I got these suede slipper soles for my pink and Ron’s brown Bunny Hop thrummed slippers (and I’m selling them in my etsy shop, too!). I’m washing both pairs tonight while the boiler’s still going so I can have them all fixed up. I want to be able to wear them without slipping too much, and without getting them totally filthy when I’m cooking in the kitchen or trudging through the boiler room. In the warmer months, I should even be able to wear them outside, yay! Plus they’re lined with that fake shearling stuff. While don’t like the feel of that stuff against my bare skin, it will be just the thing sandwiched between my thrummy sole and the suede.
Unfortunately, these only go down to and adult small (women’s size 6), so they’re no good for the wee blue slippers I made for Kyplee. So I just used some some leather to make them non-skid and a little more durable. They won’t hold up as well as the wrap-around grownup style, but I figure with kid stuff, they’ll probably outgrow them before they wear them out.
HOW! TO!
You’ll need:
Thin leather large enough for both soles. You can get leather in most craft stores. The thin stuff typically is sold in an 8×10 square, or you can look at the scrap packs and see if they have thin stuff that’s big enough (scraps often have a lot of heavier stuff, which is a big pain to sew through). You can also repurpose some thin leather from worn-out or thrift store jacket, purse, skirt, etc.
A heavy, sharp needle. I used sharp Clover yarn darner needles.
Heavy thread, crochet cotton, embroidery floss, etc.
1. Trace the slipper soles on paper, cut it out as a template (or trace right onto the leather if it’s a light color), then cut out both soles.
2. Thread your needle and knit the thread. Tack it down into the sole on the edge, underneath where the leather will go, to make it nice and secure. With a running stitch that goes through the edges of the slipper and leather, sew on the sole. You could also use a blanket or slip stitch. I chose a running stitch because it sinks in a bit, so I figured the wear exposure would be a little less. When you’ve gone all the way around, tack down the other end with a few hidden stitches on the inside of the slipper and weave in an inch or so of thread into the knitted sole.
That’s all there is to it!
I really love the slippers even more with the leather soles. Yay! I have now made 3 pairs of those bunny slippers as gifts for people and really love them. They are my favorite slipper pattern by far. Now I just need to make me some.
Think I’ll put leather soles on them – will check your shop.
I’m so in love with these bunny slippers – my hubby got me a gift certificate to my favourite LYS for Christmas (where I can’t usually afford to shop for yarn :( ) and I’m going to pick up the mats for a pair of bunny slippers for me, and I suspect that low-and-behold hubby’s going to be asking for his own pair soon enough.