How to decorate felt boots with your own hands

Traditional footwear since the times of Rus', felt boots have not attracted the attention of designers for a long time. And only in the 90s of the last century, famous Russian fashion designers gave a second life to this relic. It turned out that felt boots can look fashionable, beautiful and stylish. Let's tell you how this can be done.

Decorating felt boots with your own hands: possible options

After the return of fashion for Russian felt boots, ideas for decorating them were replenished with many new items. Schemes can be easily found on the Internet, and by adding your own imagination to them, you can get an elegant and stylish design to suit your taste.

What tools may be needed

There are two ways to attach an ornament to shoes: with glue or embroidery. Different finishing methods may require different auxiliary tools. Depending on the chosen method of fixing the picture, you will need:

• glue;
• brushes;
• paints;
• marker or felt-tip pen;
• threads and needles;
• iron.

IMPORTANT. For work, use only PVA glue.Superglue, as well as “MOMENT” and other similar varieties are not suitable.

The selection of threads is important; they must be in harmony with the shoes in color, composition and texture. Choose only high-quality threads, to avoid shedding, among synthetic and cotton varieties.

Possible materials for decoration

The choice of basis for future design is very extensive. It can be beads, rhinestones, lace, fur, satin ribbons, tinsel, sequins. As well as their various combinations that can transform your modest-looking shoes.

The selection of materials, as well as the creation of a beautiful pattern from them, depends only on your imagination.

How to decorate women's felt boots with your own hands

Not only fashion designers can transform the appearance of this simple product, each of us can do it. We'll tell you how to get a stylish and unusual model from your shoes.

Embroidery on felt boots

This method of decorating shoes is popular, since the products are made of soft wool, which is easy to apply designs to and attach various additions to.

The material for the ornament can be ribbons, sequins, beads and threads.

You can purchase ready-made embroidery kits in stores.

Choose a needle that is thick and durable, with a wide eye, to avoid breakage. You will also need scissors and chalk.

ON A NOTE. We do not recommend using acrylic threads - the fur layer of the product is too dense for them, and they may tear. The optimal choice would be floss.

The procedure for creating a drawing.

1. Use chalk to draw the outlines of the future ornament.
2. Then you attach the selected material to a needle and felt boots and embroider according to the pattern. When finished, trim off the excess tape and secure it to the shoes.Spray the finished pattern with a spray bottle and leave to dry (do not use a heating radiator for this).
3. If you want to get a harmonious ornament, then use sequins, beads, leather or fabric, they will perfectly complement your design.
4. Ornaments in the form of flowers and folk patterns will look great.

RECOMMENDATION. The edges of the shoes can be decorated with braid or wide ribbon, provided that they should be in harmony with the main pattern.

How to decorate felt boots with beads

Goes well with beads and other materials.

They need to be sewn on with strong synthetic thread or fishing line.

You should not choose voluminous jewelry, as it can create inconvenience by clinging to clothing.

Show your imagination by making a pattern of beads of different sizes and shades. The embroidered design will appeal to both an adult woman and a girl.

Beads for decorating felt boots

An unusual and bright ornament can be obtained using this material.

You will need nylon thread, embroidery thread (to match the shoes), needles with a thin eye, beads of different colors, transparent beads.

Mark the outlines of the drawing with chalk or soap. It will be difficult to sew each part separately, so to simplify the task, place the beads on one thread and place them on the marked contours of the pattern. Secure the thread with small stitches, then sew the beads tightly and without gaps. Don't forget to grab the wool layer. It is not necessary to pierce it, as the thickness of the boot can complicate the process. At the end of the work, correct any deviations from the pattern and fix the thread knot on the inside of the shoe.

ON A NOTE. Opt for a large pattern to make it stand out. Ideally, the image should fill the entire side surface of the product.

Decorating felt boots with ribbons

An easy and quick way to transform your shoes.

You will need scissors, a needle with a wide eye, thread, a knitting needle, and chalk.

Use chalk to outline the pattern of the ornament. You should embroider starting with larger parts and moving on to small elements.

