Ribbed Boot Toppers Tutorial

Ribbed boot toppers tutorial

Select your colours –  the ribs need to be about 6-8 cm in width. You will need matching cotton as well, pins, scissors and sewing machine.

  Cut ribbing to length - to go around your calf with a 1.5 seam allowance. I cut them to 28 cm. This can always be trimmed later.

 

Start from the top:

The first rib folds back onto the boot topper. To do this you need to stitch the RIGHT side of the top colour to the RIGHT side of the second colour at the top edge

 

Make about a 1 cm overlap.

Make sure you are stitching the cut side of the rib - the other edge is like a selvage and won’t fray. 

Pin in place.

It will fold back like this.....

Zig zag across on the top colour (in this case red) and then....

turn over and zig zag the edge of the second colour (in this case pink). Now you have the top two colours. 

 

The third colour (here it is aqua) is placed underneath the second (pink). The stitching is hidden under the overlap of the first colour (red in the photo). 
Make sure you place it where the top fold back will cover the stitching. 

  Pin the right side of the third colour to the wrong side of the second. You can pin away from your stitch line so the pins can stay in as you sew.Zig zag on the wrong side along the edge of the third colour (in this case aqua). 

  I like to use a cotton colour that matches the colour you are sewing to (in this case pink)just in case the stitches can be seen.

Continue on until you have as many colours as you like – I do about six for children’s legwarmers and 3-5 for boot toppers.

Again, make sure the new colour is attached where the over lap of the colours before will hide the stitching.

Make sure when you are sewing on

a new colour you fold up the colour overlap before you sew.

This is how the right
side looks....

Wrong side above and right side below....

Fold back the top cuff (in the photo it’s the red)and pin all the overlaps in place. Stitch down each side with a zig zag.

Then Fold right  sides together and pin. Make sure the stripes 

line up.

Press the seams...and I hand stitch the top and bottom edge of the seam in place.....

 (You could just overlock it together and skip the last few steps but I like a flat seam.)

NOTE: The worse thing about these is changing your cotton and bobbin colour. If you make them tonal you can find one colour that suits all the colours. Phew!

See more of the toppers here...