Now my favourite footwear around the house
Probably like most of you, I’m spending all of my time preparing for Christmas. Whether that means making gifts or buying them – it’s just a busy time of year. So it doesn’t leave much time for all my other half finished projects. But occasionally I’m managing an afternoon off here and there for some ‘me’ time. So this week I’m excited to be able to show you my new me-made house slippers. I know house slippers aren’t for everyone. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Spence wear them. But not me – I love slippers!
I found this free tutorial for House Slippers on Pinterest. It’s one of my favourite places to search and find inspiration as well as projects. And it’s even better when you find a free project! This tutorial, by Megan Ta Da, is from an old blog, but is still available at the time of writing this post. Otherwise there are quite a few other slipper/footwear projects available online. I’ve already purchased ithinksew’s pattern for Kimono Shoes – so another fun project to try in the new year.
The detailed photos and instructions for making these slippers is easy to follow. So it’s a good project for sewists’ of all skill levels. Megan provides you with a link to a slipper pattern but this link no longer works. (Here’s an alternative free slipper pattern by Pretty Prudent). But in the instructions Megan also explains how you can make your own pattern. I ended up using the BurdaStyle slipper pattern and then made modifications to it – to better fit my feet. Particularly to the sole part because I have oddly shaped feet. I also made some modifications to the top part by making the slipper slightly higher around the foot and heel. I then graded the back seam from a slightly larger seam allowance at the top to a smaller one around the bottom of the heel. This makes my slippers slightly higher and tighter around the top.
It’s definitely worth taking your own foot measurements to make sure they will fit. You don’t want them to be too big or else they won’t stay on your feet. It does mean that it’s a fine balancing act between too tight and not tight enough. I ended up making a couple of pairs before finally producing slippers to a fit I was happy with.
Other than size modifications, I also decided to add extra woven interfacing to the lining pieces. As well as extra batting and fleece for the soles. This makes the slippers softer and more structured to walk in. Just be careful if you are using fusible interfacing on the outer soles, particularly if you are using a non-slip fabric. Most of the non-stick and vinyl fabric’s can’t be ironed or else they will melt. I’ve used a non-slip fabric for mine – the fabric has little raised bumps along it for grip. I couldn’t find it locally so I ended up sourcing it from ebay. One other thing I did change was my stitch length from the usual 2.5 to 2. I found the slightly smaller stitch helps give the slipper a bit more durability.
I’m really happy with the end result. Not only do I have a great pair of new slippers, but they fit my weirdly shaped feet really well. It’s not my first dabble in sewing footwear (I made Noodlehead’s flip flops a couple of years ago) and it’s certainly not going to be my last. I’ve already got another pair of these house slippers cut out and ready to go. Once you have made any modifications and finally have a good fit, they are a really quick make. Definitely my favourite indoor slippers at the moment!
