Shoes for an 18-inch Doll

These are instruction on how to embroider and assemble shoes for an 18-inch doll. As a model we used the measurements of an American Girl Doll.

Depending on the material used, they can be home slippers or dress shoes.

You will need 2 fabrics, one for the lining and one for the outside of the shoes. We recommend to use polyester felt for both parts, or felt for the lining and thin leather for the outside. For demonstration purposes we used green felt for the lining and red felt for the outside, but you can choose whichever colors you find most attractive.
You will also need thin silk ribbon of a matching color.

Step One: Hoop a piece of polyester felt (the lining). Start embroidering. The machine will embroider the outline of the sole and stop. Place a piece of the outer fabric over the outline. Start the machine. It will embroider the outline again and stop. With a pair of sharp scissors, cut away the excess fabric as close to the outline as possible. Return the hoop to the machine.

The machine will finish the sole and will make an outline of the shoe's upper part.

Place a piece of the outer fabric over the outline. Start the machine. It will embroider the outline again and stop. With a pair of sharp scissors, cut away the excess fabric as close to the outline as possible. Return the hoop into the machine.

Step Two: Cut out the sole and the upper part as close to the stitches as possible. Make holes in each small circle, as shown below.

Step Three: Fold the upper part as shown below (the ends should overlap each other a little). Manually stitch them together.

You'll get two parts:

Step Four: Now manually stitch the sole to the upper part over the edge.

Repeat the above procedure for the second shoe.

Insert a ribbon into the holes and tie bows on the front