The Secret to Professional Baby Shoes

Do you want to make your baby shoes look more professional? I’ve got couple of great tips and tricks for you today. For most of them, you’ll find me over at Everyday Art sharing all the fun things I’ve learned about making baby shoes over the past few years.

But before you go, I have a tutorial for making professional baby shoes that you don’t want to miss.

Have you ever noticed how most baby shoe patterns leave a raw edge at the top of the shoes? This isn’t as noticeable if you’re making them out of leather and you have a really clean cut line, but sometimes it’s pretty noticeable. Especially when the felt lining starts to get fuzzy or the cotton you’ve used as the outer starts to fray. The fix to this problem is pretty easy actually, and only adds a couple of steps to the process but it makes a huge difference in making a more professional-looking baby shoe.

So let’s get started! I’ve used several different patterns over the years, and they’re (obviously) not all the same, but I’ve never seen this included on a pattern I’ve used. So let’s call it my little secret.

The Secret to Professional Baby Shoe Construction

1. Most patterns have you start by fusing your lining (usually felt) and your outer material together. Do it for the soles, but skip this step for the uppers.
2. When you’re cutting out your pattern, cut 1/8″-1/4″ outside the pattern on all edges that will be “exposed” on the finished shoe. Here’s an example:
3. Now cut out your upper lining and outer fabrics separately–there’s no need to fuse them or even to cut one from the fusible material.
4. Right sides together, sew along the inner curve of the shoe upper (anywhere that will be a finished edge of the shoes).
5. Clip your curves, then turn the uppers so the right sides are out. Then topstitch around the same curve for a finished look.
6. You may find it easier to baste all the way around the uppers at this point to keep your layers together, but it’s optional. Finish making your shoes as instructed.

You’ll be amazed at how this simple process will help you make professional baby shoes!