Sew Fringed Leather Baby Booties

With just over a month until d-day, I've finally found some time to sew for Baby Three! In line with her boho themed nursery that I'm planning, I made these uber-adorable fringed baby booties in a soft, champagne coloured metallic leather:

Aren't they the sweetest?! Just looking at them gets me so excited for her arrival. Oh, to hold such a tiny being again with such tiny little feet!

To make these, I used my own pattern and tutorial for baby slippers that I posted here in 2009 (wow, ancient) and I made some modifications.

Would you like to make some for your little angel? These would also make a sweet baby shower gift!

Materials:

• ¼ yard bonded metallic leather (I got mine from Fabric.com)
• ¼ yard printed cotton fabric or flannel
• a package of ¼" elastic

Print out the baby slippers pattern found here. (I have it in size 0-6 months and 6-12 months right now, but I may be adding more sizes in the near future!)

Cut two toes, two heels and two sole pieces from the bonded leather. Cut two toes and two soles from the cotton. Then, cut the to pattern piece in half (approximately) lengthwise as shown, matching the curve of the cut to the curve at the bottom of the piece. Use the bottom half as a pattern to cut two fringe pieces out of the bonded leather. Hold the two pieces together and cut slits from one long end to the other (as shown above), stopping about ½" from the top of the piece.

Stay-stitch the fringe pieces to the tops of the toe pieces as shown above, using a ¼" seam allowance. Fold over the heel pieces lengthwise and sew an elastic casing about ½" from the folded edge. Thread a piece of elastic through the casing and stitch it at each end to hold it in. The elastic pieces should measure 4″ (size 0-6 mo) or 4 ½″ (size 6-12 mo) each.

Fold the heel piece into a “U” shape with the elastic casing edge on the inside. Pin the short ends of the heel piece so that they are flush with the right side top of the toe piece (where the fringe is). The bottom of the heel piece should be flush with each side of the toe piece. Use the picture above as a guide - this part can sometimes be tricky to do!

Place the cotton fabric toe piece on top of the other two leather pieces (right side down) and its top flush with the top of the leather piece. Pin.

Sew them all together along the top of the toe using a ½" seam allowance. Turn slipper to the right side, pulling heel piece away from toe pieces. Topstitch the fringe to the toe (about ¼" away from the seam) to keep the fringe in place.

Sandwhich the leather and the cotton heel pieces together (wrong sides together) and pin them to the bottom of the slipper. 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). You can also use a serger.

Flip slipper right-side-out, pushing out the seams, and you're done! Make the 2nd one the same way.

To review:

Your little boho baby is ready to tromp through the tall grass in these precious and shiny fringed DIY booties.

I absolutely LOVED working with this soft & supple bonded leather from Fabric.com. Not only did I love the way these slippers turned out, the fabric was so easy to work with on my regular machine and serger! You can buy some here.

Did you sew things for your baby before they were born? Or are you planning to?

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Linked to: Frugal Crafty Home Blog Hop @ Carrie This Home, Our Sunday Best Showcase @ A Pretty Life in the Suburbs, Weekend Re-Treat Link Party @ AKA Design