Baby Shoes pt. 1

Hello friends!  I hope all of my American readers had a great Memorial Day weekend.  We had picnics, parades, sprinklers, sunburns and a black-eye!  A great weekend all around!

I recently entered the dizzying world of sewing baby shoes.

I made my first pair of home sewn baby shoes on Memorial Day morning.

It was much easier than I imagined and I love the results.

First up was finding a pattern.

Easy enough...right?

Well, sort of.

There are, quite simply, a gazillion patterns out there.

I had a craft book with a pattern in it, Handmade Beginnings by Anna Marie Horner, but I didn't like the design of those shoes. They had high tops and exposed elastic. Not really for me.

I finally decided on a pattern I found on Etsy. 

Mary Jane Baby Shoes via My Sweet Little shop.

The pattern was very easy to follow and had great step by step photos.  I will be making these again and again.  They are so cute.  The sizing was true to size and (as you can see) the embellishment options are never ending.  I went with simple mod flowers cut from circles of felt and topped off with little hot pink buttons.

These are designed to be reversible, but I felt I should start slow!  Also, I really wanted to have the cool corduroy bottoms for little Bianca.  However, because they can be reversible they are fully lined, which I feel is really crucial for little baby's feet to be comfortable.

I think next time I may try adding some interfacing to the bottoms. I was wanting a bit more structure to these shoes, but that is a personal opinion. And, let's be honest, it might not even work!  I'll try it and let you know.

I highly recommend this pattern.  I'm really glad I started my shoe making journey here.  But there is much much more ahead!  You can buy this pattern here.

[ emilie ]