How to sew baby booties: lined and soft-soled, newborn to 18 months

To sew baby booties, measure the baby's foot, cut a sole, a toe and a heel from the outer fabric and again from the lining, gather the toe, sew the toe and heel into a ring, then sew the ring to the sole. Make the lining the same way, join outer and lining with a fold-over cuff, turn the bootie and thread soft elastic through the cuff. The Sewzy Baby Booties come in four sizes from 0-3 months to 12-18 months and take about 1½ hours a pair.

TL;DR

• Size by foot length, heel to the tip of the longest toe: 3¾ in (0-3M), 4¼ in (3-6M), 4¾ in (6-12M), 5¼ in (12-18M). Between sizes, go up.
• Fabric for one pair: ¼ yd outer, ¼ yd lining, ⅛ yd cuff, and a sole scrap. Fat quarters work too.
• Sole: suede, faux leather or grippy sole fabric for non-slip; cotton soles can take fabric grip paint.
• Elastic: narrow, soft knit elastic, ¼ inch wide.
• Safety: no buttons, bows, pompoms or beads. Small parts are a choking hazard.

Baby bootie sizes

The inside sole is ⅜ inch longer than the foot, which leaves toe room. To measure, stand the baby on paper, mark the heel and the tip of the longest toe and measure straight between the marks. For a gift where you cannot measure, go by age and pick the bigger size, because babies grow fast.

What fabric is best for baby booties?

For Christmas, a red flannel outer with a cream cuff, or a small plaid, looks lovely. For a padded sole, add a layer of fusible fleece. Prewash the fabric, since booties get washed often.

What you need

• Outer, lining, cuff and sole fabric, as above.
• ¼ inch soft knit elastic and a small safety pin to thread it.
• Matching thread, sharp scissors, pins or clips and a fabric marker.
• Optional: fusible fleece and fabric grip paint.

How to sew baby booties, step by step

The pattern has 12 steps with pictures. Here they are in short. The ¼ inch seam allowance is included on every piece, and the toe, heel and cuff are cut on the fold.

1. Measure and print. Pick the size, print at 100% and check the 2 inch test square.
2. Cut. For a pair, cut 2 soles and 2 lining soles, 4 toes and 4 heels (half outer, half lining), and 2 cuffs.
3. Pad the soles with fusible fleece, or get them ready for grip paint (optional).
4. Gather the toes between the dots, so the toe curves around the front of the foot.
5. Sew the side seams. Join each toe to a heel at both sides to make a ring.
6. Sew the outer sole. Pin the outer ring to the sole, matching the notches, and sew slowly with a short stitch. Turn it right side out.
7. Sew the lining the same way, leaving the gap in the lining sole for turning.
8. Make the cuff.
9. Join the outer, cuff and lining at the top edge.
10. Turn out and close the gap in the lining sole with small hidden stitches.
11. Sew the elastic channel in the cuff, thread the elastic through with the safety pin, zigzag the ends together and close the channel.
12. Finish and check. Knot every thread end and tug every seam.

It is rated a confident-beginner project: the gathered toe and the curved sole seam are the parts to take slowly. If curves are new to you, practice with how to sew a straight line and curves.

Safety for baby clothes

• No buttons, bows, pompoms, beads or glued-on parts.
• Use soft knit elastic, and check the baby's ankles for red marks after wearing. If you see marks, loosen the elastic.
• Use short stitches and knot every thread end, so nothing unravels.
• For names, embroider them flat; see how to embroider letters and names.

A baby gift set

Booties fit in a small gift box with a Baby Bib, which is free, and a Hooded Towel. A pair in Christmas fabric makes a sweet first-Christmas gift. More ideas are in baby shower gifts to sew. The Baby Booties are a Premium pattern in the Sewzy app, with all four sizes and a picture for every step.