DIY Foot Cozy! | Snuggly Sewing Project to Warm Your Toes

My feet always seem to be the first parts to get cold in Winter and the parts slowest to heat back up again...so my answer is the foot cosy!

I decided to basically make a super comfy bed for my feet, into which I can also put a rice warmer to make it even toastier.

I hope you enjoy this project!

- Fabric: I used some 'Dogwood Denim' fabric from Spoonflower (no more than 1m length), but anything fairly sturdy like a canvas is perfect. I also used a small piece of calico for the pouch section inside, and a piece of fluffy faux fur.

- Sewing machine and matching thread

- Hand sewing needle

- Stuffing & batting; you can use foam instead, or even just batting

- Tape measure/ruler

- Scissors

- 'Magic'/disappearing fabric pen

- Piece of paper and a pencil

- Sewing pins

- Iron & ironing board

- Press studs or Velcro strips

- Rotary cutter & cutting mat

This cosy will consist of 5 main pieces of fabric; The wall and floor of the inner part of the cosy, the wall and floor of the outer part of the cosy, and a thin strip that joins the 2 parts together at the top.

The first thing to do is work out how big you want the foot cosy on the inside. So put your feet comfortably together and measure an imaginary rectangle on the floor around them. This should be the minimum size of the 'floor' of the inner part of the cosy.

In my case this was 9.5" x 11.5".

You then need to add 2 x the seam allowance to each of these measurements. I'm going to be using a default seam allowance of 0.5", so the piece of fabric that's going to be the inner floor of my cosy will measure 10.5" x 12.5"

The wall of fabric that goes around this inner floor will therefore need to be (2 x 10.5") + (2 x 12.5") + (2 x seam allowance) long, which is 47".

I decided I want the cosy to be approx. 5" high overall, so the fabric wall for the inner part needs to be 5" - 1" + (2 x seam allowance)...so 5". Therefore the piece of fabric making up the inner wall will be 47" x 5".

The floor of the outer part of the cosy needs to be 1" larger in width and length...so the outer floor will be 11.5" x 13.5"

And the wall of fabric will need to be (2 x 11.5") + (2 x 13.5") + (2 x seam allowance) long, which is 51".

And this wall needs to be 1" taller than the inner wall i.e. 6". So the outer wall will therefore be 51" x 6".

Cut these 4 pieces out. I marked the outlines with a disappearing fabric pen first, then cut them out with a rotary cutter (on top of a cutting mat).

You will now need to use sewing pins to attach the long edge of each 'wall' of fabric, to the corresponding 'floor' of fabric.

Start at a corner, making sure to leave 0.5" of fabric at each end of the wall unpinned and sticking out from this corner, as shown in photo 3.

You will need to fold the fabric at each corner at a right angle to match the corners of the floor.

The sides of the fabric that you want on thefront/outsideof the project should be facing each other.

Use a straight stitch to sew all around the outside of each part of the cosy i.e. the inner part and the outer part. This will give you two open box shapes.

Remember to sew the seam allowance distance from the edge - in my case 0.5" - and backstitch at the beginning and end of each stitched line.

Don't sew straight across the corners but instead sew each edge separately as shown in the photos: Sew diagonally (at 45 degrees) inwards from a corner to start sewing along an edge of fabric, and at the end of this side sew diagonally towards the corner of the fabric.

Also sew the ends of the fabric walls together, using the same seam allowance.

It's always a good idea to press seams as you are doing any sewing project, in order to make it look neater and more professional.

First, turn the outer part of the cosy right-sides-out, then press the seams from the outside towards the inside.

Then press the seams of the inner part of the cosy from the inside outwards.

This strip will join together the inner and outer walls of fabric at the top.

You will want the length of the strip to be the same length as the outer wall of fabric (in my case 51").

You should make the width of the strip 1" + (2 x seam allowance). I used a seam allowance of 1/4" to attach this strip, but for some reason made the total strip width 1" rather than 1.5". It worked out OK in the end, but I made it a bit too narrow as you may notice in the photos :)

Pin this strip to the top of the outer wall, right sides together. Start pinning at a corner, and make sure 0.5" of fabric at each end of the strip is left unpinned and sticking out from this corner.

