I seem to be at a point in my life where more and more of my blog posts are starting with “a friend/colleague/neighbour/stranger I saw down the street recently had a baby”. This may be a reflection on the frequency of my blog posts rather than the birth rate amongst my friends and acquaintances. Whatever the reason, I’m making more and more baby things and enjoying how my crafty output is changing.

The most recent gift for a baby was a departure from my craft of choice. My friend was having her baby in North Queensland, so I was a bit hesitant to make the baby something that would be too warm. Instead, I sewed some wee booties from some fairly thin wool felt. This decision doesn’t seem nearly as logical when written down; it made complete sense when thinking about a suitable gift a couple of months ago.

Felt Baby Shoes from The Purl Bee
Grey wool felt, red embroidery thread
Started: May 2012
Finished: May 2012

They were quite fun to make, and certainly came together faster than a knitted equivalent. I do, however, need to work on my blanket stitch skills because things got a bit wonky where the top of the boots overlapped.

The felt I used was from a jumper Matt wore many years ago. When fulled, it made a soft, thin and slightly fluffy felt that I think worked ok for baby bootees. My favourite part of the boots are the soles, which were from the fulled cuffs of Matt’s jumper. Hopefully it looks like faux-tread, because that’s the effect I was aiming for!

For me, the most difficult part of the project was sewing elastic in the top of the boot. I kept agonising over the placement of the elastic (and in turn, the little red crosses), but after a bit of trial and error, I think they look pretty even.

Since making these, I’ve made another pair from some Winterwool felt. Rhey look just as good in a more rigid felt, if not better. Conveniently, one of their 20cm by 23cm squares was just enough for one pair of boots. They don’t have the charm (if you can call it that) of the faux-tread, but having a simple ‘1 square of felt:1 pair of boots’ ratio is quite appealing to me.

If you’re looking to make a pair of baby bootees, this pattern is well worth considering. They’re cute, quick, and quite fun.

On the weekend, a couple of us checked out some of the buildings that were part of Melbourne Open House. We ventured into the rabbit warren at the back of the State Library (side note: this exhibition at the State Library looks great):

Climbed a lot of stairs at the Rendezvous Hotel:

Marvelled at Mission for Seafarers:

And my favourite (even though it wasn’t really a tour of a building, but a business), wandering through many many bolts of vintage fabric at Phillips Shirts:

Melbourne Open House is one of my favourite annual events in Melbourne. It appeals to my sticky beak sensibilities and it’s a good opportunity to see Melbourne from a slightly different angle. I wish it happened more often.