Monday 20 July 2015

Wrap Over Felt Shoe

Using varicolour wool gives an interesting look

 I have been sewing some felt baby shoes. 

I love this thick felt, although 3mm thick was just about on the limit of what my sewing machine can handle.

I made the first pair as part of the process of designing my wrap over baby shoe knitting pattern. This is not the way I normally work when knitting. Usually I have an idea in my head, and just sort of go for it, adapting and altering as I go along. But for the wrap around on the knitted shoes to work, I knew the shape had to be precise. The best way to get this right was to make a pair, first out of paper and then out of felt.


This green pair was my first go, and they are completely stitched by hand. The button is just sewn on through all the felt layers without a buttonhole, as I was just checking the shape. But they turned out so cute, I thought I would have a go at making a few more. 


To make these a bit more hardwearing and practical I have machine sewn the seam, and just oversewn around the edges by hand with wool. The buttons are functional, and really useful when putting them on a baby's feet. On some I have handsewn around the buttonholes, though explain on the pattern how you could machine sew them if you have this available on your sewing machine.
 
The pattern for these shoes is available to download on Etsy. It comes in two sizes - 0-3 months and 3-6 months. It is very good value (that is to say cheap). The little shoes are very easy to make, and I think the wrap around makes them quite different to other felt shoes I have seen. It would be really fun to customise them with a bit of embroidery, but for the photos I wanted the shape of the wrap around to stand out. I suggest you use the best quality felt you can find. 


If you don't have a baby to make some for, I think with a ribbon attached they could make a really nice Christmas decoration, perhaps with some sweets popped inside. I know I shouldn't even be talking about Christmas at this time of year, but I may have a go at giving some of them the Christmas makeover.

I am sure than there must be software that is useful for creating sewing patterns (I would really welcome any advice with this), but the only way that I know is to very carefully draw the pattern pieces by hand, and then scan them on my printer. So this pattern has the same rustic charm as these little shoes. 

As you can see, I just can't stop making them.


If buttonholes are really not your thing you could us a little velcro.






14 comments:

  1. Aaahh, they are lovely and think of all the different designs you can make. Gorgeous ones for Christmas with decorations and bells on them. I love the blue ones with the multi-coloured stitching. Hope you have a good week.

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  2. Oh my, these are adorable.

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  3. Those are super cute!!!! You have done a wonderful job with them!

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  4. Wonderful! I am getting some alpaca fiber felted from my alpaca herd and will try these. Will you be designing larger slippers for older children and adults?

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  5. What a clever idea! I love them!

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  6. Congratulations! This post is going to be featured over at Diana Rambles tomorrow and has been pinned in the Featured at Diana Rambles board at Pinterest, Tweeted, and Stumbled. Please grab a featured button off my button page or via the post guidelines graphic. Thanks for sharing this awesome idea!

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  7. Love these, and much quicker than knitting some I would think? Thanks for sharing on craft schooling Sunday, love the baby shower card too, a fun idea!

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  8. They are so gorgeous that I've just nipped over to Etsy and bought the pattern. I am about to send a gift for a newborn baby over to my friend in Holland and now some super cute shoes will be heading over too. Thank you

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  9. These are darling little booties! I love the way you embellished each set differently. They would make a wonderful baby shower gift.

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  10. These are really cute! Especially for someone who doesn't knit, but still loves the adorable shape and look of these. Pinning, and sharing.
    Thank you so much for sharing this at our Yarn Fanatic Party!
    Alexandra of EyeLoveKnots
    YFP# 47: http://eyeloveknots.blogspot.com/2015/08/yarn-fanatic-party-47.html

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