel marant's dicker boots" & "ld tuttle's cuffed ankle boots"

i've been looking for a new pair of ankle boots/booties since my last pair went kerplunk on me.  i had them for 5 years and yes, completely wore them out :/  so much so that the poor leather thinned out.  needless to say, i couldn't save them like i usually can with some cobbler love.  i remembered that i had a pair of old boots that were in my pile of "pretty sure i gotta get rid of it soon", and so i pulled them out and pondered what i could do with them, if anything.  after some glue, scissors, and sewing, i churned these babies out ... and i can say that i've worn them once twice already and like them much better than their before version.  plus, they're much easier to slip in and out of & i can wear these in warmer weather as my calves won't be getting so warm.

my refashion diy version

isabel marant dicker boots (photo credits to polyvore.com) $655.00

ld tuttle's cuffed leather ankle boot (photo credits to net-a-porter.com) $615.00

materials needed

1. old leather boots / calve length or knee length would work
2. scissors
3. e 600 glue $4 a tube
4. 30-45 minutes
5. sewing machine or needle & thread (optional)

directions

grab some old boots or find some used ones even?

i measured mine at 6 inches because that's where i want them to sit at the fold.  you can cut yours down more if you like them to sit lower.

at this point you can use the e 600 glue to glue the parts of the leather to fabric together.  i chose to sew initially but i think you can just as easily glue it.

this is just to keep the parts from sliding around when you're wearing it.  that would be annoying.

flip it inside out, then cut the bottom part off leaving about 2 inches and then flip back out

place the cuff over the boot with closed seam side down and measure where you'd like the cuffed part to sit.  then hold the boot and pinch to measure how much you'll need to cut off (because this part is wider as it used to sit where your calves were)

see how much you'll have to cut and with some scissors snip.  you can use some tape to stick on the leather for measuring in case you're not confident about where you marked.

then take flip the leather inside out again and with both shiny sides facing each other, sew.  then flip inside out and you should get something like this. put the cuff over the boot.

then fold the raw edges inside.

almost done.

then flip the cuff up and adhere e-600 glue to the 2 inch flap you left when cutting earlier.

go all the way around the inside with glue.  use your fingers to hold the glue to the leather to make sure it sticks properly.

then fold the flap back over the boot.

pull up some of the raw edges and start placing glue under and press with your fingers.  go around the entire boot and place glue under the raw edges and press until you're all the way around.  you want to do this so that the raw edges don't pop up when you're wearing them and walking around.  plus, this makes it easier to slip in and out of without having to tuck the top back in.

after all that gluing, you're left with a new refashioned pair of booties!

i hope you enjoyed this tutorial!

jen