muskrat
06-27-2003, 07:23 AM
A few days ago I was looking at the pathetic peeling pleather shift boot in my car and wondering what I could replace it with. I really like the leather aftermarket boots, but I just can't see spending the money (I'm cheap). Then I thought about the leather I have! When I moved into my house the previous owner left a lot of cool stuff, including a grocery bag full of nice soft leather that he had used for crafts. It's soft like a nice chamois, but at least twice as thick.
So yesterday I decided to put my idea to make a shift boot out of that leather to work. I came home and got out my spare stock shift boot that is in worse shape than mine. The boot is 2 pieces sewn together, so i split one seam and realized that I could make the boot out of one piece of leather. I ironed the old boot flat and used it as a template tracing it onto a nice piece of leather and cut it out.
Next I went to Wal*Mart for more supplies (and some paper towels and conditioner for my wife). I went to the sewing/craft section and found a nice big needle made for leather, in a package with 6 other craft needles. Then I bought a thimble and chose the large one, let me give you a hint, that is a ladies large, not a man's large. Then I bought some black upholstery thread, I tested it in the store trying to break it, and it's pretty darn strong. Last I bought some black fabric dye.
I came back home and started sewing my one seam. I decided to sew it on the inside so nobody would have to see my crappy seam work. I chose the "suede" side of the leather to be the outside. I was surprised at how easy it was to sew the leather, I had to push pretty hard to get the needle through, but I really thought I was going to have to use the pliers to get it in and out of the leather. Anyway it took me an hour to get it sewed up, then I test fitted it on the lower plate and with the top ring installed and here is what I got:
http://boyracer.endoftheroad.ca/user/boot1.jpg
(nice seam moron)
http://boyracer.endoftheroad.ca/user/boot2.jpg
http://boyracer.endoftheroad.ca/user/boot3.jpg
http://boyracer.endoftheroad.ca/user/boot4.jpg
Once I knew it fit well, I took off the top ring and the lower plate and used RIT black fabric dye to dye it black. Worked the dye in for about 5-10 minutes (wearing rubber gloves) then let it sit under the dye for another 30 minutes. After that I removed it from the dye and rinsed it and rung it out following the dye's instructions and then I hung it to dry.
This morning before I left for work it was dry and I put it back together and snapped these pictures:
http://boyracer.endoftheroad.ca/user/boot5.jpg
http://boyracer.endoftheroad.ca/user/boot6.jpg
Next step is to use small pop rivets and rivet washers to attach it to the lower plate and install it.
I was extremely impressed with the way it turned out and that it only took me about 3 hours to make it.
If you need a shift boot too and you have a little tiny bit of sewing skill you can save yourself some money, you will just need to buy some leather for the boot. You might just wanna buy a nice chamois to make the boot out of.
So yesterday I decided to put my idea to make a shift boot out of that leather to work. I came home and got out my spare stock shift boot that is in worse shape than mine. The boot is 2 pieces sewn together, so i split one seam and realized that I could make the boot out of one piece of leather. I ironed the old boot flat and used it as a template tracing it onto a nice piece of leather and cut it out.
Next I went to Wal*Mart for more supplies (and some paper towels and conditioner for my wife). I went to the sewing/craft section and found a nice big needle made for leather, in a package with 6 other craft needles. Then I bought a thimble and chose the large one, let me give you a hint, that is a ladies large, not a man's large. Then I bought some black upholstery thread, I tested it in the store trying to break it, and it's pretty darn strong. Last I bought some black fabric dye.
I came back home and started sewing my one seam. I decided to sew it on the inside so nobody would have to see my crappy seam work. I chose the "suede" side of the leather to be the outside. I was surprised at how easy it was to sew the leather, I had to push pretty hard to get the needle through, but I really thought I was going to have to use the pliers to get it in and out of the leather. Anyway it took me an hour to get it sewed up, then I test fitted it on the lower plate and with the top ring installed and here is what I got:
http://boyracer.endoftheroad.ca/user/boot1.jpg
(nice seam moron)
http://boyracer.endoftheroad.ca/user/boot2.jpg
http://boyracer.endoftheroad.ca/user/boot3.jpg
http://boyracer.endoftheroad.ca/user/boot4.jpg
Once I knew it fit well, I took off the top ring and the lower plate and used RIT black fabric dye to dye it black. Worked the dye in for about 5-10 minutes (wearing rubber gloves) then let it sit under the dye for another 30 minutes. After that I removed it from the dye and rinsed it and rung it out following the dye's instructions and then I hung it to dry.
This morning before I left for work it was dry and I put it back together and snapped these pictures:
http://boyracer.endoftheroad.ca/user/boot5.jpg
http://boyracer.endoftheroad.ca/user/boot6.jpg
Next step is to use small pop rivets and rivet washers to attach it to the lower plate and install it.
I was extremely impressed with the way it turned out and that it only took me about 3 hours to make it.
If you need a shift boot too and you have a little tiny bit of sewing skill you can save yourself some money, you will just need to buy some leather for the boot. You might just wanna buy a nice chamois to make the boot out of.