Sew house shoes for warm weather!
Hey y’all – today I’m going to show you how to sew these summer slippers. I don’t like to wear shoes around the house. Especially living in a hot climate, my ideal would be to go barefoot. But with two dogs and two active boys, there always seems to be dirt in my house, and that ends up on my feet. So I made these summer house shoes for myself to keep the dirt off my feet without really feeling like I’m wearing shoes.
I love that these shoes could basically be made from scraps. I used less than a fat quarter of fabric for them, as well as some quilt batting scraps. And I’m sharing a free pattern as well as the tutorial to make these!
To make your own, you’ll need
- 1/4 yard of fabric for the outer slipper. I used quilting weight cotton, and I bought it a long time ago so I’m pretty sure it’s out of print.
- 1/4 yard of non skid fabric, similar to this fabric (affiliate link)
- 1/4 -1/3 yard of Peltex (affiliate link) or ultra firm stabilizer, depending on foot size. Get the sew in kind, not the fusible kind. If your feet are larger than a women’s size 8 or so, I’d get more Peltex.
- Quilt batting scraps
- The pattern (see below)
Note that you’ll have plenty of left over non skid fabric if you buy it by the yard because it’s generally 60 inches wide. So you can make a few pairs of soles for these out of that amount.
How to Get the Pattern
The pattern is a women’s size 6, for a foot length of 9 inches. I’ve got instructions for resizing in the directions and in the video. To get this pattern, click your preferred option from the buttons below as a newsletter subscriber or gallery access pass purchaser. Note that the free version of the pattern does not have printable instructions.
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Please note that all my free patterns are licensed for personal use only (no selling items made from this unless you purchase it) and by downloading you are agreeing to this license.
To sew these, watch the video tutorial below. If it won’t load below for some reason, you can also watch on YouTube here. And if you prefer a written tutorial, keep scrolling for that.
To resize the pattern, first either measure the length and width of the person’s foot, or use google to find a foot length chart; there are a lot out there. Then cut the pattern on the horizontal lines to lengthen the or shorten the slipper, and cut on the vertical lines to widen or narrow it.
Once your pattern is the correct size, cut the following, making sure to mirror image your cuts so you have a right and a left foot:
- 2 toes of fabric and 2 toes of lining (you can use your outer fabric as lining if you’re using quilting cotton)
- 2 soles of fabric
- 2 soles of non skid fabric
- 2 toes of quilt batting with the seam allowances cut off
- 4 soles of Peltex with the seam allowances cut off
Place the toes and lining toes right sides together and sew the top and bottom edges. Then clip the curves, turn the toes right side out and press. Clip off the extra fabric from the seam allowances.
Insert the quilt batting between the layers of the toe pieces. Take one sole, one toe, and one non skid sole. Place the toe on the sole, matching the notches, with both fabrics right side up.
Place the non skid sole right sides together with the sole/toe piece and match the notches. Stitch around the outer edges, leaving a 2 1/2 inch gap between the bottom of the toe band and the heel on the outsole side. Clip curves.
Turn shoe right side out and finger press edges. Fold and insert a Peltex sole, then repeat, so that there are 2 soles inside. Finger press the seam allowances of the gap to the inside, then stitch around the heel to close the gap and keep the fabric from shifting. Backstitch at the beginning and end of this topstitching. If the non-skid fabric doesn’t want to feed through your sewing machine, add a layer of tissue paper under it to help, then tear the tissue off after stitching.
That’s it – these are a pretty quick project from sewing to wearing. So slide them on and enjoy your clean feet.
Lisa
Thank you for this! Super cute!❤️
Evi
Very nice!
Catherine
What a great idea! Love this 🙂 I think I’ll try it out, just need to find Peltex in Portugal.
Bibi
Very cute! Thank you!
Sabrina
I just made some of these, they’re great! Thank you for the video and pattern
Natalie
I just made these and they turned out pretty well, though I guestimated the sizing and they are a wee bit small. The interfacing I used wasn’t very firm and I had to put 3 pieces in each sole, but thinking ahead I should have put even more layers. They’re pretty floppy but still work.
Dianne
Great pattern as my foot is more narrow! Didn’t have the Peltex, but did try using acrylic felt (craft) pieces instead. They worked well providing enough shape and strength for the sole pieces. thank you for these very useful house slippers.
Zuzanna
Dang! I just found out as I walk I somehow drag my toes and fold the sole of the toe back under my foot … picture me staring at feet … Humph?!
I can related to bare feet and summer dirt. We are the lucky herders of multiple long haired dachshunds who have very intimate association with the earth. (preferably wet and smelly…)
Pattern adjusted well to my small feet and photo tutorial was great, just a defective walker here. Thank-you for an enjoyable afternoon sewing
J Bell
Very interesting! When I saw the slippers I began to imagine what you used for the sole. I immediately thought about store bought insoles. Will have to try this. Thanks for the ingenious footwear pattern..
Rebecca
Yes! So cute! I wonder if they could be considered sandals also, with more straps or buckles or…hmmmm…just thinking!!
René
Wow! I plan a pair for travel! We’re a shoes off household so minimal dirt on the floor. I Never trust the hotel’s floors! These will be great, cute and take No space in luggage! Thank you for ALL of your great sewing ideas.
Roxanna
I think I could use old slipper soles that are still good but have worn out tops!!! I could just sew the new foot to the old sole and have new fabric and padding for comfort and a new foot top!