How to Sew Skate Guards

Measuring Your Blade

Hold a measuring tape from the end of the blade to the front of the toe pick. To make the skate guards long enough, measure the length of the ice skate blade. Lay your skate flat on a work surface and hold the end of a measuring tape at the back end of the blade. Then, pull the tape to the front of the toe pick and write down the measurement.Tip: Keep in mind that you'll cut your fabric longer than this measurement so you can wrap the skate guards around the blade. For example, your adult skate might measure around 18 inches (46 cm) long while a child's skate may be 12 inches (30 cm) long.

Measure from the bottom of the blade edge up to where it meets the sole. To find the blade height, carefully place the end of the measuring tape at the sharp edge of the blade near the middle of the skate. Then, bring the tape up to the flat heel plate that's attached to the bottom of the skate and write this measurement down. The blade height is sometimes called the blade depth.

Wrap the measuring tape around the blade to find the circumference. Hold one end of the measuring tape at the back stanchion, which is the metal piece that connects the blade to the sole of the skate. Then, firmly wrap the tape around the middle of the blade until it meets the end that you're holding. Write down this measurement. Stanchions are also called anchors. It's important to hold the measuring tape taut. If it's loose and your circumference measurement is too large, the elastic in the skate guard won't be secure around the blade.

Cutting and Pinning Your Materials

Snip a piece of elastic to match your circumference measurement. Get out a package of elastic that's ⁄4 or ⁄8 inch (0.64 or 1.59 cm) wide and unravel a length of it. Measure the elastic and cut a strip that's the same length as your blade's circumference. Remember to cut 2 so you can make a pair of skate guards.

Cut a terry cloth towel into a rectangle that's large enough to cover your blade. Lay a terry cloth hand towel flat and place a ruler on it so you can measure a rectangle. For the length, add 1 inch (2.5 cm) to your measurement and mark it on the fabric with a pen. To mark the height, multiply your blade height by 2 and mark the fabric. Then, cut the rectangle out with scissors.Did You Know? It's important to use terry cloth instead of another fabric. Terry cloth is a woven cotton fabric that has a lot of loops on the surface. These help the fabric absorb moisture quickly, which makes it great for your skate guards! For example, if your blade is 18 inches (46 cm) long by 2 inches (5.1 cm) high, cut the cloth into a rectangle that's 4 inches (10 cm) wide by 19 inches (48 cm) long.

Cut out a larger rectangle of decorative cotton fabric. Choose a fun, decorative quilting cotton that's made from 100% cotton and lay it flat on your work surface. To make the outer piece for the skate guard, cut a rectangle that's 2 inches (5.1 cm) longer than the blade measurement. Make the rectangle 2 times the height measurement plus 4 inches (10 cm). For example, if your blade is 18 inches (46 cm) long by 2 inches (5.1 cm) high, cut the cloth into a rectangle that's 20 inches (51 cm) long by 8 inches (20 cm) wide.

Lay the terry rectangle on the decorative rectangle so it's centered. Place the larger, decorative rectangle so the pattern side is facing down. Then, put the terry cloth rectangle in the center. Since there's no pattern side to terry cloth it doesn't matter which side you place facing up. Keep in mind that there's extra decorative fabric along the long sides and the short ends. You'll use this material to make a casing tube for the elastic.

Fold the long sides of the decorative fabric onto the terry and pin it in place. Leave a gap that's as wide as your elastic on both long sides of the rectangle. Then, insert sewing pins horizontally along the long sides. It's important to leave the gap in order to create the casing for the elastic. Don't fold the short ends of the rectangle over onto the terry cloth.

Sewing the Guards

Stitch the long sides of the rectangle to make casings. Take the pinned fabric to your sewing machine and straight stitch across each long side, but don't sew the short ends. As you sew, stitch along the raw edge of the fabric so you leave space between the fold. Remove the sewing pins as you work so you don't accidentally sew over them.

Turn the fabric inside out and straight stitch across 1 of the short terry ends. Fold the rectangle in half lengthwise so the terry cloth faces out along the bottom and the decorative fabric is visible at the top. Then, straight stitch from the top down along just the terry cloth at 1 of the short ends. Leave the other end of the guard open so you can push the stuffing through it.

Push 1 to 2 handfuls of polyester stuffing into the skate guard. Pull a tuft of polyester stuffing out of its package and push it under the terry cloth towards the end of that you just sewed shut. Keep stuffing the skate guard until it's soft and puffy, but not too firm to bend. If you fill the skate guard with too much stuffing, your skate's blade won't fit in it.

Straight stitch the end closed so the stuffing doesn't come out. Once you've filled your skate guard, pinch the end closed and take it to the sewing machine. Straight stitch across just the terry cloth at the end. Avoid sewing the decorative fabric or you won't be able to push the elastic through.

Attach a safety pin to the end of the elastic. Open a large safety pin and push the point about ⁄2 inch (1.3 cm) from the end of the elastic strip. Then, close the safety pin so you can easily handle the pin. If you don't have a safety pin, bend a paperclip and push it through the elastic. Then, push the paperclip back so the elastic doesn't slip off.

Feed the safety pin through both sides of the guard's casing. Push the safety pin through the decorative fabric casing at the top of the skate guard. Hold onto the pin and use your other hand to scrunch the fabric towards the safety pin so it bunches. Keep the pin in place and then pull the fabric away so the elastic works through the casing. Once you reach the end of 1 side, just feed it into the casing on the other side. Don't pull the elastic too hard or you may lose the tail end that's not attached to the safety pin.

Sew the end of the skate guard with the elastic tails closed and trim them. Leave about ⁄2 inch (1.3 cm) of elastic exposed and straight stitch down the end of the skate guard so you sew the elastic in place. Then, cut off the excess elastic. It's easier to sew the elastic before trimming it so you don't lose the elastic in the casing.

Turn the skate guard right side out. Once you've finished sewing the end, flip the fabric so the patterned side is facing out and the terry cloth is in the center. To use the skate guard, just slide the blade into the guard so it's surrounded by terry cloth and held in place with elastic.

Repeat the process to make a matching skate guard. Now that you've successfully sewn a skate guard, repeat the steps to make another guard for your pair of ice skates. Then, store them with your skates so you can quickly grab them when it's time to hit the ice!