How to Make Leather Slippers for Babies

Make soft leather baby shoes easily at home.

Purchased baby shoes can be hard and painful on baby's tender feet. Crafty parents who enjoy making homemade items for their babies enjoy creating these soft leather baby shoes. Quickly make them by hand with only a few materials to create warm, comfortable shoes that mold themselves to baby's growing feet.

Things You'll Need

• Measurements of the baby's feet
• Leather or fabric, 18 inches x 22 inches for shoes
• Leather or fabric, 18 inches x 22 inches for lining
• Leather scrap for soles
• Scissors
• 14 inches of 1/4-inch wide elastic
• Sewing machine
• Thread that matches the leather
• Needle
• Paper
• Pencil

Instructions

Making a Pattern & Preparing the Fabric

1. Hold a piece of paper to both the top and sole of the baby's feet and trace around them with a pencil to make patterns, marking them "left" and "right." Measure around the sides of baby's foot. Cut out four pieces of material for the tops of the shoes, using the top pattern; mark for each foot. These pieces should have rounded tops and straight bottoms. Cut out two pieces for the main shoe material and two pieces for the lining.

2. Cut four pieces of material for the soles using the sole pattern; mark each as "left" or "right." Two pieces should be the lining, and two are the leather soles.

3. Cut two pieces of material for the heel using measurements from one side of the foot to the other around the heel. Cut these pieces on the fold of the fabric so that there are two folded sides.

4. Cut slits for the laces in the two top lining pieces of fabric from Step 1. Only cut the lining pieces and not the top material.

5. Place the lining and top outer material with right-sides together. Repeat for both shoes.

Sewing the Baby Shoes

1. Sew a 1/4-inch seam across the curved top part of the fabrics. Repeat for both shoes.

2. Turn tops of shoes right-side out and press with an iron.

3. Turn heel piece inside-out and sew seams on the sides. Repeat for other heel.

4. Turn heel pieces right-side out and press.

5. Sew an elastic casing along each heel piece from point to point.

6. Attach lining material of sole piece to outer sole piece.

7. Lay top piece of shoe on sole, followed by heel piece and clip in place. Remember to put pieces together inside-out, sole on the inside and top of shoe facing the sole.

8. Sew a 1/8-inch seam around the entire edge of the shoe. Repeat Steps 6 to 8 for second shoe.

9. Insert the elastics into the elastic casing and through the slits.

10. Tighten elastic and secure with hand-stitching.

11. Turn the shoes right-side out, and roll the edges where sole meets shoe between your fingers to make it smoother.

References

• Family Centered Press: Baby Shoe Tutorial

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish