Yesterday I showed you how I prepare a doll for boots by reshaping its feet with epoxy. Today it's finally time to make those boots! My dress boot pattern has three main parts--the leg, the toe and the heel. All three of these parts will be cut from hand dyed sheepskin skiver. I always start with the leg section. Swagger tabs are not as common on dress boots as they are on field boots, but I like the way they look so I went ahead and added them. I wrap the leg section around the doll's leg and carefully sew the sides together. The goal is to get the stitches as close to the edges as possible and for the seem to be completely flat. Once that's done, I cover the seem with a piece of 1/8" kangaroo lace which has been skived to paper thinness. I also glue the bottom of the leg piece to the doll's foot making sure it's not so tight that she can't put her heels down. Onto the toe section! I cut out the piece and skive all the way around the edges leaving only the middle untouched. I glue the piece onto the doll's foot, making sure the little cut out goes right in the front center of the boot. Because I skived those edges, I should be able to fold the extra under the boot and glue it into place without any bulky lumps. The heel section is glued on next... Once again, the overhanging edge is turned under and glued in place. I stand the doll on a piece of lightweight tooling leather, and trace around her foot to create the boot's sole. The sole is then cut out and its edges are treated with gum tragacanth. I use this sole as a template to cut out two little heel pieces, glue everything in place and... Ta da--boots! They're not perfect, of course, but I'm quite pleased with my day's work. The boots fit nicely and allow the doll to flex her ankle when riding. As a bonus--she also stands well! All she needs is a pair of spurs and she will be ready for the show ring!