I've always loved this style of shoes for little boys. Surprisingly, they're hard to find, unless you want to spend an arm and a leg from a handmade shop, or baby boutique. The average price I've found for similar shoes ranges from $40-$50, which I don't even usually spend on shoes for myself. I would almost consider paying that much for a good quality pair of shoes for Lincoln if he it wasn't for the fact that baby feet grow so fast! So I decided to take the plunge into leather working and make my own. I've made a few pairs of baby shoes in the past, but I didn't feel confident enough to draft a pair totally from scratch, so I bought this pattern off of Etsy, and heavily modified it until I got the look I wanted.
I bought the leather from this Etsy shop. It was overwhelming trying to figure out what kind of leather to get, and what a good price is. I had to do a lot of reading online. I ended up getting two 14"x 14" pieces of leather, one was 3.5 oz and the other was 6 oz. Each was around $7, and I have quite a bit leftover, so I think it was a great deal. I used the thinner piece for the upper part of the shoe and the laces, and the thicker piece was perfect for the soles.
I already had a heavy duty hole punch, which I used to punch through the leather and put the grommets in.
I'm so, so happy with how they turned out.
I admire you, Caitlin. You like a challenge, don't you? They look perfect.
ReplyDeleteHi! Not sure you'll get this comment two years later but just came across these and love them and have to try making some! Couple questions- did you change the etsy pattern at all? Anything you would do differently? Did they stay on your baby well? Any tips for sewing leather? Did you like the thickness of the 3.5 oz leather? Thanks, anything helps!
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