Choose Your Own Adventure – Knit, Machine Knit, or Crochet Slipper Shoes

Last year I made both of our girls some house shoes out of thick and cozy yarn they picked out from the store. Both of them love their pairs and wear them quite a bit. This year, the youngest came home from school and said her teacher will let them wear slippers in the classroom instead of cold and wet shoes from the playground. But, they need to have a hard sole incase they step on anything.

Well, the ones I made last year don’t have anything on the bottom so they won’t work. I previously made for the girls a kids’ size of our Vacation Shoes pattern, but working into a pair of flip flops takes time and effort. And, in all honesty, I didn’t want to put that much effort into a pair of shoes that she will out grow in a few months.

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I started thinking about some crafting shows we had recently watched and how they used glue to attach the shoe material to the bottom. This got me thinking that gluing a slipper onto a bottom would be way easier than poking individual holes in a material that doesn’t want to be poked.

We went to the store, and she picked out a skein of Bernat Blanket yarn. After feeling how cozy it felt I decided to get me a skein to make a pair of slippers out of since my feet are always cold. I measured the youngest’s foot, and drafted out dimensions of what I would need to knit. With being a bulky yarn it worked up super quick.

I found a door mat at Dollar General for $5 and was pleasantly surprised I could cut them with kids scissors. I used E6000 adhesive to glue the finished shoes onto the bottoms, and it definitely went way easier and quicker than working on flip flop bottoms. Our youngest just didn’t like the fact she had to wait a day for the glue to dry.

Once she tried them on she forgot about the delay, and proudly wears them at school telling everyone her Mamma made them.

I knit a pair for me, and added them to a sole. I added a little bit of an ankle boot to them and they are super comfy. Not too bad looking if I do say so myself. I don’t have to be self conscious when I leave the house accidentally in house shoes!

I also made a pair on my knitting machine, they are lighter weight slippers. I made a crochet pair out of the same yarn of our youngest’s. I will say the crochet out of the Bernat Blanket is the warmest and comfiest of them all. Instead of a sole I added grippy dots using 3-D fabric paint.

Between all of these pairs I noticed how easy it was for altering the sizes. Easy at least in comparison to sweaters. So, for this pattern I made a template for you to work using your own craft, your own yarn, stitch pattern, and gauge. With a calculator the math is easy and should not be intimidating. The YouTube video tutorial walks you through each line of the math so you won’t be in doubt.

Getting a custom fit shoe to your own foot measurements is just so easy if you take it step by step. There is a YouTube tutorial that breaks down each step, and walks you through all the math. The video shows how to make a stockinette version by hand and by machine, and also a pair made in single crochet. So, there will be no doubt you will be able to make your own great fitting shoes!

Crochet I’ll Keep You Warm Choose Your Own Adventure – Knit, Machine Knit, or Crochet Shoes 
by City Farmhouse Studio

Get the printable PDF version of the pattern (without ads) HERE

Notes:
A step by step YouTube tutorial video showing you step by step how to create these custom shoes can be found at : https://youtu.be/C2tttHonEtE

Examples shown are in stockinette and single crochet.  This pattern can work with other stitch patterns, but the maker needs to know how to increase stitches in the stitch pattern used. 

Crocheters need to know how many stitches are used for a turning chain in their pattern.  The turning chain is not counted as a stitch in the example shown for single crochet.  Typically 1 turning chain is used for a single crochet, and does not count for a stitch.  For double crochet 2 chains are used, and they do count for a stitch.

Machine knitters can make this on any flat bed knitting machine with appropriate yarn for their machine.

Materials:
Any yarn worked in any stitch pattern of your choice.  Create a swatch large enough to measure your gauge.  

