Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Pitter patter of tiny feet

I have a bit of an addiction to baby shoes. Baby A owns around eight pairs a the moment that she'll outgrown in a matter of months. I can't help it, they're so cute and dainty, even if they're not all that practical.

I think I have mentioned before that I had three friends due to give birth around the same time as me. Well, two of them had little girls too, so I decided to share my love of all things cute and dainty by making them some little baby shoes.

The pattern is from Ottobre magazine - they're the Tepsukka Slippers. I adore them. They're a MaryJane style but with sweet little pintucks and a curved strap. I used a couple of fabrics that my mum brought back from Japan and plain cotton lining. I adore them! Baby A will be getting several pairs over the next year or so.

The construction is fairly simple, although they are teeny tiny, and there are some very small curves to sew. I reduced my stitch length quite a bit to make life easier. This pattern is also intended to be used with corduroy, so I made my pin tucks slightly wider than usual to accommodate the thinner fabric.

I also made one friend a matching hat after she commented that she couldn't find a sunhat small enough for her daughter. I used the pattern from the Oliver + S book, Little Things to Sew. The smallest size was still too big, so I reduced it down to 90%, and it worked really well.


Pair for baby AM. I love the pink lining with the pistachio green outer.


Pair for baby S. The lining is actually pale blue, this photo is a bit dark.


I made the tucks wider than I usually would to allow for the thinner fabric.


LTTS hat, reduced to 90%. This gives a circ of 41.5cm, as opposed to 45% (I kept the half inch seam allowance).


Hat and shoes set :) The shoes are sz Eu17, which is about a US2 (I think).