I recently discovered a hole in the bottom of some slippers I knitted. I darned them and then discovered several places where the wool was wearing thin. I realized I needed to do something else to lengthen their life, so I lined them with leather and flannel. It has added a lot of comfort and durability to them. I used leather from a bag of leather scraps purchased at Jo-Ann Fabrics. It did take some time, but it is worth it. Below I have outlined what you will need and how to do it.
Tools:
- Leather
- Flannel
- Scissors
- Awl
- Mallet
- Hard surface to hammer on, such as scrap wood
- Paper
- Pencil
- Needle
- Yarn
Instructions:
With slippers on, put your foot on a piece of paper and trace your foot. Cut out the shape. Trace your foot pattern on a piece of leather and cut it out. Turn the pattern over and trace again on the second piece of leather and cut it out. Adjust the size of the pattern to fit the inside of the slipper. Use updated pattern to cut out two pieces of flannel - remember to turn the pattern over so that the foot shape goes in the right direction for each slipper. Use the awl and mallet to punch holes around the edge of the leather. Place flannel inside the slipper, place leather outside of the slipper and stitch the two together with extra yarn used from knitting the slippers, or a yarn that best matches the slippers if you didn't knit them yourself.
If you want to avoid cutting your own leather and punching holes in it, you can find some kits online at places such as KnitPicks.com. You will get several pieces of leather - one for the pad and one for the heal. I personally really like having one seamless piece of leather covering the whole sole. I will be lining a second pair of slippers as soon as I have the time!
