Thrifty sewing - slippers, mittens and hats for baby

I loved all the birthday messages you sent yesterday. Thank you all so much. The comments you send me, even after all this time, really make my day. They remind me that you are out there and the numbers of us living as we do are increasing. Happy birthday to all the other April babies.  I hope you have a joyous birthday too.

I found the most charming and cuddly pattern for baby slippers at The Purl Bee the other day. The link is here. The Purl Bee suggested making them using woollen felt and when I was at our Crafternoon, I made a couple of pairs of felt slippers but then started wondering about the practicalities - keeping them clean. You could wash the felt shoes but they'd take a long time to dry. So I went on to version 2 - fleece slippers. 

They're easy to make, look really cozy and three pairs of slippers can be made from a 35cm/14 inch square of thick fleece. I bought a half a metre of different colours of fleece recently and each half metre cost me less than four dollars. Making three pairs of slippers cost me about 50 cents. Best of all, they can be thrown in with the normal wash and be dry in a couple of hours. I guess they'd be fine in the dryer as well, if you use one.

These are an easy to make, simple baby gift for the little loves in your life. If you have a few different fleece colours you could make a selection of different colours slippers for a newborn, or make different colours for different ages. They make a delightful and very useful little gift.

To make the slippers you'll need thick fleece, a sewing needle, embroidery thread, a few pins and a pair of scissors.

The slippers are cut out according to the template here  and then sewn together using a simple blanket stitch. If you don't know how to do that, look at this  You Tube blanket stitch video. Try it, it's very easy, even for beginners. Fleece is very forgiving. It's easy to cut and the cut edges seal themselves and don't need any hemming of edging.

I'm going to make a thread at the forum later today so we can share photos of our fleece slippers. So even if you're new to sewing, dive into this great beginners project and see how well they come up. If you're really keen you do make up matching mittens and warm hats. I'll be doing them as soon as I have a bit of share time. Don't forget to show and tell on the forum thread. I'd love to see what you do.

I'll be at the Permaculture Noosa meeting this Thursday, 19 April. They have a small market, speakers and supper from 7pm till 9pm. If you're nearby, come along and introduce yourself. I'd love to meet you. If you've bought a book, bring it along and I'll sign it for you. The following day, on Friday, 20 April, I'll be at Dymocks in Brisbane to sign books. If you've been reading here for a while, come in and say hello, I'd love to meet you.  Some readers have asked when I'll be signing books near them but the only places I'll be in the near future will be close to my home - Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba (in June) and Brisbane. ♥