Toddler Shoes Makeover

I have a fairly strict no-characters-on-shoes rule. I got these shoes on clearance a few months ago with the intention of covering them with SOMETHING. Paint? Felt flower? My baby girl really liked the Dora on them (though she's never seen the show), but I never let her wear them outside the house.

I used a couple samples from my extensive supply of vinyl to make the flowers and leaves to cover the obnoxious cartoon on these shoes. I used regular hot glue, but I plan to use E-6000 if the flowers start to come off.

I must admit I was nervous at first that she'd be upset about covering Dora, and I was greatly relieved when she was excited about the flower. SCORE!

There are a few little parts of the design underneath that show around the edge. I could have been more careful and covered them up, but I'm okay with the way they turned out. And so is my daughter, which is what matters. 

Blessing Cap and Shoes

Hello! It's been a long time since I've posted. I had forgotten that I hadn't finished this post that I started ages ago. I actually made an heirloom! Two of them! Well, three of them, if you count each little shoe separately.

Ivory wore a real family heirloom gown for her baby blessing that many of her female relatives* wore for their own blessing or christening. Including Yours Truly. The various parts of the dress were made by my great-grandmothers, and the slip was even made from a pillowcase belonging to my great-great grandmother. That's Ivory's great-great-great grandmother!

*Ivory's mother, maternal grandmother, great aunt, all her maternal aunts and female cousins, and 3 first-cousins-once removed.

I wanted her also to wear something special and homemade that she would be able to keep as her own. I used some lace and ribbon my mom had lent me to make a blessing cap and tiny shoes.

(Photos of Ivory taken by Deborah Harroun)

Isn't she the sweetest? I wanted the cap to be a special heirloom. But that thought was so intimidating that I had to put it aside before I got the courage to start sewing! 

Various ideas I doodled before choosing one.

Here's my final pick. Strips of the embroidered, raw-edge lace sewn together into a long rectangle. With matching, scalloped-edge lace for the ruffled front.

I sewed a casing on the back and fed some ribbon through it.

I tightened the ribbon and tied it in a bow to form the cap shape.

Ta da!

Now on to the little shoes...

I literally made these the morning of Ivory's blessing (church doesn't start until 1pm, thank goodness). I made them in the same general manner of the ribbon ballet slippers I made earlier in the year. 

They are teeny-tiny! So I only made her wear them once. Twice. It was worth it, though, especially since she gets to keep them!  (And since it didn't take me long to make them.)

There you go, Sweetheart.

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.

Play Shoes

I'm on a shoes kick. Can you tell?








This little monkey desperately needed new play shoes, as his old ones had wholes the size of silver dollars in the toes. I think I've finally gotten down a good pattern and method for making these soft shoes. The key? Simplicity. I love them. I made these out of vinyl because I needed something more durable than the soft leather I used for his green and brown church shoes. This is marine-quality vinyl so water won't soak through it. Although the vinyl is not very breathable I'm hoping the vents on the sides will help with that.

Soft Baby Saddle Shoes

Hurray! Success! I finished Monkey Two's saddle shoes.


Yes, you saw right. They are light green on brown. Fun! I snapped these pictures after church today, where the little squirt wore them for the first time.


For inspiration I looked at some older leather and vinyl baby shoes we have and, of course, classic saddle shoes. Usually the "saddle" part of the shoe is darker, but I wanted the toes to be dark, since that part gets the most dirty and scuffed. I loosely used this pattern, but I had to resize it, with many attempts in paper and scrap fabric. The shoes are perhaps too wide in the toes, so I might take them in a bit. But better to have them too roomy than unbearably tight!


I made the shoes with some of the leather scraps I was telling you about before (purchased here). You can see I haven't trimmed the elastic on the inside yet. I want to make sure it's the right length first.


The next pair of shoes I make will be play shoes. I'd like to keep this somewhat nice for church.

Saddle Shoes, Take One

These shoes are made from soft vinyl, with cotton fabric lining (the banana fabric you saw a few posts ago) and leather soles.



Adorable, right? I intended to had some faux laces to the top, but I never got that far. Here's why: They are too small! I made a cloth sample one first that seemed to fit, but in the end it just didn't work out. Monkey Two wore them once, to church. They only fit on his cute chubby feet with a lot of trouble and without socks. Afterwards his poor little feet had such deep dents from the shoes that I knew they needed some serious reconstruction.

I added a little wedge to one, thinking that would do the trick. It helped some with the width/girth of his feet, but it was still a little too short. And his feet are only going to get bigger. So I think I'll just have to add the wedge to the other one too make them match, then pass them along to some other lucky little boy (who's a little younger). Monkey Three, perhaps? (No, I'm not making any announcements)



For the next pair I'm going to go all leather. I have mixed feelings about buying dead animals skins, but the leather came from remnant scraps so I somehow feel justified. The leather is more breathable and pliable than the vinyl. I think will be more comfortable for my guy's little feet.

"Why are you making shoes?" you may wonder. Monkey One had a couple pairs of leather Robeez that I LOVED. I like how the soft shoes let my kids feel their own feet as they walk, instead of trapping them into some stiff, bulky boxes. They are so simple, I always thought I could make my own (I've actually made more difficult shoes--two different pairs of vinyl baby/toddler cowboy boots--somewhat successfully). I like the challenge of figuring out how to make something and customizing it to the way I want it. Plus, I got enough leather scraps to make several pairs of shoes, all for 1/3 of the price of one pair of Robeez!

Today I traced a larger pattern piece and cut out another cloth sample. So look forward to a (hopefully more successfully-fitting) new pair of adorable saddle shoes in the next week or two.