How to Add Leather Bottoms to Crocheted Slippers

Hello!

As you may know, I love to crochet! Well, I love to make many things, but today I want to show you how I add leather bottoms to my crocheted slippers. 

This post came about because I found that after making slippers, they didn't last as long as I'd like. After a few months the bottoms would get a hole which just became larger and larger.

My thought is, after all the time and trouble it takes to make your beautiful fabric or crocheted slippers, you want them to last as long as possible. Right?

This was the answer I came up with and it definitely makes the slippers last longer, plus it's really quite easy to do! Believe it or not, it didn't cost that much extra either! 

So are you ready? Here we go!

Here are the slippers we're putting bottoms on. 

This pattern comes from Two Girls Patterns. I love their patterns and have several of them because the more you buy, the cheaper they are! Yay! Plus, they have super adorable patterns. There's honestly some incredible talent between these two girls! :) Another thing I particularly like about the slippers is that they have 2 crocheted bottom layers so the leather layer is actually the 3rd layer.

That means you end up with some super comfy slippers when you're done ! 

For this project, you will need: 

Cardstock

Pen

Scissors

Sewing Chalk or Fabric Marker

Leather

Sinew

Hole punch

Sewing needle

*The leather I used came from Michael's. They sell packages of remnants for $11 CAD. I got lucky with some large pieces in mine. I've made 3 pairs of slipper bottoms and have enough for more. Pretty good value if you ask me. 

*The sinew also came from Michael's. It was in the same section. I used the dark one for this project.

Directions: 

1) The first thing I did was outline the slipper bottom on a piece of cardstock. I cut this out and used it to trace onto the leather. I don't have a photo of this part of the process, but I don't think you'll have a problem with this.

2) After I traced the pattern onto the leather, I cut it out with my Tim Holtz scissors because they're awesome. Then, I used a hole punch that I had in my scrapbooking stash. It's on the right in the picture below...it's a 1/16th inch hole punch.

3) I made holes in the leather using the hole punch as a spacer.

 It isn't an exact science, but in the end it doesn't really matter because it won't be very noticeable. See? Oops.

4) Next, I used two arm breadths and a half of the sinew (measuring from hand to outstretched hand - plus a half) and put it through the eye of a needle. Also, I used the 'suede' side of the leather for the bottom of the slipper (the side showing) because I figured it wouldn't be as slippery to walk on. I just pinned this to the bottom of the slipper. Easy peasy.

5) I used a blanket stitch to attach the leather to the slipper. The sinew is a bit sticky and a little stiffer to work with, but it will last longer than yarn or thread. Since making it last is the whole point of this exercise, you want to stitch it on with something that is strong and durable as well.

Check out this video if you need a tutorial on the blanket stitch.

Blanket Stitch - How to

I just realized I do my blanket stitch working the other way from the girl in the video. Always doing things differently - but I end up with the same results. :)

Here's the finished product. 

 So now you know how! :) 

Let me know if you found this little tutorial at all helpful, okay? 

Have a great week,
Blessings
Carmen