Ribbon embroidery works well with backstitch or cross stitch. An option would be to use lacing, when it is sewn to felt boots, and then you pass a ribbon of rich colors through it. The lacing can be tied in the form of a beautiful bow.

REFERENCE. Tapes are an easily soiled surface and are therefore not suitable for everyday shoes.

Lace is in use

Choose a rough base, such as crocheted fabric, it goes well with felt boots.

The design will not take much of your time: iron the laces thoroughly and simply sew them to the inside of the shoes.

Depending on the height of the product, decorations are selected: narrow material is combined with low felt boots, wide - with high boots.

If desired, the ornament can be combined with beads.

We decorate felt boots with fur

Both artificial and natural bases are equally suitable for work. It is advisable to choose one with short pile; such decoration will not rub off and will last longer.

Additional elements of the design can be large leather buttons and voluminous laces.

The fur is stitched on both sides, make the joint either from the back or from the inside.

For little girls, the ideal option would be shoes with fur balls that bounce playfully when they move.

How to decorate children's felt boots with your own hands

You can experiment with decorations for children's shoes in any way you like: they can be cartoon or fairy-tale characters, spaceships, cars - and your child will have the joy of wearing such beautiful and bright felt boots.

Children's embroidery on felt boots

Young fashionistas will love patterns in the form of snowflakes or Christmas trees, flowers, butterflies, and stars. An excellent addition to the design will be embroidery with beads, small beads, sequins and multi-colored ribbons.

As an option, you can use various bows; girls love them very much. Suitable materials include ribbons, lace, and beautiful fabric. If desired, add rhinestones, bright stones, and beads of various sizes to the bows that are ready and attached to the shoes.

Embroidery using isothread technique

Since this embroidery method is performed on thick cardboard, it is enough to take care of a suitable backing for your pattern, it can be leather or fabric. Using the backing, sew the ornament to the shoes.

ATTENTION. Be careful not to wrinkle or damage the base with the embroidered picture when working.

However, the isothread technique itself will require some time to complete, this must be taken into account.

Painting on children's felt boots

The choice of drawing depends on your imagination and the preferences of your child. On the eve of the upcoming holidays, these could be New Year's characters: Grandfather Frost, a snowman, a Snow Maiden, or just snowflakes. Wearing such beautiful shoes will be a joy for your baby.

To work you will need glue, brushes, acrylic paints, a palette, film (transparent), a felt-tip pen and an iron.

Apply a layer of adhesive to the surface of the shoe and wait until it dries a little and becomes transparent. Then use chalk or a piece of soap to mark the outlines of the design and trace them with a marker.

Fill in all the details of the ornament with multi-colored paint. Leave it to dry (about 6 hours), then iron it under a thin cloth and without steam.

ON A NOTE. To make the image on a pair of shoes symmetrical, copy it onto film and apply it to the second felt boot in this way.

Making an applique from fabric

Creating an application is quite simple, you just need to follow the instructions.

• To create a picture, you can buy a ready-made sample or create one yourself. The child will undoubtedly like the bright and cheerful drawing.
• You can use leather or suede as a base. Great additions would be knitted flowers, fur pompoms, buttons, sequins and beads.
• Attach the finished version using glue or embroidery.
• Undoubtedly, materials with different textures and embroidery with cords diversify the created ornament.

IMPORTANT. The edges of the fabric should be intact and not fray.

How to increase the durability of felt boots decoration

To extend the life of your homemade jewelry, follow some tips.

• If improperly dried and stored, shoes shrink, which can cause distortion and damage to the applied ornament.
• So that your work does not go in vain and brings you joy, follow our advice.
• After a walk, be sure to remove the snow so that your felt boots don’t get wet.
• Dry the product at room temperature.
• Shoes should be cleaned with a dry brush in the direction of the pile. Cleaning is carried out strictly after drying.
• For severe stains, use a sponge and detergent, then remove the foam, avoiding excess moisture.

IMPORTANT. During the thaw period, do not wear felt boots without rubber soles and do not dry them on heating appliances.

Following these simple rules will save your shoes and your hard work decorating them for a long time.