What You Need:
- one cowboy boot
- waxed linen thread (~70” long)
- scratch awl
- stitching awl
- cutting mat
- ruler
- scissors
- rotary cutter
- seam ripper
- 2 craft needles (~2 3/8” long)
*Many of these items are available from your local craft store.
Time: ~ 2 hours (plus overnight drying time)
1. Cut the top part of the boot off.
2. Wash the top part of the boot with dish soap.
3. Hang to dry overnight.
4. Use a seam ripper to remove the pull straps.
5. Cut up along the side piping.
6. Remove the piping strip.
7. The disassembled boot should look like this
8. Use the ruler and rotary cutter to cut a 4” by 6” rectangle out of the front piece of the boot. Start with a horizontal cut just above the vamp.
9. Use the ruler and rotary cutter to cut a 2” by 4” rectangle out of the back piece of the boot.
10. The three pieces should look like this.
11. Use the scratch awl to mark a dot every 1/4” all the way around the larger (4” by 6”) piece. Your dots should be 1/8” in from the edge.
12. Mark dots, in a similar fashion, along three sides of the smaller (2” by 4”) pieces.
13. Pierce the dots with a piercing awl. Tip: put the leather on an old phone book to allow the piercing awl to go through the leather easier
14. The most common way to sew leather is saddle stitching. To start, thread a needle on both ends of a 70” piece of thread.
15. Line up the large leather piece with one of the pocket pieces and insert a needle four holes in from pocket’s edge.
16. Pull the thread through the hole so you have equal lengths of thread on each side.
17. Insert the needle in the next hole and pull through the hole.
18. Insert the other needle into the same hole and pull through the hole.
19. Pull each strand tight to set stitch. You should now have equal lengths of thread on either side of the leather.
20. Continue stitching all the way around, making sure to attach the other pocket when you get to the other side
22. Tie the two strands with 2-3 overhand knots and cut the excess threads.
23. There you have it! Enjoy!
