Soft, cosy slipper boots are such a lovely little luxury, especially when the fit is customized just for you! If you have a wider ankle and find the boots a bit tight or tricky to get on and off, use this simple method to adjust the Tie-Back Boots and Animal Boots for a different ankle measurement.
Materials
Gather some basic materials to adjust the pattern pieces:
- Measuring tape
- Heel pattern piece (Tie-Back Boots or Animal Boots)
- Scrap paper
- Pen/pencil
- Ruler
Measure
1. Measure around your ankle at the ankle bone.
2. Add 3.25” (8cm) to your ankle measurement to account for ease and seam allowances. Divide this result by 2.
For example, if your ankle measures 11.5” (29cm), the calculation would look like this:
(11.5” + 3.25”) ÷ 2 = 7.375”
or (29cm + 8cm) ÷ 2 = 18.5cm
Note: It’s fine to round up your calculated measurement to a more convenient number; for example, for 7.375”, you could use 7.5” and gain a touch more ease at the ankle.
Adjust pattern piece
3. Before cutting out your paper pattern, place a ruler along the ankle adjustment line, starting at the fold line. Use your calculated measurement from step 2 to make a mark past the printed curve (shown by the dot at the tip of the green arrow in the drawing).
4. Draw a line joining the mark made in Step 2 to the corner of the heel (shown by the blue line in the drawing).
5. Draw a smooth curve from the dot to join the calf curve at its widest point (shown by the red line in the drawing).
Note: If your adjustment mark is greater than 3⁄4” (1.8cm) beyond the printed ankle line, then you will need to add some extra to the heel width too. This extra amount is as much as your ankle is wider than the pattern plus ease.
6. When cutting the heel elastic, remember to add the same amount to the elastic length that you added to the heel pattern piece. (See the pattern tutorial for the Elastic Cut Length chart).
Using this adjusted Heel pattern piece, cut and sew boots as directed in the pattern tutorial. Enjoy wearing boots customized to your measurements!
Please feel free to join us at the Twig + Tale Facebook group where you can ask questions, look for inspiration, and of course share photos of your creations.
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