OK, OK, I didn't think I would do it, but I did! I'm giving baby shoes a shot. It is so hard to find classic, sweet shoes for little girls that don't involve pink, cartoon characters, and glitter. Rosamund is outgrowing her winter shoes (hand-me-downs from Lavinia) and the next sizes in girls' winter shoes that I have just aren't working for her. She is just on the verge of toddling so I want to continue to put her in soft-soled shoes, the better to walk on her own.
These are a "dipping my feet in" version of the free pattern available at Darling Diapers (brought to my attention by Shannon, who has already made and shared several pairs of adorable leather shoes on her blog! Thanks for the inspiration, Shannon!) These ones are made of felted wool, with leather (wrong-side-out, for texture) on the bottom. I sewed the wool parts on my sewing machine, but I don't have any leather needles for my machine (yet -- they're on their way, thanks to Amazon Prime) so I hand-stitched the uppers and soles together. Let's just say my hand-stitching could use a great deal of practice.
I made the 12-18 month size, but they are a tad snug on my almost-one-year-old, so for my next version, I will size up. (EDIT: I think I made a mistake while printing, so that's why the sizing was off!) These practice ones are not very feminine so I am mulling over some ways to "pretty" them up while still sticking with neutral colors.
I'm a 31-year-old Christian. My hope is to live a quiet life filled with home and hearth, family and friends, loveliness and simplicity. I'm wife to Douglas (married October 2008) and mother to Edmund (born November 2009), Lavinia (born May 2012), and Rosamund (born February 2014).
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ooooh, inspiring! I was sorting baby clothes this week and I noticed I do have a lot of shoes that *should* work for the new baby girl, but I agree with you: it's very hard to find the beautiful classics for prices I am willing to pay. Thanks for the tips.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! I have a mixture of hand-me-downs, too, but since the girls were born in different seasons, sometimes the sizing doesn't work. :-/
DeleteThey are so sweet and cozy! I love the idea of using felted wool. One embellishment idea is a little embroidery... not sure if that would be too difficult now that they are already assembled. But they look lovely as is. : )
ReplyDeleteThat's a great idea, Sarah, thank you!
DeleteThese are so cute, Laura! They remind me of one of the styles of shoes in "The Sound of Music", which is always a good sign. ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks Louisa! I don't remember those shoes, will have to keep an eye out next time I rewatch... :)
DeleteThey look fantastic! I'm actually more into the idea of "gender neutral" now, especially for those wee things children outgrow so quickly (I see this a lot in European children's clothing) -- I think these shoes would work for that in a good, classic kind of way.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on tackling children's shoes! It *is* nice to be able to customize footwear, even though the materials are a bit more of a pain to work with.
Blessings,
Shannon