Paper large enough to trace out foot

Tape Measure 

Yarn Needle

Optional – Door floor mat or material of choice for sole

Optional – Knife or scissors that will cut sole material of choice

Optional – Adhesive that will bond yarn to sole material of choice (E6000 is flexible and works with many materials)

Optional – 3D Fabric Paint / Puffy Paint for grippy texture at bottom of slipper shoe

Measure pattern gauge:
________ sts /  ________ inches = (a)________ sts in 1” 

________ rows / ________ inches = (b)________ rows in 1”

Material thickness of your gauge = (c)________  inches

Foot measurement:
Measure around the widest part around your foot = (d)________ inches

Measure the length from toe to heel = (e)________ inches

Measure the length of big toe = (f)________ inches

Determine pattern measurement basics:
Foot length = (e)________ + optional .25 to .5 inches for added growth = (g) ________ inches 

Foot width = (d)________ + (c)________ = (h) ________ inches

Toe material width = (h)________ *.7  = (i) ________  inches

Determine pattern measurement basics:
Beginning number of stitches = (i) ________ * (a)________ = (j)________ sts (round to nearest even number)

Increase to = (h) ________ * (a)________ = (k)________ sts (round to nearest even number)

Increase number of times = ((k)________ – (j)________ )/ 2 = (l)________ times (round to nearest whole number)

Increase over total number of rows = (f)________ * (b)________ = (m)________ (round to nearest whole number)

Rows for each increase = (m)________ / (l)________ = (n)________ (round to nearest whole number)

Rows after each increase row = (n)________ – 1 = (o)________

Final number of rows in each increase section = (l)________ *(n)________ +1  = (p)________

Straight rows after increase section = (g) ________ * (b)________ –  (p)________ = (q)________ (round to nearest whole number)

Length of yarn needed:
From your swatch pull out several stitches and measure the length of yarn used = ________

inches / ________ sts  = (r)________ inches in 1 stitch

Estimate of total needed in increase = ((j)________ +(k)________)/2 * (p)________ = (s)________ sts

Estimate of total needed after increase = (k)________ sts * (q)________ = (t) ________ sts

Stitches in one shoe = (s) ________ + (t)________ = (u) ________ sts

Inches in one shoe = (u) ________ *(r)________ = (v)________ inches

Inches total = (v)________ *2 = (w)________ inches

Inches to yards = (w)________ / 36 = ________ yards approximately needed

Pattern:
Cast on or crochet a chain of (j)________ sts, leaving a long enough tail for sewing later on.  

Row 1:  Work a row of  (j)________ sts in your gauge stitch pattern.

Row 2:  Increase one stitch on each edge of the row.

Work (o)________ number of rows in gauge stitch pattern, without any stitch increases.

Repeat Row 2 and any additional rows until you have (k)________ sts.

Continue working gauge stitch pattern of (k)________ sts for (q)________ rows or until piece measures (g)________ inches.  (If knitting and your bind off adds an additional row –  stop one row short for bind off).  Bind off leaving a tail for sewing up the heel.

Construction:
Take beginning yarn tail and loop through other corner of first row.  Bring fabric together.  Lay it where the just made join aligns in the middle of the toe material and press down flat.  Sew the toe area together.  

Sew half of the length of the long edge together starting from the just made join.  This seam will lay on the top of the foot.  Leave enough unsewn to become the foot opening.

Fold the fabric in half so the corners of the last row of material meets.  Sew the ending/bind off edge together to form back of heel.   Note – if making a boot cuff – machine knitters and hand knitters that can not work in the round will need to undo this seam after fitting the shoe in order to create the cuff.

Boot option:
After fitting the slipper shoe, measure around the entire foot opening = (x)________ inches.

Stitches needed for boot cuff = (x)________ *(a)________= (y)________ sts (round to nearest whole number)

Note: For machine knit or for hand knitters not able to work in the round – undo heal seam after shoe fits properly.  

Pick up (y)________ stitches in knitting, or with a slip knot crochet (y)________ stitches around foot opening.

Work rounds/rows of even stitches to desired boot height.  Bind off.  Seam up heel if needed.

Optional sole construction:
From the tracing of the foot, draw around for a sole template adding approximately ¼ inch.  Add additional length at toe if material was added for foot growth. Cut out of paper.  Cut out 2 from the mat, making sure template is reversed for one of the soles to make a right and left foot.

With shoe on foot if possible, glue sole onto bottom of material.  Follow manufacturer’s instructions for drying time.

Grip sole options:
Following manufacturing instructions, add dots or lines for added grip on the bottom of the sole as needed.