Saturday, October 17, 2009

how to make cute cloth booties!

Both my 3 y/o son and my 1y/o daughter needed warm slippers for around the house... so rather than drive 45 minutes each way to spend $40+/each on a pair of Robeez booties (although I do LOVE them, and have several pairs for them, all in the wrong sizes for right now), I made some. They worked so well, that I made these for a friend:

aren't they cute!!!???!!

I put together a tutorial in the most visual way I could.

look at each picture for the directions pertinent to that step.

I forgot to talk about fabrics though... I used high-quality quilting cotton for the floral shoes, and faux suede for the brown shoes. Both pairs are lined with Minkee, and the soles are made from home-dec faux suede... it had a thick backing, it felt a little foam-y, so it provides a little bit of cushioning. 1/8 of a yard (of 60" wide home-dec fabric) is enough to make 3 pairs of toddler sized soles.

Cut all the pattern pieces (the finished pattern is 3 pieces: a sole, a toe flap and a heel rectangle) in outer fabric and a lining fabric. I interfaced one pair, and found it unnecessary. It is necessary to attach the sole pieces together in the middle, just so the sole doesn't slip and slide... I liked the results I got with stitch-witchery.

I know it's a vague tute, but hopefully it'll help. It might be easier to make some of these awesome shoes first, to learn the process (and use their patterns as a jumping off point), and then try adapting them to make my booties.

PLEASE let me know if you need help/have questions...

so far I've made 5 different pairs of shoes, following these steps, and while all slightly different, all have worked out perfectly for the kiddos.

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