What adorable little baby girl dress is complete without a pair of matching Mary Jane baby style shoes? Plus, these are just so much fun to make!
When I first sewed a pair of these little baby shoes I couldn’t get them out of my mind and even dreamed about them all night. They are just too cute. I gotta say though, they are so tiny that they can be a little tricky to sew.
When I tried them on my 15 month old (ahem!) little BOY (hey, someone’s gotta model them right?) he fell in love too and didn’t want to take them off. Silly boy. Guess I need to come up with a little boy shoe that I can make for him.
They really are the perfect accent to any little dress you make.
I used a pattern to make these but tweaked it and created my own version which I will now give to you.
Want to make a pair for your little darling?
What You Need:
2 coordinating fabrics (small amount of both)
Iron on lining
Small pieces of Velcro
Mary Jane Baby Shoes Pattern Pieces: 0-6 months or 6-12 months
Mary Jane Baby Girl Shoes Pattern Tutorial:
Using the pattern pieces above, cut out your pieces.
You will want to cut 2 U shapes and 2 soles from your main fabric and 2 U shapes and 2 soles from your accent. Also, 2 U shapes and 2 soles from the iron on lining. Also cut 2 straps from the main fabric and the lining.
The first step is to iron the lining to the back of your main fabric on all of the pieces.
Then, we are going start by making the straps. Place one small piece of velcro on one end of the strap, close to the edge:
Sew the Velcro in place. Then fold the strap in half with right sides touching and sew down the short end near the velcro and then down the long side:
Turn the strap right side out (I am telling you, this will be the hardest part of making this shoe because that little bugger is so tiny. It’s hard to turn!) and press it nice and flat. Do this with both straps.
With your U shapes, take 1 of each fabric and place them with right sides together. Insert the strap into the U like this:
And sew around the inner part of the U.
Now, turn your fabric right side out and press it very smooth and flat (you’ll have to fight with the fabric a little to get it all to lay really smooth). And…yours should have the strap sticking out. Totally forgot to sew the strap in place on this one. Had to go back and do it.
Now, top stitch around the inside of the U.
Next, pull the right sides together at the back of the shoes and sew:
Sew your soles around the very edge so that the main fabric shows on the top and the coordinating on the bottom (with lining ironed on in between). This will just keep the soles together while you work with them.
Now grab your top part of the shoe (the U piece) and pin it to the sole with right sides together:
Sew all the way around the shoe. Watch out-those pins are SHARP! I always stab myself doing this. Always. Maybe you will have better luck.
Now, turn the whole thing right side out and all that is left to do is sew your other piece of Velcro in place on the outside.
Adorable yes?
Don’t you just want to kiss that little foot? Love it. Don’t forget to make a matching dress.
Very cute! What are the measurements for the straps? Thanks!!
Whoops! Those are on the pattern now. :)
I have bought patterns trying to make these shoes, they always seem so complicated. Yours is the best and it was FREE!
Eek! Love the matching shoes! =)
These are super cute! I have a little girl and I might try making some for her. :)
Very cute. I love the main fabric with the contrast lining.
Thanks for sharing this adorable tutorial!
Those are precious!! Great job, Amber, with beautiful pictures and and excellent tutorial. Thanks so much for sharing at Hookin On Hump Day!
If you pin with the pointy end in to the middle of the shoes, you might get fewer finger pricks!
So excited to make these for my girl–no shoes will stay on her tiny heels, even at 9 months. I think these will do the trick! Thank you!
Aha! See, now you are smart. Next time I will try facing the pins inward.
Hey! I’m new to sewing and embroidery- just bought my 1st sewing and embroidery machine. so excited! I bought several of ‘these’ shoe patterns b/c ‘they’ say they are for beginner sewers BUT I have had so much trouble reading ‘their’ instructions- even the lady where i bought my machine said they are advanced. So GLAD I came across your tutorial. I may actually be able to make these now:) Your instructions seem much easier. At least I hope I can make them, they are so cute!
That’s fantastic! I hope they go well. I have to say, I am an experienced sewer and these are not the easiest thing to make, so don’t get frustrated. They don’t take much fabric so you can try a few times if needed. Also, stick around! I am going to be doing a Learn To Sew Series in the New Year with prizes and tutorials each week and a huge prize/project contest at the end. Getting very excited for that!
Adorable! I’d want one to match every outfit! You do an amazing tutorial! Pinned! Thanks for sharing on Busy Monday.
LOVE IT!!!!!!! Can you make me a pair? :)
Thanks so much for sharing this at The DIY Dreamer… From Dream To Reality!
These are such a great addition to the dress!
I am coming over from a linky party and I would love for you to come over and check out my Wool Dryer Ball Tutorial!!
