Doll boots, part one

A while back, I asked Anne Field to make me a lower level dressage doll without boots.  This had nothing to do with the quality of Anne's boots.  Trust me, Anne knows how to make boots.  Mostly I just wanted to revisit this particular leather working challenge.

There was a period in my hobby life where I made a lot of doll boots.  Some of these were for my own dolls.  Others were for my friend, Jane Schneider.

doll and photo by Jane Schneider

 Most of those boots turned out pretty well, but I think I can do better now.

doll and photo by Jane Schneider

As always, the first step in any project is research.  Don't get me wrong--I know what dress boots look like, but it never hurts to go back and look at things with fresh eyes.  

It also helps to touch and feel the real thing.  Fortunately, I happen to have a pair of dress boots in my closet.  These aren't high quality boots, but they're good enough for my purposes. 

Once I know exactly what I want to build, it's time to start actual construction.  Since I want the foot portion of my boots to be boot shaped rather than foot shaped, I'm starting with epoxy. 

I've protected the doll by wrapping her inside a plastic bag.  I'd rather not get epoxy on her legs, but since everything from the knee down will eventually be cover in leather, that's not a deal breaker.

Here's a look at the new "boot shaped" feet.   

It's tempting to push ahead to the next step, but I know from experience that things will go better if I allow that epoxy to cure overnight.  I've put the doll aside and I'm not going to touch her again until tomorrow morning.

Part two tomorrow--I hope!