punk rock diy

make your own punk rock sh*t!

besides being smart and sassy, i am crafty! when i can't find sh*t i like, i just make it!

mom taught me how to sew (she almost made it on project runway three different times!) and she lets me use her scraps, spikes and studs to make cool stuff.

in this project, i made some boots for mom!

she bought these kick ass "falida" boots from musse & cloud on zappos (they are no longer offered). the picture below of the "fulton" model is the closest i can find currently available from musse and cloud.

then i made a plan to customize them!

you will need to find a place to get studs and spikes- thankfully one of the largest suppliers is right here in seattle- called studsandspikes.com. they have pretty much anything you want- and they ship anywhere (even being local mom didn't have time to get get them and they came within 2 days).

you will also need some other tools like a leather punch, hammer, pliers, screwdriver (usually phillips), piece of 4 x 4 wood to pound on and chalk or a light colored gel marker.

not required (but makes putting in a lot of studs easier) is a dual blade awl- which you can set at different widths to allow you to make the right slits for the prongs of the different sized studs you will use.

medium duty/ removable loc-tite is a good idea for spikes.

also a ruler if you are not good at eyeballing distance.

THEN GET TO IT!

you will want to look at the different spikes and studs you have and think of a general pattern you want.

i did one entire boot first before i replicated it on the second, but you could go back and forth from one to the other too. i just visually want to see where the whole project is going so i know what to look forward to and can decide when it's "complete" or if it still need to do more. plus if i messed up and changed my mind on something, it would just be the one that needs fixing.

mark out a design line with the chalk so you can keep the design elements spaced properly. mom has a really nice chalk wheel she uses for sewing and this would be suggested if you have the option.

a gel marker will work too, but you cannot just draw a solid line, you must mark sparingly/ dotted as it is harder to get off afterward! if you make the line too pronounced, even licking it furiously might not help, especially if your tongue doesn't go straight like mine...

i started along the top edge where the silver, flat brads were already lining the front flap at the top. i held a flattened conical spike up to the boot and tried to determine some spacing guidelines for a row of them.

then i drew a chalk line all the way along the top of the boot about 1/2" from the existing brads, which gave enough space between the existing row of brads and these cones so they didn't look crowded- and alternately spacing the spikes between the existing studs on the chalk line.

then i punched holes along the chalk line with the leather punch. i promise you don't have to be as muscular as me to do it.

next, i selected 5 conical spikes to go vertically down the outer edge of the flap (nearest the buckles) and punched holes for them. both sets of spikes used screws so i put a drop of loc-tite in the hole and tightened them with the phillips screwdriver.

the buckles themselves needed some punking up, so i selected two different sized domed rectangular studs on the strap near where it attaches and then a round flat stud on the tab end of the strap.

this is where the wood hammer are used and where the awl comes in handy.

drape the piece you're working on over the wood (or in this instance, essentially putting the wood inside the boot).

i set the adjustment for the awl blades at the same width as the prongs on each of the studs.

use a stud to imprint where the prongs will hit on the project.and press slightly so the tips make an indentation in the leather. then you can see where to line up the awl. when you have the awl lined up, hold it straight up and down and use the hammer to whack it hard, once. it should slice right through leaving you the perfectly spaced slits for the stud's prongs.

in the pattern i chose i was able to use the same hole twice, as i cut the slits on the top and bottom of the stud. this kept the rows in line from one to the next. moving sideways from one to the next, i had to be careful to space evenly as the holes were not shared this way- but it wasn't too hard.

slide the stud's prongs into the slits and then bend them around slightly with your fingers. use the pliers and or lay the awl on its side (or end) and use the handle to hammer the prongs down more so they really grip the leather.

it takes a while to do all this- especially when you don't have thumbs?! my poor paws were pretty sore and blackened from the process, but it was all worth it.

each boot took about 2 hours or so...really, that's hardly any time at all to look like a rock star. mom gets so many compliments on these boots and i am so proud of them...

i am not sure if you noticed but i also used a conical spike as an earring. i really do have a hole in my ear when another dog attacked me and bit through it. the spike was just tiny enough to fit through the hole and i really screwed it on!

mom said i can't wear it though, except for dress up. she said it could get caught and hurt me worse- and she said people would send her to jail if they thought she'd been the one to pierce my ear! i don't care, it looks totally rad- even if it's just once in a while!

what do you make? have you made something really punk rock?? show me!

send pics to littlemouse@zoocrewpointofview.com or comment below.