Have a Good Day!
Ashley Suzanne
Sooooo sweet!
Wow these are adorable! I need to make some for my 4 month old! I’m pinning this!
I’d like to make like this for my friends baby boy. She just gave birth the other day. Thanks for sharing this! You make things easy! :)
Any ideas on how to enlarge the pattern to fit a toddler? She hates normal slippers but LOVES her shoes like this so I would like to try to make her a fleece pair but I am pretty sure I would mess up enlarging!
Sorry I haven’t responded. I need to figure it out myself. Have you already tried?
Hello! These look lovely and I thought I would try them out tomorrow. As there is no inch or cm scale/square to show if the pdf file is correct in size, could anyone tell me if the strap for the 6-12 size is 3″ ( apx 7½ cm)?. Some pdf patterns I have downloaded have a 1″ square that actually is more like 1 3/4″.
Hope I get an answer. Happy first advent.
Sue
It should be true if you print it at 100%
Was wondering if you have a pattern to make these “slippers” for bigger girls and mommies? Thanks!
Not yet but I will put that on my idea list.
I’m fairly new to sewing, I’ve only tackled pillows and tote bags before but these were so easy. Of course the hardest part were the straps so in my frustration I scapped the straps and used elastic. I tacked little red flowers on each side of the elastic and they turned out super cute! I made the first pair a bit too small so they went to my newborn niece but my second pair fit perfect for my 4 month old. Your tutorial was excellent! I would have never been able to make these with a store bought pattern. My daughter & neice are little fashionistas now and everyone loves the shoes! Thank you so much!
Oh glad to hear it because those little shoes can be a little tricky to sew!
Thanks for this cute tutorial. Have you ever added any elastic in the back? If so, how did you do it? Also, have you made any bigger sizes yet?
Thanks!
No and No but I should!!!
I’m going to try making a bigger size. Wish me luck!
Let me know how it goes!
I cut the fabric. I bought HeatnBond in medium and ultrahold – which should I use? Thanks!
Either one probably is fine.
I’m almost finished – I just have to sew the top to the bottom – and I noticed that you top-stitched the straps… I missed that step… the strap are already sewn into the tops, though. Oops!
I just learned this recently and it’s changed my life…take a piece of yarn or a skinny strip of fabric and sew it into the casing. Sew one end shut first, being sure to sew over the yarn, then sew along the side, yarn tucked inside,making sure you don’t sew over the yarn again. When you get finished sewing the side, hold onto the yarn sticking out of the unsewn side and push the fabric over the yarn until you get it completely right side out. If you are making a casing that doesn’t need to be sewn shut, just cut off the entire end where the yarn was sewn in (so you need to accommodate for cutting this when cutting out your fabric & add an extra 1/2 in or so). If you do need it sewn shut, like for these adorable little shoes, just snip off the yarn that is sticking out, getting as close to the fabric as possible without cutting it. If you use a yarn that coordinates with your fabric it won’t even be noticeable. Hope that makes sense! Love, love, love this pattern by the way and many other things on your site!! :)
Ohhhhhh! That sounds amazing. I am going to try it and may have to show my readers! Thank you.
Great idea! I started making Bow Ties for my little guy, and it requires a lot of turning of little pieces. Going to try this next time… so long as I remember haha!
these are great! i just made two pair for my friend who’s expecting a baby.
one little tip: make sure you put the strap on the opposite side for the second shoe. the first time i made these, i accidentally made two identical shoes – both with a strap on the left side. just wanted to spare someone else the same mistake :)
otherwise, this was a very useful tutorial and an easy project – even for a beginner like me :)
thanks so much for this post!!!
I’ve made that mistake before too. :)
Thanks for sharing this pattern. These shoes are great and the pics make it easy to follow.
Where do you get iron on lining? I could only find interfacing.
Uh sorry. Bad wording on my part. Interfacing is what I mean. :)
It must be me because nobody else has mentioned it. But the first part where the strap has just been sewn on and we’ve turned put fabrics back to back and sewn round the inner part of the ‘U’……….it says turn in the right way and press………….HOW can we turn it in the right way when the centre of the U is sewn………..its not possible??
It is possible you just have to maneuver it very carefully. It should just be a U shape, you haven’t done anything more than that have you? You just have to work with the fabric and press a little as you go and soon it will work!
Hi, thanks for your reply……..it was ME lol. After spending hours on it and even asking hubby if he could turn it (he could’nt either), then i went onto my craft site and consulted members for ages lol, i was adamant it couldn’t be done once the centre of the ‘U’ had been sewn together…………in the end someone did me a video showing me how to do it…………if somebody had of just said that i had to turn the ‘legs’ upwards, then i would’ve probably got it lol………..