Slippers you can Make.
A PAIR OF MEN’S SLIPPERS.
Footwear, like everything else, is exceedingly high-priced at present, and to know how to economize in this direction is a serious problem. But have you ever thought of making your slippers? This is really quite possible. Indeed, there is no reason why very presentable shoes and slippers cannot be made at home. In nearly every household the materials are already at hand. Pieces of velvet, tweed, felt or cloth are all suitable, and to show what can be done in this way we illustrate here two pairs of comfortable slippers made from oddments.
The first is a neat pair made from a piece of left-over dress material, in black and white woollen check, a bit of red flannel for lining and some navy serge coating for the soles, which are formed over the usual cardboard. Then the pair of men’s slippers were built up on a pair of leather soles with fleecy lining. Grey tweed left over from making a boy’s suit was utilised, and a scrap of blue flannel shirting forms the lining.
SLIPPERS MADE FROM CHECK MATERIAL.
You will probably see the advantage of making these at home, and any comfortable old slipper can be cut up for a pattern.
They are made in the same way if you make the soles yourself, but with the purchased slipper sole there is a slight difference in the manner of attaching the upper.
The Check Slippers.
In cutting the upper, no turnings will need to be allowed for the upper edge, but allow a margin of a quarter-inch around the side which comes next to the sole. Cut both lining and material the same size.
The Sole.
Cut this out in stiff cardboard, then cut a covering for it from the lining material, allowing a half-inch margin all round. Place the cardboard on the centre, and draw the edges of the lining together from opposite sides with crossing stitches, using stout linen thread for this purpose and a coarse sewing needle. The cardboard must be covered smoothly and securely with the flannel and gatherings made at the heel and toe parts. The upper side of this sole is the inside of the shoe, and the stitching underneath. Now lay this sole on another piece of cardboard, and cut out the shape again just one-eighth of an inch larger all round. Lay this on the felt or piece of tweed intended for the outer sole and cut out the shape. Take the cardboard pattern for this sole and cut away a quarter-inch margin around. This smaller shape is put between the inner and outer soles when making up the shoe. Stitch up the side seams in material and lining. Press both seams out flat, place opposite to each other and tack the lining along the top edge to the check material. Now bind the edges together with a strip of ribbon or narrow tape. It is as well to stiffen the back of the slipper a little with an interlining of thin cardboard or tailor’s canvas.
Now take up the flannel covered sole and place the upper over it, having the smooth side of the sole turned from you; sew the edge of the upper very securely to the wrong side of the sole, putting the stitches into the flannel only, and about an eighth of an inch from the extreme edge. Lay the small cardboard sole over the one just put in and secure it with a couple of stitches, place the tweed sole on top of it with its edge overlapping evenly all round. Using thick black thread, the stronger the better, slip-stitch the sole through the inside edge to the upper where it turns in under the first sole. It is necessary to notch the edge of the cardboard stiffening where it overlaps the sole, in order to make it lie flat.
The Men’s Slippers.
The same directions apply to these with the exception of the mode of attaching the ready-made sole. Turn in both edges of the uppers and tack securely around, then top-sew together, place over the sole and stitch the sewn edges to the middle section of the sole, turning back the leather edge for this purpose. No binding was used for this slipper, but the lining had its edge turned in as well as the material, then the lining was tacked with the turned in edge coming a little above the material so as to form a narrow piping around the top.
Artistic Crochet
Edited by FLORA KLICKMANN
Contains beautiful designs in Crochet for useful and decorative purposes. It is uniform with this volume, and issued by the same publishers.