Twig + Tale Cosy Toes Tour!

I’m on a roll here sewing up the latest Twig + Tale pattern for the Cosy Toes tour. Yep more Twig + Tale because Lisa is on some sort of inspiration mojo over in New Zealand, whipping out new patterns like there is no tomorrow! She’s had kids footwear in her repertoire for some time, but this winter the Tie Back Boots have had an upgrade to fit bigger people!

Yep, that’s us gals and also sizes for the men in our lives so everyone can have cozy toes this winter! (Ladies sizes 5 – 12, Mens 8.5 – 15)

I was part of the Twig + Tale testing team for these boots and knocked out a couple of pairs in quick succession. The sewing is easy (depending on the fabric you choose, see later) and Lisa has made some handy video tutorials to make it even more seamless! (Ha ha, get the sewing pun!)

In the spirit of upcycling, I chose an old scarf of mine I hadn’t been wearing and made these pinkies with a cotton lining. The soles are a stiff denim. This pair is lighter than the ones I made next, so I consider them my in-between seasons pair!

For both my pairs I used lace or elastic as the ties to hold the boots on, but there is an option to sew elastic in the heel and omit these straps if desired. I like the finish they give though! There is also a longer leg version boot and if you check out the Twig + Tale Chat FB group, you’ll see some sweet versions with Lisa’s embroidery – also available on her site.

My second set of boots I made out of a very dear favourite sweater I bought in North Carolina almost 20 years ago! I loved this jumper but it had a really thick roll neck, and year after year it would only get one or two outings a year as the neck was just too thick for Aussie winters!

For the lining I used the waffle fleece remnants left over from my hoodie vest sewn from One Thimble Issue 11. This waffle fleece is so silky soft it is magic on the feet. But between the thick wool fibres of the sweater and the shedding of the hairy fleece, this was a trickier sew. Sewing around the ankle I had to wing it a bit to know where I was, but the flip side is, the stitching is barely discernible which means mistakes are hidden!

The two thicker fabrics mean a much cosier boot, and this pair is my preferred set (yep, they are on my feet as I type!), but the sewing freaked me out a bit more. I suggest starting on thinner fabrics if you are a beginner and then explore heavier fabrics once the confidence is up.

I didn’t ‘felt’ this sweater as I felted my first jumper about a month ago and it was a bit of a disaster – coming out thick as a board – so I didn’t want to repeat this accident. However, it meant that as I sewed the wool had a tendency to stretch and move, so it was key to hold it together as I went and take it slowly.

The adult Tie Back Boots are on SALE until Friday 9 June PST. Use the code COSYTOES for an ADDITIONAL 15% off the entire footwear collection on the Twig + Tale site. (This includes the new Tie Backs for Grown-ups, Wayfarers, Tie Backs, Flower Boots, Wild Things Shoes and Wild Things Boots!!!).

Make sure you check out the other bloggers on the Cosy Toes Tour:
Tuesday: Fliegfederfrei – Createnic – Sew Snippet – Sew Many Adventures
Wednesday: Sew Shelly Sew – She Who Sews – Life in our busy household – Naeh connection
Thursday: Skirt Fixation – Sprouting Jube Jube – Needle and Ted – Just Add Fabric 

And that’s a wrap. How many slipper photos can one post! Now onto making a pair for hubby and Buggy. Much consternation in this household that I own two pairs and there is nothing for them yet. I woke the other morning to find Buggy loafing around in a pair of mine!

xx