new shoes for the boy
Making clothes for Glenn has been so much fun. Generally I've been using items of clothings that fit him well as a pattern for a new piece. This is great because I can personalize things and modify them specifically for him.
He has just about outgrown the pair of shoes I made for him in November. I fashioned those from a pair of worn out Smartwool socks and linen. It was my first time attaching snaps. I just used a hammer and the little metal tool that came with the snaps. It was pretty simple and I am now a fan.
For his spring/summer pair I wanted something lighter but still warm. I decided to make a quilted pair from linen fabric.
[The black fabric can be difficult to see in the photos. My apologies.]
I took the pattern from a friend's pair of shoes. I modified the design to fit Glenn's foot more specifically. He has small ankles.
The bottom of the sole is a slub linen, for a bit more grip. Glenn isn't to the point where I'm concerned about the shoes actually being used for walking. He mostly wears them for errands, walk, and travel. Whenever we get where we are going he is usually ready to remove the shoes.
Experience has taught me to wait to cut out one of the pieces of fabric until after quilting. Keeping the small pieces lined up throughout is an unnecessary challenge.
The heel has a piece of elastic running its length. I'm still learning about elastic, but concluded that a large zig-zag would be my best way to attach it. The elastic is enclosed inside the fabric layers. I chose to attach it to only the outside of the fabric to make the inside more comfortable for Glenn's heel.
I did a straight stitch on each end of the elastic and then stretched it while I was sewing to evenly distribute the elastic.
Next, I sewed together the three layers along the edge, once again leaving extra fabric until it was stitched.
After it was all stitched, I trimmed the second layer and batting to match the first.
The top/tongue is pieced. Sewing those small little triangles was fun.
I initially sewed the layers in the wrong order and ended up having to take them apart and restitch. This is the only problem with late night being my only kid-less creative time.
The parts ready to quilt.
After I finished quilting I decided to go ahead and sew it together by hand. My first pair I surged together, but that was mostly because I used a knit fabric.
Order of operation is key here. The heel gets attached to the sole first and then the tongue over those.
Instead of leaving the inside raw edges or surging it, I decided to sew in a strip of fabric to smooth and cover the seam.
The final step was to add the snaps. The last pair I had two snaps to adjust them, I never ended up needing that larger size. For this pair I just went with one.
