Scalloped Trim Natty Janes

I really liked the scallops on the slippers/shoes that I made for Foofy here. But those were very dainty and slipped off her feet constantly, so I decided to make some little shoes from real leather, using the Natty Jane pattern that I've sewn previously. (Here and here.)

  At the time I began sewing them, Foof was wearing newborn-sized shoes, so I cut and sewed a size 1. But a week later, when I finished, her feet had grown to the point where I could barely squeeze the shoes on her! And when I tried to photograph them on her a week later, they didn't fit at all! 

  Other than the embellishments, I mostly followed the pattern. However, I sewed the heel seam before the opening seam, because I feel like I can line everything up better that way. I also shortened the strap and sewed it into the opening seam rather than attaching it at the sole.

 The embellishment is just a scalloped, punched strip of contrasting leather with a heart from the main material, both stitched on. I used grey thread throughout the shoes, but I didn't have a grey that matched the leather perfectly, so it stands out more than I'd like.

  I tried a different leather needle than I had been trying before and it fit in my machine! So I used that and had a great deal fewer skipped stitches than before. My topstitching is still pretty terrible though.... if you look at the heel of the left shoe you can see a point where I went completely off the shoe. =( I need to practice more on leather! Also, I think that part of the reason I've found these shoes so difficult is that the leather I'm using is too thick and sturdy... for a baby shoe like this, I should probably be using something more flexible. That would definitely make it easier to get those toes turned smoothly.

  I didn't enclose the seam allowances this time... I had planned on binding them but when my machine had a hard time sewing the seam the first time I realized that the bulk of binding them would be too much for it. Another reason a thinner leather would be better!

  I used heart-shaped brown KAM snaps for the closure:

  The grey leather is from a scrap bag bought several years ago at (I think) Jo-Ann Stores, and the felt is also from there. The brown leather was leftover from this book... I think the brown leather would have been a much better weight for the shoes.

  Still, I think they are stinking adorable! And I wish I'd made them one size bigger so Foofy could actually wear them! ;-) Perhaps I'll have another little niece at some point to pass them along to. =)

Thanks for stopping by,