How to Make Cloth Baby Shoes
Cloth baby shoes are the most comfortable shoes for babies to wear. While exploring the arms, legs, hands and feet attached to their bodies, they discover a soft cloth baby shoe that seems to have a life of its own as it bonks them on the nose. Many people refer to baby shoes as booties and they can be made from many different materials, using many different patterns and techniques. This simple cloth baby shoe pattern can be altered to fit any size foot. Create them for the baby stage and sew larger ones as slippers for toddlers, kids and adults.
Things You'll Need
- Tracing paper
- Ruler
- Pencil
- Scissors
- 1/4 yard fleece fabric
- Straight pins
- 1/8-inch-wide elastic, 16 inches
- Safety pin
- Sewing machine
Instructions
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1
Draw a 3-inch-wide-by-4 1/2-inch-long rectangle on tracing paper. Find the center of one long side and mark. Label this mark "B." On the ends of the opposite long side, label one end "A" and the other "C." Make a wide curving arch from A to B to C. Cut out the arch. This is your cloth baby shoe toe pattern. Draw a 2 1/2-inch-wide-by-6-inch-long rectangle on the tracing paper and cut out. This is your side/heel pattern. Draw a 3-inch-wide-by-5-inch-long rectangle and cut out. This is your sole pattern.
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2
Cut two toes, two side/heels and two soles from the fleece fabric. Fold over the straight edge of one toe a half-inch to the wrong side and pin. Sew the pinned edge with a zigzag stitch, creating a casing. Repeat for the other toe. Cut a 4-inch piece of the 1/8-inch-wide elastic. Attach a safety pin to one end and guide it through the casing of one toe. Sew the ends of the casing closed, catching the elastic in the stitches. Cut another 4-inch piece of the elastic and repeat for the other toe.
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3
Fold over one long edge of a side/heel piece a half-inch to the wrong side and pin. Sew the pinned edge with a zigzag stitch, creating a casing. Repeat for the other side/heel piece. Cut a 4-inch piece of the 1/8-inch-wide elastic. Attach a safety pin to one end and guide it through the casing of the side/heel piece. Sew the ends of the casing closed, catching the elastic in the stitches. Cut another 4-inch piece of the elastic and repeat for the other side/heel piece.
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4
Lay a toe piece right side out on your work table with the curved edge closest to you and the straight edge at the top. Place one short end of a side/heel piece on the right-hand side, straight edge of the toe piece, with the casing edge on the left and pin. Place the other short end of the side/heel piece on the left-hand side, straight edge of the toe piece, with the casing edge on the right and pin. Attach the two pieces together by sewing a 1/4-inch seam allowance. Unfold the piece. Repeat for the other toe and side/heel piece.
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5
With straight pins, mark the center of each side on the sole piece. With straight pins, mark the center of the toe and the center of the heel. Place the sole piece right side up on your work table. Place a sewn toe and side/heel piece wrong side up, on top of the sole piece. Match the centered marking pins and pin the two layers together. Pin a curve on each quadrant of the sole, forming an oval. Sew the pinned edge together using a 1/4-inch seam allowance. Trim the excess fabric even with the 1/4-inch seam allowance. Turn the shoe right side out. Repeat for the opposite cloth baby shoe.
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