Sunday, 28 January 2007

All Done.

I wanted to make something a little different for my new nephew. I thought about what I would have liked with my two and remembered feeling really frustrated with the booties and socks that would never stay on or wouldn't be warm enough.

So I present the Stay-on-the-foot-felted-baby shoe! Tested and passed with flying colours on a real live baby!



To come up with the pattern I played around with paper, scissors and staples. I had a few false starts once I went to cloth and found it didn't work or wouldn't stay on but eventually I got the pattern down.

Remember all those felted swatches lying around that you plan one day to sew together into one big blanket (when you go over the edge, you know, then) well I now have a use for them! The green is much brighter than the photo showed, more lime.



I needlefelted a koru on the front. This is a Maori symbol that means new life, growth, strength and peace. This is a very powerful symbol and a favourite of mine.



Then I hand sewed them together with a heavy duty waxed thread. I made the base a thicker felt so the shoe has some structure.




I added some unbleached, cotton elastic and sewed down the flaps.




All Done.

Can I cast on for a new project now? Please.........

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Tanya, those booties are absolutely wonderful! I love the design and the way you constructed them - brilliant! And as a recipient of one of your felted pieces I know the care that has gone into it - I also love the koru. Excellent job!

Joan said...

Wow, I absolutely LOVE those booties! I have never seen anything like them. Brilliant is the word!

Anonymous said...

This is amazing! You really should make bunches and sell on Ebay! Maybe offer custom designs for people?