How To Make Slippers In Any Size – Free Sewing Tutorial

It’s that time of year now where I’m wanting something warm and cosy on my feet, and there’s an old wool jumper with holes in it that’s just begging to be upcycled, so what better project than a pair of custom fitting slippers?! In this post, I’ll show you how I made the perfect fitting pair of slipper shoes by making my own easy-to-draft pattern, then stitching them up all in the same afternoon. Because they have all natural fabrics, they move like you’re barefoot, and the leather covered sole stops you from slipping on the floor. They are also perfect to wear for earthing as there is no rubber sole or synthetic fabrics stopping you from grounding. You can even make a summer version by changing the lining for a second layer of cotton.

To Make This, You Will Need:

For The Pattern:

• Cardboard
• Paper Strips (I used newspaper)
• Masking Tape
• Pen or Pencil
• Scissors

For Making The Slipper Shoes:

• Thin Leather – This could be substituted for leatherette or a non-slip fabric.
• Cotton
• Lining Fabric – I used an old wool jumper, but you could substitute this for fleece, or a second layer of cotton for a summer slipper shoe. If you’re using an old wool jumper too, you may want to consider felting it first.
• Sewing machine – A Walking Foot is helpful to use for this project.

I hope you’ll enjoy drafting the pattern and sewing along with me. You can either watch the video, or scroll on past it to see the step-by-step instructions.

Creating the Pattern

Trace Your Foot:

• I began by standing on a piece of cardboard. With a pencil, I carefully traced around my foot, making sure that the pencil was vertical (if the pencil angles, the shape wouldn’t be as accurate).

Refine and Cut:

• I went over the lines and smoothed out any wobbles or rough edges then cut the shape out. This will give a nice sturdy starting point for the pattern to shape around.
• I then cut up strips of newspaper and arranged them in a crisscross pattern on a flat surface with the cardboard foot shape in the centre. It’s best to do this somewhere that you can put your full weight on it, with your knee over your ankle – either the floor or a sturdy coffee table works well for this. The foot will naturally spread and change shape when you stand, so this helps you to get the most comfy shape for your slippers. There needs to be enough paper all the way around the foot shape that it can wrap around your foot in all directions.

Making the 3D Shape:

• I wrapped the newspaper strips around my foot, securing the ends with a bit of masking tape as I went. I made sure the paper wasn’t pulled tightly, but at the same time, you don’t want them to be floppy. Remember the end fit will mimic the pattern, so if you pull the paper too tight, your slippers will be tight, too, and if you leave some sections floppy, then your slippers will have baggy points as well.
• The heel is a little tricky to reach if you’re doing this on yourself. I found the easiest way for me to do it was to use a long strip of newspaper to secure on one side of my foot, going underneath all the heel paper, and securing it again on the other side of the foot so that it pulls all the heel paper straight upwards.
• Once all the newspaper was wrapped around my foot, I covered the entire area with long strips of masking tape. I found that it was better to cut pieces off first. Pulling from the roll as you go, tends to end up with wrapping the tape tighter as the tape pulls against the roll. I tried to wrap my masking tape in lots of different directions, overlapping as I went to make sure the pattern would hold its shape perfectly after I remove it. Try to make sure not to pull tightly downwards over your toes, or you won’t have room to wiggle them – which can also mean your toenails can rub on the top fabric which could be both uncomfortable and leave the slippers prone to wearing through here.

Fitting Tips:

• If you have any balance issues, consider having someone help you. Or, if you need to sit as you do it, stand up frequently to check the fitting as you go.
• If you’re making a slipper pattern for a child, add about a centimetre (which is about 1/2 an inch) to the length and half a centimetre (which is about 1/4 of an inch) to the width for growing room.
• If your feet swell, consider making your pattern when your feet are at their most swollen, usually later in the day, then you know they’ll feel comfy all day long.
• If you’re making holiday slipper shoes, remember that feet tend to swell slightly in warmer weather.
• If you plan on wearing insoles or corrective foot inserts in your slippers, place them over the cardboard with your foot on it before wrapping with newspaper to make sure you’ll have enough space inside your slippers to fit them comfortably.
• I made one pattern and flipped it to make the slipper for the opposite side, but if you have differently shaped feet, then you may want to make a separate pattern for each foot. Just make sure to label them as left and right so they can’t get muddled up!

Mark and Cut:

• I drew a line where I wanted the slipper to end around my ankle. I wanted a full foot slipper shoe. It’s easier to cut off more if you’re not happy, rather than trying to add more back on, so I started high up near my ankle. Trimming away the unwanted paper at the front and sides then checking how easily I could slide it off my foot. This then gave me a good indication as to how much more I needed to remove for the fit I wanted. Be careful with your scissors being so close to your foot. I tried to lift the paper slightly up as I cut to avoid accidentally nicking myself or my socks. Round-tipped scissors are generally more safe to use here as opposed to sharp-tipped ones.

Fitting Tip:

• If you have any problems with variable swelling, bending to reach your feet, or any other problems that affect how well you can get shoes on and off, then you might want to give yourself a bigger opening around the ankle to make it easier for you to slide them on and off.

Once the shoe shape was off my foot, it was easier to trim away the back part of the pattern. I then covered the edges of the opening in masking tape too.

