Little Felt Boots and a Hood

I have nothing deep to say about Christmas or the new year.  I might, in time, but for now, I've still got a backlog of projects that I want to blog about for the record.  Hooray for the end of the holidays and a return to normal!

I wanted to keep Phoebe warm when I carried her in the Ergo on the walk to school.  She swivels her head back and forth in true baby curiosity, so the attached hood on her coat was getting in the way.  I made her this winter baby bonnet out of a felted fuschia cashmere sweater.  It was so simple because I didn't line it, and I think it's totally adorable.  I had intended to do a blanket stitch around the edges, but Phoebe has worn it so much that I haven't bothered.

Then her little tootsies needed to be kept warm outside and, sometimes (rarely this winter), inside on the cold floor.

I used this tutorial to make felt boots out of the same sweater, but oh my, I made some funny mistakes on the way.  I was in a hurry, so I didn't read closely enough and I sewed the curved toe to the top of the instep.  Fortunately, I had taken an uncharacteristic step of making trial runs ("muslins") in scrap fabric.

So yes, these had to be thrown away and then I figured out my mistake.

I also made an entire pair of boots using leopard-print polar fleece (see second photo above).  They do work, although the lesson I learned from making those was to take precise measurements instead of sizing up to account for growth as I usually do for children's clothing.

And now Phoebe is snug, with nothing hampering her mobility.

 Both projects were quite fast (not accounting for my mistakes with the boots) and used very little fabric.  If the winter were colder, I'd probably make some more.