So why have boring slippers when there are so many ways to personalize them and make them so cute you won't want to take them off! Here are a few samples of slippers I have made that might spark some of your own finishing ideas. All of the slippers were made using my Women's Felted Moc Slippers pattern.
First is the simple moccasin...
I made the women's felted moc slippers as outlined in my pattern with the back flap, but not the button band. Instead I threaded some 1mm brown leather cord down through the top of the slipper, then around the sides and back up through the top, opposite of where I started. The cord is pretty stiff so it can poke through the felted fabric just fine, but if you have difficulty getting it through, just use the point of your scissors, or a knitting needle to make a small hole. I sewed the back decorative flap to the slipper after threading the cord through.
The great thing about the cord is that it can be tied tighter, snugging up the slipper around your foot if they are a little too big or loose.
I'm calling this next one the "spa slipper", I love the very simple line of color around the top.
They are very pretty in neutral tones, but would be really cute in any color with maybe a really bright pop of color around the top. For these I made the slippers without the back flap and worked the last two rows of the slipper sides with a contrasting color. Also, when sewing on the tops, instead of leaving the last few rows of the tops unsewn to the sides (as the ones shown above and as outlined in the pattern), I sewed them down completely to the sides. This creates a top that lies flat against the foot. A friend of mine told me she plans on making these slippers in various sizes and colors, so when people come to visit she can give them a pair to wear around her house!
And here we have embroidered slippers.
I sketched out a simple snowflake design on piece of paper and embroidered the design onto the top of the slipper using cream colored sock yarn, Patons Kroy to be exact.
I didn't transfer the design onto the slippers, just did it freehand, since the stitches are just straight stitches. To help keep it even, you could stitch the two longer arms of the snowflake, that go top to bottom and left to right. Then work all the other stitches off of that. I made the slippers the same way I made the "spa slippers" above without the back decorative flap. I made these a few years ago using light blue yarn for the slippers and cream colored sock yarn for the snowflake and they turned out beautiful! They make a really pretty Christmas gift.
This combination is super simple as well.
I just used a coordinating yarn for the top of the slippers, Patons ColorWul, which is a multicolored self-striping yarn. Two solid colors would work great too. Try making them in team/school colors for a college student! Because the top of the slipper is knit separately and then sewn on prior to felting, it is easy to make the tops in a different color, or make them striped! You can also make the soles in a different color, great way to use up leftover yarn.
Simple pom-poms can really make a cute addition to your slippers. I made a pair of peachy/pink slippers and added a cream colored pom-pom to the top of each slipper along with some stitching around the toe. I used worsted weight yarn for the pom-poms and stitching.
My slipper pattern is available in men's and kid's sizes as well as the women's shown here. They are all constructed the same way so you can use the ideas above to embellish slippers for kids and men as well. You can purchase all three patterns here on my website.
Thanks for reading :-)
~Julie