Ever wanted to get custom slippers to gather without spending much money, then you are at the right place. Here, we will teach you how to sew your own custom slippers all by yourself. After learning this skill, you can make a ton of slippers for yourself, for your family, and for gifting or selling to others as well.
Making it easier to make slippers, I personally use step by step method and break this large procedure into bits and pieces. Also, I have attached many diagrams and illustrations for you to make it easier for you to understand.
Things you need
- Paper and pencil.
- Fleece.
- Clippers or pins.
- Anti-skid dot fabric.
- Foaming.
Step to make slippers: quick and easy
To make a slipper first thing you need to do is to make a pattern of any of your feet, as a pattern of one foot can be flipped to make a pattern of your other foot.
Also, making patterns might be the trickiest part, however, if you have made the pattern correctly, you can use the same pattern to make several slippers of the same size. Therefore, I will be discussing pattern-making in detail.
Step 1. Making a pattern for the sole of the slipper
First, we would start with making a pattern of the sole. For that, just trace your foot onto a piece of paper with a pencil. Then add ¼” outside the traced mark to add sewing allowance.
Step 2. Making a pattern for the top of the slipper
Now we would extract the markings of the pattern of the top from the pattern of the sole.
First, crease out the pattern of your sole from the middle of the heel to the top. Then to locate the center of the foot, fold the pattern from the center along the crease.
Now take another piece of paper and place the folded sole pattern onto it, as shown in the figure.
Now you need to make markings on the paper as shown in the diagram.
As in the diagram, first, mark a point along the toe end. Then draw a smooth curve from that point to the sole towards the edge.
Then form the heel mark a point 3” away from it and then, to add depth to the heel, create an offset of 0.3”. Join this point to the heel through a smooth curve.
Now with a free hand, join all three marked points.
From the center, mark a point 1” above the sole.
Now from the center of the sole, mark a point on the paper along its edge and extend it to ¼” through a curve.
Mark another point 1.5” away from the heel towards the Centre.
Now join these two points as well through a straight line.
Now cut off the excess paper.
Now place the sole pattern over the top pattern and mark a smooth line along the sole pattern from the toe towards the edge. Cut off that part as well. Now the top pattern of your slippers is ready.
Step 3. Making a pattern for a binding strip
Now, this is the last pattern of the binding strip that would be attached to the sew-to inner part of the hole of the slipper. This strip is 2” wide, and its length can be measured as twice the length from the heel to the center of the show along the hole on the top pattern. This is shown in the following figure.
Now all our patterns are complete, and it’s time for some cutting and sewing.
Step 4. Cutting fabrics
Now on the dimensions of the pattern, cut out the fleece fabric that you are going to use for the slipper. For sole, you need to cut out two extra things. First, cut out fusible foam, or you can use another layer of fleece instead. Then cut out non-skid dot fabric or use hot glue on the bottom of the sole instead.
While cutting the fleece, you need to make sure that it stretches along the marked direction.
Step 5. Preparing sole
First you need to pile up the layers for the sole. First, lay down the nonskid fabric with the good side downwards. Then lay foaming over it, and then lay fleece fabric over it.
To fuse them together, put a piece of cloth over them and iron them from both sides. Keep a cotton cloth over the sole while you iron it.
Step 6. Assembling all the components of slippers
Now all that is left is to sew all the components of the slippers: sole, top and binding strip.
First, we will sew binging strip and top together. For this, place good sides together and sew them together.
Now turn it inside out and offset the binding about ¼” and clip it down. Then sew them together. This will create 1/4” curl out of the hole of the slipper.
Now close the heal of the top. To sew an outer seam, you need to sew the wrong sides together.
All that is left is to sew the sole with the top. First, clop the top with the sole by joining toe to toe and heel to heel. When you sew it down, your slippers will be ready.
Final Result
Here is the final form of the slipper for the right foot. Repeat the same procedure for the left foot, and your slipper is ready.
Concluding Remarks
As you have learned to make custom slipper from scratch, it’s time for you to make slippers of different sizes and patterns. You can also experiment same technique to make slippers of different materials as well. Also, if you want to go an extra mile, you can even add inner lining to your slippers as well. That’s all for today.
Hello, My name is Malinda Spicer. in my 10th grade, my granny gifted me a mechanical sewing machine. Since then, my whole life revolves around sewing. I made my hobby into a profession by getting a professional degree in fashion designing. I had learned quite well about sewing in the past 20 years. I hope to be of help by sharing these experiences and expert advice with my fellow sewers.