Baby Shoes: Simplicity 2491

It's true that babies don't need shoes until they start walking, but they sure are cute aren't they?

I bought this leather from Fabric.com a month or so ago. I didn't have anything in mind for it, but I bought a half yard to get my order up to $35.00 to qualify for free shipping. Do you ever do that? I do it all the time and maybe I shouldn't.

I wanted to try making baby shoes just for fun, and since I'm still on maternity leave for a little over a week and sewing is more fun than housework I've been filling nap times with sewing projects.

I used Simplicity 2491 view C. I scanned through the instructions and then kind of did my own thing. Because the leather already had some weight to it, I used the heat'n bond to just fuse a layer of Kona Cotton to the back instead of the recommended felt. And instead of the ribbon and velcro I put a 3" piece of 1/2" fold over elastic (FOE) through the front flap. 

I made the XS size which is supposed to be 4" long. When I measured my little D's foot it was about 3.5" so I knew that they would be a little big. Little D is 2 months old and still pretty little even for his age, so these were pretty big on him. They stay on his feet with the elastic in them, but I haven't given them a full day's audition yet to see how well they stay. The truth is Little D doesn't have much use for gold shoes and I have a small piece of black leather in my stash, so we might see if his cousin Sissy B can wear these and I'll make him a black pair.

In any case this was a fun and easy project. I'm still thinking about seeing if I can modify this pattern into a pair of those cute but oh-so-pricey moccasins that are so popular right now.

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