Sewing clothing

The jacket came already embroidered. I just made the quilt block leaves.

Last night I found a neat Youtube series titled "Vivmom Sews". She sews and models several garments monthly and posts a video of what she has made. Her projects turn out very well and look great on her. I like the variety of patterns she uses and she mentions where she purchased the fabric and what content/type it is. For example I did not know Hobby Lobby sells fabric. Unfortunately not one near by.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKL...sEnHf-SS8dsBYQ

Knitting is one of my favorite pastimes, I made this a year ago for my firstborn.

so cute! we post under stash management too a lot.

mcknzAlex Awe, too cute! I learned to knit as a child but hadn't done it in over 30 years at all and decided I wanted to knit my friends little girl a hat, so I did. The problem with it though was that when I was done, it was so small it wouldn't even fit a baby (possibly a baby doll but not a real baby. Still wondering what went wrong with it. LOL)

I'm going to convert a pair of shorts to a skirt. Need to buy matching thread as I don't have any close enough.

Still have not yet bought necessary thread for skirt. I found a dressy blouse in the closet that I'll wear again if I shorten it. Current length is too tight at hips, but I really prefer to wear them un-tucked with hem several inches below my natural waist. That will be a simple job.

I love those baby shoes. They are so pretty and comfortable looking.

Are you adding anything to base to keep the sandal style ones stiff enough for walking? Is it just a double layer of knitting?

I have dabbled in shoe making - for myself. I successfully altered a couple shoes, but have struck out on making them from scratch. I feel a bit envious that all the cutest styles are baby shoes.

It is hard to for me to find commercial shoes that fit me properly.

I feel like giving it another try after seeing those shoes.

All those baby shoes look crocheted to me. If they don't have some kind of anti-skid stuff on the soles, they would be too slippery for toddlers IMO. They're very cute though.

I think most baby shoes are for babies who are not walking yet. So the soles do not matter much. Actually the babies probably don't even need shoes. I think the whole point is just that baby shoes are really adorable. Some styles might help keep feet warm.

I have seen some people that make crochet soles with jute which is pretty sturdy. (Also knit and braided jute.)
That is good for an indoor shoe. For outside wear, you would probably need to put something under the jute. I have some soling material that can be used, but it is kind of pain - literally. It can be hand sewn but my fingers ache a little bit from it. Due to the nature of the material, if I poke holes with an awl first the holes close up.

It is possible that jute itself might be sturdy enough for outside walking. I might give it a try. Or I might try sewing with the extra thin white soling material I have. Another option is to glue on a shoe sole. The issue I have here is the the shoe glues tend to be pretty toxic. I am pretty sensitive to fumes from some craft products and cleaning products.

Then there is paint on or dip coatings. They also are pretty full of fumes.

Of course I need to come up with tops that don't look to slipper like. I found a cool product online today. Sewable cork fabric. It is a thin layer of cork with fabric backing.

I might play around a little bit this weekend.

I wanted to add a little snippet I came across that is helping me stay motivated for doing shoes again.

*Most shoes are pointed at the toes. Your toes are not pointed.*

Even avoiding the extreme pointed toes trend in women's shoes, it is an issue. Even tennis shoes are curved in where the big toe should be. My women's dress flats - which are kind of casual looking - also curve in at the big toe. Curving in at the little toes side is less problematic since the curve generally starts above where the little toe is.

So the first step is to make a sole not based on the shoes I have currently. Something that is a little boxy looking around the toe - similar to the loafer style shoes.

I ordered some jute from Amazon. It was $10. Not sure how many soles I can crochet from that, but I hope it is a decent number. I want to order some of the cork fabric, but I am waiting on that. I want to be able to successfully make at least one pair of shoes without it. If I do not get the basics down first, there is no need to buy more fancy materials for it.

Well I got the jute only to find it is pretty scratchy to work with. And it does not seem to be working up very thick. The shoes with jute soles like esperellas have fairly thicks soles.

I have ordered a lucet which is a traditional cord making tool to use with this. The soles are traditionally cords sewn together.

I am contemplating trying it with just regular yarn. Maybe yarn slightly firmer like my stash of dishcloth yarn.

Cute T-shirt embellishments on the sew4home.com web site post July 3. Pockets & lace insets.
I'm still working on clothing mods.

Kathy, I'm sorry the jute didn't work out for ya, for what you needed. I hate it when that happens! :sad:

Dlr, those lace inserts are a cute way to extend a top. Not sure anyone wants to see my belly though, lol!

Kathy, you are right about shoes. My feet are not pointed. I grew up going barefoot or wearing custom made shoes (we lived overseas and that was cheaper than buying imported brands) and I have always found shoes to be uncomfortable. I also have a high arch and so many shoes and boots are just not big enough across the middle of the foot.