I marked my pattern next so that when I cut it apart, it would make it easier to put it back together again in fabric. I marked the centre front in the middle of the toes, and the centre of the heels, making sure that my markings were both on the side and underneath the foot shape.

Then again on both sides of the slipper pattern:

Then I separated the sole from the upper section. The easiest way to do this neatly for me was to make a small hole about level with the cardboard insert with a craft knife, then I had enough space to slide the tip of my scissors in to cut all the way around.

Next, I found the marking at the back of the heel on the upper pattern part and snipped it all the way upwards. I then flattened my slipper pattern out and traced it onto some stabiliser paper. I used this as it is partly see-through so it makes it easier to fussy cut the perfect fabric pattern onto my slipper top. Tracing paper, freezer paper or greaseproof paper works well for this too. I smoothed off the line around my ankle, making sure not to add any extra fabric or this could have affected how easily the slippers would slide on and off. Be careful not to change the shape around the edge that joins the sole, or your pieces might not line up anymore.

Step 2: Sewing the Slipper Shoe

For Each Foot I Cut:

• 1 x thin leather sole – I made mine half a cm (about 1/4 of an inch) smaller than my sole pattern piece. This could be substituted for leatherette or a non-slip fabric.
• Cotton Sole – I added a seam allowance all the way around my pattern piece. I cut mine in double thickness because it was a thin cotton, but 1 in quilting weight would be fine.
• Lining Sole – Same size as the cotton sole – I upcycled an old thin wool jumper. You could substitute this for fleece, or for an additional cotton layer if you wanted to make them into lighter summer slipper shoes.
• Cotton Upper – I added a seam allowance all the way around.
• Lining Upper – The same size as the cotton upper layer, in the same wool fabric as the lining sole.

I transferred my pattern markings onto the fabric within the seam allowances. It would also be helpful to mark your pattern pieces left or right. It might save you from accidentally muddling them up!

Attach Leather to Cotton:

• I started by sewing the leather sole to the cotton sole piece. I positioned the leather centrally on the cotton and used a long straight stitch all around, close to the edge. I used a walking foot throughout this project. It stops the leather from getting stuck underneath the presser foot and helps to keep all the layers lined up where I want them as I stitched them all together, especially as there was a slight stretch to the wool fabric. If you want more info on this presser foot, you might want to check out our guide on how a walking foot works. I used polyester thread throughout as this works best with leather and wool. If you’re using thicker leather, you might need specialised needles or threads. If you’re using cotton as a lining, I would use cotton thread for all except the leather stitching.

Form the Slipper Outer Layer:

• I took my top cotton piece and folded it so that the back heel seam came together with the fabric right sides together. Then I stitched it straight across. I stitched a medium zigzag stitch inside my seam allowances to prevent it from fraying afterwards. An overcast stitch would work well too.

• I then matched the top fabric piece with the sole so that they were pattern sides together, matching my pattern markings at the front and sides, then lining up my heel seam with the back marking. I then stitched all the way around. I stitched it with the sole facing upwards so that I could keep the spacing consistent from the leather edge. This way I not only had a perfect little line of purple as a fun pop of colour, but it also made sure that the leather didn’t end up in the seam which would make the slipper move differently at this section. Again, I finished the edge off with a zigzag stitch to prevent fraying.

Sewing The Lining Layer:

Next I repeated the steps exactly for the wool lining – stitching the heel seam first, lining up my pattern markings, attaching the sole to the upper fabric, then zig-zagging the seam allowance.

Sewing Layers Together:

• Before the next step, you may want to clip your curves to help them lay flatter, especially if you’re making smaller slippers. If you’re using a thicker lining, you may want to trim the bulk out of your seams. This will make the slipper more comfy to wear.
• I turned the upper cotton layer, but kept the lining layer inside out.
• Making sure that I definitely had both left feet parts together and both right feet parts together, I put the outer layer inside the lining layer.
• I lined up the back seams and clipped them together. Then pulled across opposite from the back clip to find the centre front and clip them together. Then I clipped halfway between each of these to make sure the fabric was spread equally around the opening.

• I stitched around the opening, leaving a gap on each of the inner ankles for turning the slipper right side out after. The stiffer your leather sole is, the bigger the opening will need to be. If you are using this pattern to make outdoor barefoot or grounding shoes, and giving them a really thick leather base, then instead of finishing them this way, I would put the fabric layers the correct way around and using binding around the top instead.

Turn and Finish:

• I pulled the entire slipper through the opening I left. At this point it’ll look wrong. Don’t worry! You just need to stuff the lining back inside the outer layer. I tucked in the raw edges at the opening then clipped it together. I topstitched all around the ankle opening. This stops the lining and outer layer slipping around, stops the top seam from fraying, and closes over the hole. I like to start my topstitching just after the turning hole. That way, by the time I’ve stitched around and come back to the hole, the rest of the fabric is perfectly secured so I find it easier to keep the open, folded edges in the correct position to sew them closed very close to the edge. I also removed the front of the sewing machine to be able to move the slipper more easily, although that’s not essential.

Then they are done, and ready to wear!

I hope you’ve enjoyed sewing along with me, and I hope that your toes are now as toasty as mine!

Happy Sewing!