Soft baby shoes (or booties) let your little one build proper foot muscles and feel the ground while crawling or walking about. They also provide necessary protection from hot pavement or cold air. But baby feet grow fast and come in many shapes and sizes, so making your own soft shoes is a great way to get a custom fit at almost no cost. And they're quick to make - I can whip these out in under 15 minutes.
This Instructable covers the basic all-fleece version I made for Corvidae as she was starting to walk. It's warm here in the dry season, and while I like for her to go barefoot, the playground surface and sidewalks would simply get too hot in the summer sun for bare feet. I started making these simple booties out of scraps of old fleece blankets, and was incredibly happy with the result for several months, an eternity in baby gear.
As her feet grew and she started putting serious miles on every day, she also started wearing through the fleece in just a few days so I changed up the pattern a bit and added a vinyl or leather bottom to the fleece bootie. That v2 shoe style is still going strong at age 2.5, and is proving even more cost-effective: check out the Instructable here.
This Instructable covers the basic all-fleece version I made for Corvidae as she was starting to walk. It's warm here in the dry season, and while I like for her to go barefoot, the playground surface and sidewalks would simply get too hot in the summer sun for bare feet. I started making these simple booties out of scraps of old fleece blankets, and was incredibly happy with the result for several months, an eternity in baby gear.
As her feet grew and she started putting serious miles on every day, she also started wearing through the fleece in just a few days so I changed up the pattern a bit and added a vinyl or leather bottom to the fleece bootie. That v2 shoe style is still going strong at age 2.5, and is proving even more cost-effective: check out the Instructable here.
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Signing UpStep 1: Pattern
First you'll need a pattern. I've attached a .pdf so you can print out my pattern and modify it for your own use.
You can also build your own pattern from scratch. Here's the theory - check out the photonotes (little yellow mouse-over boxes) on the picture below to help make sense of my words. If you're still not quite clear what's going on, check the build steps to see how it all comes together, then look back at this picture. You can also leave me a comment below, and I'll be happy to help if I can. These shoes are totally forgiving, though - just make sure you're longer and wider than your kid's foot.
Bottom piece:
- Trace your baby's foot. (Cross-check with other foot to make sure they're roughly the same size.)
- Draw a smooth oval around it. (My oval is perhaps a bit too fat given my kiddo's narrow foot, but it worked out fine.)
- Mark the oval in front of the spot where the front of ankle meets the center of the foot (about halfway along the shoe; this is where the upper will curve up)
Upper piece:
- Trace the front half of the bottom pattern piece down to the ankle line, then continue straight down to the back of the shoe.
- Square off the back.
Back piece:
- This is simply a big rectangle, sized from your previous two pieces.
- Measure around the heel side curve of the bottom piece from ankle mark to ankle mark - this is your long side.
- Measure from the ankle mark back to the end of the top piece - this is your short side.
You can also build your own pattern from scratch. Here's the theory - check out the photonotes (little yellow mouse-over boxes) on the picture below to help make sense of my words. If you're still not quite clear what's going on, check the build steps to see how it all comes together, then look back at this picture. You can also leave me a comment below, and I'll be happy to help if I can. These shoes are totally forgiving, though - just make sure you're longer and wider than your kid's foot.
Bottom piece:
- Trace your baby's foot. (Cross-check with other foot to make sure they're roughly the same size.)
- Draw a smooth oval around it. (My oval is perhaps a bit too fat given my kiddo's narrow foot, but it worked out fine.)
- Mark the oval in front of the spot where the front of ankle meets the center of the foot (about halfway along the shoe; this is where the upper will curve up)
Upper piece:
- Trace the front half of the bottom pattern piece down to the ankle line, then continue straight down to the back of the shoe.
- Square off the back.
Back piece:
- This is simply a big rectangle, sized from your previous two pieces.
- Measure around the heel side curve of the bottom piece from ankle mark to ankle mark - this is your long side.
- Measure from the ankle mark back to the end of the top piece - this is your short side.
KMTWJI00.PDF181 KB
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Now I understand how the pattern works, I plan on now adjusting the rise of the top to make "boots" for his Halloween costume. Pictures to come!
I just made kid #2 his first pair of booties, so am re-learning this pattern myself.
These are really a great idea! I love them!
You can make them in holiday patterns for the kids as a little gift or even make matching ones for a little girl's favorite doll! AWESOME!
Please post pictures when you make them!