Two Dollar Jacket Becomes...

 Shoes for Lila Elizabeth, my new second cousin.

Shoes for Nash Alexander, my other new second cousin.

Shoes for me, less cute.

A flute case for my mom's new native American instrument.

Naturally, I neglected to get a before photo--someday I will learn, but it doesn't look like it will be anytime soon. But the jacket in question came from a smashing yard sale. Somehow I passed it up the first day of the sale, then kept thinking about it, then thought how crazy I was being over $2. Really it wasn't the two dollars, it was more the fear of buying piles of great stuff for making great stuff and then not doing it and feeling overwhelmed by all the great stuff sitting around and yet to be made.

But I decided to risk it, and then promptly dived in. The erstwhile jacket: suede, a really nice color of green, about a size 12, princess seams, antique brass snaps up the front, lined. Even though it was too big for me, I worried that I might find it hard to chop it up when the time came. Another fear conquered.

The baby shoes are from this free pattern at Tacky Living. I liked the nice drafting and clear instructions. My only quibble was that the lining did not enclose the raw edges on the inside of the shoe. Now, I don't know how it would, but I wish that it would. Perhaps I will try some other patterns to see if they address this issue. I actually made the girl pair with the ribbon trim second, and those I didn't line. I'm just as happy with the unlined pair if not more so.

Having become swept up in the barefoot walking/minimal shoe/generally primal movement, I also wanted to make a pair of soft shoes for myself using this same concept. I made an earlier prototype, using mostly just my foot as a guide, last week. For this pair, I hoped to scale up the Tacky Living pattern and refine the results. Well, I still have a way to go. They are okay but definitely can be better. I took them for a walk around the neighborhood this afternoon, and found that I had skewed the vamp of the right shoe, making it roll under the inner edge of my foot as I walked. Not so good.

Here we see them on my feet. Does it get any sexier?

Quite a few small scraps, plus most of the front snap placket still remain from the two dollar jacket. Pretty good value so far!