Sew all along the edge of the strip. I used a narrower seam allowance of 1/4" for this.

At each corner, fold the fabric strip to form a 90 degree angle. Pin these folds in position.

I used a sharp hand sewing needle to stitch these folds in place.

I used red thread so you could see where I stitched, but you would use a matching colour to help blend the stitches in.

Place the outer part of the cosy inside the inner part, so that the right sides of the fabric are facing each other.

Pin all along the 2 long edges and 1 of the short edges, to join the edge of the thin fabric strip to the top of the inner wall.

Sew along the top of the these 3 sides, making sure the fabric edges lines up.

Sew all 4 corners, but be sure to leave most of one of the short edges open.

Then turn the whole project right-sides-out through this opening.

Cut out some batting (or foam) to go in the floor of the cosy. I cut out 3 pieces of batting the same size as the outer floor.

I then inserted the 3 (stacked) pieces into the floor of the cosy, making sure it laid flat.

I then inserted stuffing into the wall furthest from the opening to pad it out.

Once that first wall is padded, take a needle and thread and do a couple of stitches in each corner and in the middle of that wall. This just holds the walls together and helps keep everything in place. See the last photo to see where to place these small stitches.

Then stuff the 2 side walls and do more stitches along those sides. And finally stuff the wall with the opening in it.

Place your foot in the cosy and sketch an outline of the top of your foot, and the top of the cosy wall, onto a piece of paper. Cut out this kinda wedge shape.

Use this shape as a template to cut out 2 pieces of fabric:

Draw around the template once, and then add a seam allowance around the outside.

Turn the template over and draw around it again. Add a seam allowance all the way around too.

Cut out these 2 shapes.

Measure the circumference of your wedge-shape pieces of fabric.

Take this measurement and add 2 x seam allowance measurements onto it. This number = A.

Then measure the width of the inside of the cosy now that it is padded. This width will be the width of the finished top piece. Add 2 x seam allowance measurements onto this amount. This number = B.

Cut out a piece of fabric which measures A x B.

In my case this was 18" x 10".

Next, cut out another piece of fabric for the pouch. I switched to calico for this piece.

The width of this piece will be B + 2" (depending on how big an opening you want for the pouch). And the length will be: the length of the short edge of the paper template + 2/3 of the length of the curve on the paper template + (2 x seam allowance).

First hem one end of the pouch, where the opening will be.

The pouch fabric should be about 1" wider on each side than the longer fabric piece below. Line up one side edge and the bottom edge. Pin down the side. Then line up the other side and pin.

Sew along these sides using a narrower seam allowance than usual i.e. less than 0.5".

We're now going to sew the sides onto these rectangles of fabric.

So first gather the centre of the excess pouch fabric into a pleat and pin in place on the bottom edge.

Then take the wedge-shaped side pieces of fabric and arrange them as in the first photo.

Flip them both over onto the fabric rectangle, lining up the side edges. The bottom edges should be a seam allowance distance from the edge.

Pin in place and then sew, making sure to stop sewing a seam allowance distance from the top of those side pieces.

Then pin the curved edges of the side pieces to the edges of the rectangle. Make sure all the fabric edges line up neatly then sew...again stopping a seam allowance distance from the end.

And finally pin and sew the final edge of the side pieces onto the edges of the rectangle.

Turn the top piece right-sides-out and fill with stuffing.

Fold the edges of the opening inwards and use a needle and thread to sew the opening closed. Use an invisible stitch to do this.

The top piece is done!

Just like for the top piece, fold the edges of the opening in the cosy inwards, and sew the invisible stitch by hand to close the opening securely.

And finally, I cut out a piece of faux fur to line the inside floor of the cosy with.

You can hand sew the fur in place, or use press studs or Velcro.

And that's it, the cosy is complete!

To make your feet extra-toasty, heat a microwaveable heat pack/wheat bag in the microwave and place it into the pouch.

Now you can enjoy your creation :) I hope you have enjoyed this project!