Sew Soft Baby Slippers

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Sew Soft Baby Slippers by The DIY MommyUpdate: You can now view a video tutorial for these soft baby slippers here.

From what I’ve read, soft-soled shoes are the best for young babies (pre-walking age). I wanted some soft-soled shoes for my little daughter, but had a problem finding some that (a) were inexpensive and (b) didn’t fall off of her little feet! This pattern for Soft Baby Slippers is a pattern I’ve drafted and tested on my baby girl. They’re quick to sew, soft for little baby feet, and the elastic around the ankles helps them stay on! In this example, I’ve decorated them with ribbon, but the embellishment options for these are endless – use your own creativity! Materials:

  • 1/4 yard printed minkee fabric (or flannel, polar fleece, cotton, pretty much anything would work!)
  • 1/8 yard double-sided (“plush”) minkee fabric (or polar fleece)
  • 1 package 1/8″ elastic
  • ribbon or other embellishment

Instructions:

The-DIY-Mommy---Soft-Baby-Slippers
Soft-Baby-Slippers-7
  • Cut heel & toe pieces from printed minkee fabric, and sole pieces from double-sided minkee fabric.
  • Cut two 6″ pieces of ribbon
  • Cut two  4″ (size 0-6 mo) or 4 1/2″ (size 6-12 mo) pieces of 1/8″ elastic
Soft-Baby-Slippers-6
  • Fold heel fabric piece in half, wrong sides together. Sew a seam 1/2″ from the folded edge, creating a casing for the elastic
  • Thread the elastic through the casing, tacking down on 1/4″ from each end with several rows of stitching
Soft-Baby-Slippers-5
  • Fold the heel piece into a “U” shape with the elastic casing edge on the inside
  • Place a toe fabric piece on either side of the heel piece, right sides together. Ends of heel piece should be flush with flat end of toe pieces. Pin, then sew a 1/2″ seam (sewing three pieces together)
Soft-Baby-Slippers-4
  • Turn slipper to the right side, pulling heel piece away from toe pieces
  • Sew ribbon onto top toe piece if desired, 1/2″ from ankle
  • Top stitch two toe pieces together, close to ankle
Soft-Baby-Slippers-3
  • Pin heel piece to the rest of the slipper, right sides together
  • Sew heel to slipper with a short, wide zigzag stitch, making sure you catch all three layers of fabric (it’s a good idea to sew once with the heel facing you, then flip the slipper over and zigzag over the seam again from the other side)
Sew Soft Baby Slippers by The DIY Mommy
  • Flip slipper right-side-out, pushing out the seams, and your done! Make the 2nd one the same way.

Printable Instructions:

DIY Soft Baby Slippers

Sew Soft Baby Slippers

Yield: 1 Pair
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Active Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Difficulty: Intermediate
Estimated Cost: $15

This pattern for Soft Baby Slippers is a pattern I’ve drafted and tested on my baby girl. They’re quick to sew, soft for little baby feet, and the elastic around the ankles helps them stay on! In this example, I’ve decorated them with ribbon, but the embellishment options for these are endless – use your own creativity!

Materials

  • 1/4 yard printed minkee fabric (or flannel, polar fleece, cotton, pretty much anything would work!)
  • 1/8 yard double-sided (“plush”) minkee fabric (or polar fleece)
  • 1 package 1/8″ elastic
  • Ribbon or other embellishment

Instructions

    1. Download & print our PDF pattern: The DIY Mommy – Soft Baby Slippers
    2. Cut heel & toe pieces from printed minkee fabric, and sole pieces from double-sided minkee fabric.
    3. Cut two 6″ pieces of ribbon
    4. Cut two 4″ (size 0-6 mo) or 4 1/2″ (size 6-12 mo) pieces of 1/8″ elastic
    5. Fold heel fabric piece in half, wrong sides together. Sew a seam 1/2″ from the folded edge, creating a casing for the elastic
    6. Thread the elastic through the casing, tacking down on 1/4″ from each end with several rows of stitching
    7. Fold the heel piece into a “U” shape with the elastic casing edge on the inside
    8. Place a toe fabric piece on either side of the heel piece, right sides together. Ends of heel piece should be flush with flat end of toe pieces. Pin, then sew a 1/2″ seam (sewing three pieces together)
    9. Turn slipper to the right side, pulling heel piece away from toe pieces
    10. Sew ribbon onto top toe piece if desired, 1/2″ from ankle
    11. Top stitch two toe pieces together, close to ankle
    12. Pin heel piece to the rest of the slipper, right sides together
    13. Sew heel to slipper with a short, wide zigzag stitch, making sure you catch all three layers of fabric (it’s a good idea to sew once with the heel facing you, then flip the slipper over and zigzag over the seam again from the other side)
    14. Flip slipper right-side-out, pushing out the seams, and your done! Make the 2nd one the same way.

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Sew a Boutique Blanket For Baby

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53 Comments

  1. I love these slippers! Thanks so much for the pattern. I do have a question though. I was making them for a newborn but once finished the opening for the foot was too small. I’ve tried a few other times with the larger size and again the opening was too small. Am I doing something wrong?? Help! Thanks!

    1. Hi Annastasia! Are you attaching the heel to the toe properly? After the heel is folded lengthwise and elastic is threaded through, the short (folded) ends of the heel need to be sewn to the toe. I find that often people don’t attach the proper sides of the heel to the toe (the short sides). Let me know if this helps, if not I can try to add a better diagram to the instructions to make it more clear. ~ Christina

      1. It has been a long time since this was posted and commented on, but I found you thru Pinterest.

        I was having a similar problem as the previous commenter. My hole was too small when sewn to the toes. I discovered that I had folded the heel fabric in half the wrong direction. This would also explain why 4″ of elastic provided no gather, even when trimmed half an inch.

