DIY Coffee Sack Boot Stuffers

My Mom and I both struggle with saving money because we like pretty things too much!  But we spend money differently.  I'll splash out on something big (like our light fixture from Modernica) but then scrimp like it's the depression to make up for it in other ways.  My Mom doesn't treat herself to many splashy purchases, but she will buy fancy soaps, new linens, new towels - little indulgences that add up.  She and I both have small budgets to work with, so I've been encouraging her to forgo little indulges to save up for her bathroom reno.  Because of my relentless nagging, she fondled boot stuffers at HomeSense no fewer than twenty times, but never made a purchase (go Mom!).

She wanted to keep her pretty boots upright while they're stored in the closet, as opposed to flopping over and creasing, but we decided to make some instead of buying them.  We had everything on hand, so they were free!  Sure, it might be a drop in the bucket, but it's another $10 she can put toward her dream bathroom.  That probably buys two or three square feet of tile (and her bathroom is so tiny, that is actually a pretty good chunk).



Here is how we made these adorable little boot stuffers.

We started with pretty little coffee sacks - but really, any fabric will do.  They were too wide and short as-is, so we cut them apart just to make use of the interesting design.

To make up the length, we sewed a scrap of silk to the top.

Once the silk was added to the coffee bag fabric, the sides were sew up and then the top edge - the opening of the boot stuffer was sewn down into a channel:

(The channel was added for a drawstring).

When the sides and top were sewn, the bottom of the inside was tweaked a little.  Both corners were pinned and sewn flat:

Once the boot stuffers were turned right side out, the sewn corners created a flat bottom so they sit more snugly inside boots.

Finally, we threaded through a drawstring using a safety pin and stuffed the finished sacks with batting.  We also added a sprinkling of lavender to keep things smelling nice in there!  We opted for the drawstring top so we can adjust how much batting is inside - and freshen up the lavender from time to time.

So do they work?

Perfectly!  Exactly what my Mom had it mind.