Fancy Baby Socks Tutorial

I recently bought Little Miss an Easter dress (I resisted the urge to make yet another dress out of the same pattern as all her others...) and I couldn't help but buy some little white shoes to match. She's going to need something to match her fancy dress for my brother-in-law's wedding anyway... So that makes it a thrifty purchase, not an impulse buy... Right?

Bad news is they're a little too big to wear with bare feet or tights. She needs a pair of socks on her little fit to make sure her shoes stay on. Now i know that you can just buy fancy socks with little ruffles on them, but I was feeling too cheap and lazy to go to every store in town to hunt down a pair. SO... here's how I fashioned a pair on my own:

You'll need: One pair of socks, some tulle (ribbon would work too), a needle and thread, and a sewing machine.

Start by cutting two strips of tulle. Mine were 2 inches wide by about 20 inches long. You can change these measurements to change the way the socks look. If your strip is wider, the ruffles will be longer. The longer your strip is, the more fluffy your ruffle will be.

**The strip should be AT LEAST twice as long as the circumference of the ankle of the sock. My socks were about 5 inches around, and my strips were 4 times as long.

Next, fold strip in half, and baste along the raw edges.

It will look something like this.

Next, pull string to gather until ruffle is the same length as the circumference of the sock. Pin ruffle to sock, all the way around (use more pins than you see in the picture).

Run through the machine on a stretch stitch. This is the stitch I used.

** It's important to use a stretch stitch... if you don't the sock won't fit around her little ankles.

Originally i wasn't sure what I was going to do about the raw edge after I sewed the tulle to the sock. Fortunately, the stitch secured the tulle really well and covered most of the edges. I just trimmed the bits that were still sticking up above the stitch.

All Finished!

**I had planned to try and figure out something to cover the edge of the tulle/stitching. But I think that the stitch I used looked okay all by itself. Just try to pick the cutest stretch stitch on you're machine and you'll be good to go. If you're feeling really ambitious you could also sew on some beads or sequins or other trim.

How cute are these fancy feet!