      2. “the short (folded) ends of the heel need to be sewn to the toe. I find that often people don’t attach the proper sides of the heel to the toe (the short sides).”

        Christina… I am so confused! I know how it should look but I just can’t grasp what you mean at this part of the instructions! HELP! Do you have a Youtube video of this?

      3. I think the key is to fold the heel piece like a hot dog bun rather than like a taco. Also, make a sandwich with toe piece (right side up), heel piece curved in a “C” facing the flat edge of the toe pieces, other toe piece (right side down). Is that correct?

      4. I’ve been having this issue as well! Every time I make the 0-6m the opening is too small. I’ve watched the YouTube tutorial and I’m doing it correctly so I’m just confused. Is it suppose to be that small???

        On a side note I love the pattern thank you !

        1. Perhaps check and see if the pattern is getting shrunk? Sometimes when people open the pdf to print, their printer settings will shrink it…

  2. Thanks a bunch Christina for your response. I think I’m putting it together correctly, I’m starting on a pair tomorrow once I start that step I’ll post a picture just to be sure. Thanks again!!

  3. Hi ~ I am VERY new to sewing and am having a hard time with attaching the heel to the toe pieces. I’m not sure how to fold the heel into a “U” and attach the toe pieces. Could you explain that a little more for me? Thanks so much! And I’m SO excited to make these for my kids! 🙂

      1. Hi Karen ~ I hope this helps…I was going to try to attach a picture, but can’t seem to figure out how to do that. Basically, you have your heel piece with the elastic threaded and sewn in, and you’ll take that pin the short edges to the top of one of your toe pieces…one side to one corner, other side in the other corner. So the short edges of your heel piece line up even with the non-curved side of your toe piece. (the “U” shape she mentions in the tutorial was the part I struggled with, but the elastic becomes the inside part of the “U” and the short sides of your heel piece become the tops) Then pin your other toe piece on top of the heel piece so it’s sandwiched in between the toe pieces and sew a straight line across all 3 pieces. Just be careful to just sew the short edges of your heel piece! 🙂 Good luck!

  4. Hi, I just wanted to be sure I printed the right pattern size – when printed, the pattern fills an 8 x 11 page, correct? It looks a bit big…but I guess when I account for a seam allowance, perhaps this is the right size…?

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  6. What number is your printer set at when printing pattern, when I printed mine it is small.? I know you said it should fill the whole page but what setting is that?

    1. Hi Jeri! Every printer is different and mine doesn’t have a setting like that so I’m unsure. Sorry! I will try to upload a new pattern soon that has a 1″ x 1″ square on it to check. I’ll let you know when I’ve done that!

      1. have you uploaded the new pattern yet with the 1″ square? I am also having a difficult time figuring out sizing. Thanks so much 🙂

  7. Cute slippers. I’ve sewn everything except the upper portion to the sole. Do I sew with a 1/2″ seam allowance there, also?
    Thanks,
    GrandMimi (sewing for our 1st grand-baby)

    1. Hello! You can use a 1/4″ seam on the sole (and then there’s not so much excess fabric inside the slipper). Let me know how they turn out & congratulations on your first grandbaby!

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    I stumbledupon it 😉 I will return yet again since I bookmarked it.
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  9. I also struggled with the sewing the heel to the toe piece. There is a YouTube video on Videojug that shows it step by step using a very similar pattern. It really helped me with that step.

  10. Hi There!
    Love these, wanting to sew a larger pair for a toddler as slippers, any idea or tips on enlarging the pattern? Thanks a bunch!

      1. I am also attempting to make a toddler size as slippers but not having success trying to size up. The opening for the ankle is too small.

  11. Hi,

    Can you tell me what size the printed cut outs are – I tried two different prints on my computer, one ‘Actual Fit’ and one normal and they both printed slightly different sizes.

    Thank you 🙂

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  13. Thanks for the tutorial and pattern, Christina! I just made a cute pair of cozy fleece slippers for the grand baby! It seems that everything I go to make, when I google it, there you are, showing me how!

    1. Christina is so thrilled that she is able to help you out with all your DIY projects. Happy crafting 🙂

  14. Hi this is a good pattern and they worked out well first practice pair. I was wondering what the seam allowance is when sewing the heel to the upper I did 1/4 inch. There’s no mention of seam allowance on the last part of the instructions.

    1. Hey Sara, so happy you were able to make these soft slippers. We will have to update that measurement, thank you for letting us know :). You’re right with going with the 1/4″ ?

  15. Thank you for this pattern! I made a pair from a felted sweater for my granddaughter. I had to modify it slightly since it was only one thickness due to the felted fabric. But they turned out great, and actually stay on her feet.

  16. I sew and knit/crochet for our local hospital and have been asked for baby booties for babies that have to undergo surgery. The lights on the bassinets don’ reach the feet so they need them to keep their feet warm. Do you think these slippers would work for that and not be kicked off?
    Thank you,
    Roberta

  17. I think I’ve followed the directions pretty well all the way up until step 12. Is it me or should the instructions say attach “sole” to the rest of the shoe instead of heel on steps 12-14??? I have three pattern pieces, heel, toe and sole. How I followed the directions meant the heel was already attached by this step. And then I see no directions for attaching the sole??? I’m sure it’s me. I’m sure I did something wrong 😀

  18. Hi! Questions regarding differences between written instructions and the video. Step 8 of the instructions says to sew a 1/2″ seam, while the video says to sew 1/4″ seam. Which is preferred in order to get the finished size correct? I also noticed the written instruction (Materials) calls for 1/8″ elastic, while your video says to use 1/4″. Does it matter? Thanks for clarifications.

  19. Am I the only person who has read instructions several times and have not found where the sole is attached?

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