Old School Acres

What I've been up to this time

Pigs and owlets are next.  I miss making softies!!

I know what my problem is!

Going back to my last post, I think I know what my problem is with the sewing machine.  It's that I don't feel like I'm in control.  One little move the wrong way or going just a bit too fast and it's time to start ripping stitches.  I hate that.  Blah.  I looked through my books recently and have so many about sewing, including the Reader's Digest one linked to in the comments.  I really have no excuse not to sit down and relearn.  The hand cramps I am plagued with when doing too much hand sewing is going to necessitate the machine learning.  Especially if orders keep coming for shoes.  Where are those elves anyway???

A couple of people asked about my sewing machine.  It's just a Kenmore that is about 10 years old.  I bought it solely to make cloth bags for cremation urns (ew, huh?) and it was awesome for that.  What kind of machine do you have?  What do you recommend?  What is your dream machine? 

In the garden

I'm pretty sure it's obvious how much I love vintage anything.  It's one reason old school is part of my name.  So I was thrilled when Deanna at The Baby Gardner asked about my vintage-inspired baby shoes, which you will now find here.   

If the shoe fits

The majority of hits to my blog are from searches for baby shoe patterns.  I've written about this topic before but have been adding to my collection since then. 

Free baby shoe/shoes patterns:
1st step shoes (Japanese) for pattern click here (pdf)
Bootie Pattern to Sew (pdf)
3-seam baby footies
Fleece Chinese slippers
Fleece booties
Tacky baby shoes
Soft-sole leather baby shoes
10-minute bootie pattern and instructions (very similar to the pattern I used for these)
30-minute bootie pattern
Heather Bailey's Bitty Booties

Kunin slippers

Pattern Bee vintage felt shoes

Books and patterns to buy:
Heart N Sole
Soft leather shoes
Make Them Yourself
For Sweet Baby *link to yesasia.com (see more pictures here)

Vintage baby shoe patterns from ebay (I use this one.  Seller is Emailed Vintage Patterns )

A 3rd option for baby shoe patterns is to find a shoe you like (thrift stores are a great source), take them apart, and use the pieces to make a pattern. 

Obviously wool is my favorite choice for making baby shoes, but I also like linen.  I hit the jackpot thrifting this past weekend when green-tagged clothing was 25 cents.  I came home with a selection of jackets and clothing made of cashmere, angora, leather, and wool.   

This coat is made of some of the thickest wool I've seen.  Perfect for baby shoes.  I'm thinking of adding a bit of fur lining to some winter booties.

Just me and my needle...

and thread and felt and cute Michael Miller fabric.  This little guy is supposed to be an appliqué, but he's cute this way, too.

I've had some questions about sources for vintage embroidery patterns.  My answer is "Google is your friend."  Google vintage embroidery, free vintage embroidery patterns, vintage baby embroidery, or any other combination of words you are looking for.  Sometimes I click on Images.  This works especially well if I'm looking for something specific.

One of my favorite sources for embroidery patterns is coloring book pages.  Google horse coloring, summer coloring, octopus coloring, etc., and click on Images.  Then get ready for brain overload!

Another idea is to use dingbats as embroidery patterns.  My favorite font site for this is dafont.   

Sources for free vintage embroidery patterns:
Pattern Bee
Vintage Transfer Finds
Needlecrafter (click on Library and then Designs)

This thread at Crafster is chock-full of patterns, too.

Snail shoe

Only one, because I'm not convinced I like it.  I also need to make sure it's going to fit the intended recipient.  Linen lined with satin.

We're off to the Children's Museum.  Have a great day!!

Baby boy gift

  Baby boy gift 
  Originally uploaded by Old School Acres.

Made for baby Roman, whose parents are in our Sunday school class.  Bitty Booties, long-sleeved onsie, and burp rag.  I need to make a couple more of these sets, but don't know yet if the babies are boys or girls. 

I'm hoping to go shopping tomorrow as an early birthday present to myself.  I have meetings tomorrow night, Saturday morning, and Sunday night (my actual birthday).  I have a little give-away planned for Sunday, so be sure to stop by!

WIP

I was up until midnight working on these, waiting for the electricity to go off.  Silly, huh?  We had a nasty storm go through.  Lots of lightning.  The girls are at my parents'.  Hopefully they didn't keep grandma up all night.  I'm rounding up things for the Sweet Pea Swap over at Green Bean Baby.  My swap partner collects baby shoes.  I bought this pattern off e*bay and modified it a bit.  I love working with 100% wool felt.  Add a needle and thread and it's heaven. 

Hay is for horses

Finished these today.  I thought I had another week, but found out yesterday that the Sunday school meeting this Wednesday is actually a surprise baby shower.  Nothing like a tight deadline to motivate me!!  The burp rag is a cloth diaper with a piece of Michael Miller fabric.  I embroidered the baby's name.  The onesie was not what I had planned, but I don't have any stabilizer, so the picture I started to embroider looked horrible.  For the booties I used the Bitty Booties pattern here.  Obviously I cut the horses out freehand LOL  They looked an awful lot like moose, so I added the mane and foreknot. 

And here are my shoes for Randi's "Let's Get Real Monday."  They may not be the prettiest or funkiest shoes I own, but they are the most comfy and I'm all about comfy these days. 

Baby shoes and booties

EDITED TO ADD THIS GREAT PATTERN FROM HEATHER BAILEY Bitty Booties

I've been Googling sites for baby shoe/booty patterns for a while now and thought I would share the sites I've found.

3-seam baby footies
Fleece Chinese Slippers (like the Martha felt shoes)
Bootie pattern to sew (PDF)
 Lace-up booties

Other cute baby-related patterns:
Baby Grab Ball
Shade tent
Baby towel bathrobe
Quick and easy receiving blanket
Wrap shirt