Infant Ballet Slippers

I made these dainty little baby shoes by hand out of ribbons and a bit of elastic. I love the way they look on Ivory. And they weren't difficult to make, either.

First I cut a wired ribbon the length of the bottom of her foot, rounded the toes, and made the heels slightly narrower (it was already the perfect width: about 1.5"). I used wired ribbon because that's what I had, but it wouldn't have to be wired. In fact, I ended up pulling the wires out in the end so they wouldn't poke my baby's feet. Next I cut a piece of ribbon long enough to go all the way around the outline of the foot. Then I singed the cut edges of the ribbon so they wouldn't unravel.

I simply sewed the long ribbon around the edge of the foot-shaped ribbon, with right sides together (actually, I don't know if there was a right and wrong side to these particular ribbons, but you catch my drift). I placed the elastic in the casing as I sewed it. Then I tied and cut off the elastic tails to fit her feet.

After that I stitched the ribbon ties on each side of the shoe (on the inside). I like to be true to the way a real ballerina ties her pointe shoes, but I also like the bow too much to tug in the "piggy tails" instead.

I love these little ballet slippers. I plan to make another pair in white (or should I say "ivory") for Ivory's blessing day.