Knitted Boots with Bellini!

February 22nd, 2013 by Devin

I was immediately attracted to the Bellini yarn when we were given a few skeins to play with in the office. The bold texture appealed to me since I love making a statement with my style. I imagined knitting with the cushy fringe between my fingers and knew I had to work with it. As I was pondering what I would make with it, it occurred to me that the Turin colorway looked a lot like fur. What kind of accessory could I make that would be different and would lend itself to the the fur-like texture? Then it hit me – I should make boots!

How I Made Knitted Boots Step-by-Step

1. I got to work doing some research online and found a supplier on ebay that sold rubber soles.
2. learned that the adhesive used on soles binds the best with leather. For this reason I made the foot of the boots in leather and punched holes around the top edge so that the knitted piece could be sewn to it later by hand.
3. After a lot of thinking and measuring, I recalled the pattern-making skills that I learned in college and created pattern pieces for the lining.
4. I cut the lining out of fleece and cut a few corresponding pieces of batting.
5. Once I had sewn the lining together, I tacked the batting to the lining so that the boots would have some structure and to add extra warmth.
6. All that was left was to put all the pieces together and adhere the soles with Shoe Goo.
7. 48 hours of impatient waiting later, my boots were ready to wear!

They were super warm and so much fun to wear! I liked how the thick fringe made the boots look so over-sized and made my little legs look so tiny. I wore them them to a fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week and was stopped repeatedly as the fashionistas admired my unique footwear. I believe that you should have fun with fashion and wearing these Bellini boots definitely put a smile on my face!