You will need very little felt for this project. A piece that is 6 inches by 15 inches should be more than enough to make a pair of standard baby booties. You may want to purchase a few colors of felt. The shoes you are making each have several pattern pieces, so you could easily make them multi-colored. If you prefer, you could make the bottoms of the booties out of leather instead of felt. This may be a good idea if your baby is actually walking on them, as leather will hold up much better than felt.
The upper pattern piece is the most difficult to make yourself but can be done rather easily. The general shape of the piece is a “v,” but with the bottom very round, as it will be the toe of your shoe, and the sides as tall as you want the shoe. The two tops of the “v” will be very flat, as you will sew them together to make the back of the shoe. Begin by measuring around the outside of your babies foot. This length, plus an inch for seam allowance, will be the length of the outside of the “v,” from the top, down to the bottom, and up to the other side of the top. The opening of the “v” does not need to be very wide, only a few inches at its widest. Remember that the width of each side of the “v” will determine the height of the sides of your shoe, so that measurement is up to you.
Remember that you will need two of each pattern piece to make a pair of booties. However, they each need to be the opposite of the other, so that you have a left and right bootie. To avoid confusion, cut out one set of felt pieces (the upper and the sole) and then flip both pattern pieces over and cut out a second, opposite, set. Keep the sets together at all times, or mark them lightly, so the pieces don’t get swapped. Felt can be a hard fabric to cut cleanly. Make sure you are using good sewing shears to cut out your pattern pieces, so that the edges of the booties look nice and neat.
Remember to line up your upper and your sole piece well. The top and the bottom of the toe section of each piece should be the same shape, so they should match up nicely. If their shapes are slightly off, trim one to match the other. You can either sew your shoes with a sewing machine or by hand. However, because the shoes are so small, you might consider sewing them by hand with a decorative stitch. Consider using a buttonhole stitch around the outside with a contrasting color of thread. [1] X Research source
The easiest way to contain the exposed edge on the back of the shoe is to use a wide zig-zag stitch on your sewing machine or to sew the back by hand. Either way, you should make sure that your stitches are neat and sturdy.
There are endless ways to decorate these little shoes. Add some embroidery or other types of embellishment, anything that will give your little baby shoes a little decorative interest.
It is a good idea to get several types of fabric for this project. The soles can be made from a bonded fleece, soft leather, or other heavy material, while the uppers can be made from any light weight fabric. You can also get a several colors of fabric if you like.
You will also need to use scissors and a sewing machine, or a needle and thread, as well as an iron, to finish this project.
For the top piece, copy the front half of your sole piece, making a straight line across what would be you babies arch. The heel is the hardest piece to make. The heel is basically a rectangle, with one of the long sides slightly curved out and one end of the short sides pulled in a bit because of the curve. Measure around the back of the sole pattern piece, from where the arch starts, around the back, and around to where the arch starts on the other side. This will be the measurement of both long sides, although you will need to give a slight curve to one of them. The width of the piece will be determined by how high you want the side of the shoe, so that’s up to you. It may be easiest to find an existing pattern online, download it, and then print it out. This is especially true if you have had no experience making sewing patterns in the past.
Because the pattern pieces are symmetrical, you will not need to flip over the pattern pieces to make the lining fabric pieces. [2] X Research source Consider using a contrasting color for the lining of your baby shoes. This will add interest and color to your little shoes. Once you have fit and pinned all the pattern pieces onto your fabric, cut them out.
For the heel piece, once sewn, iron the seam open. Then iron the edges of the short edges in toward the wrong side of the fabric. This will make sure that you have finished edges instead of frayed ones. Once the short edges are folded in, fold along the first seam you sewed, but so that the wrong sides are facing each other. Once ironed into place, you will need to sew along both of the short edges, top stitching 1/4 inch from the edge. For the top piece, once sewn, iron the seam open. Then fold over at the same seam, so the wrong sides are now facing. Iron and then top sew 1/4 inch below the seam. Finally, make two small slits on the lining side of the fabric, right below the last seam you sewed. The slits should run perpendicular to the seam, as they will create an opening to run your elastic through. Be sure not to cut through both layers of fabric. Use a seam ripper to accomplish this. You can either sew your shoes with a sewing machine or by hand. However, it may be easier and quicker to complete this project with a sewing machine.
Remember to have the wrong side of the heel piece facing the wrong side of the sole piece.
The top of your heel pieces should be slightly scrunched once the elastic is tightened. Be sure that the opening for your baby’s foot is big enough but will not allow the shoe to slip off easily. It may be a good idea to slip your baby’s foot in the shoe to check the fit before you secure the elastic permanently.
