How to make crocheted slippers and booties NON SLIP and/or wearable outside:
This is my favorite method:
Materials: Easy Liner, Hot Glue Gun (or other permanent adhesive method)
Buy a roll of "Easy Liner Solid" by Duck (I get it at Walmart or Lowe's). It's a large (2 feet long?) roll of rubbery kitchen drawer/cupboard liner without holes. I have only seen it in the color white.
I cut out little shapes - hearts, stars, dots, whatever, and using a hot glue gun (fabric glues may work as well, but I haven't tried) I glue the shapes to the bottom of the slippers. They are now non-slip, and the cute shapes on the bottom make them extra cool!
If you would like the booties or slippers you make to be wearable outside, you can trace the shape of the sole onto the easy liner, cut the whole shape out and glue it to the bottom of the sole, so that the entire sole bottom has a rubbery surface. I wouldn't recommend wearing them for hours around town, but it will work great for just going out and grabbing the mail in them once in a while.
Other Methods:
I have heard of people using "puff paint" (also known as "dimensional fabric paint"). I have tried it many times and had very little success. It seems to work at first, but it quickly gets coated with dirt and loses its effect.
There is a substance sold in hardware stores called “Plasti-dip” - it is used for giving tool handles a rubber coating among other things. I have heard of people 'painting' it onto the bottom of slippers and socks, and hear it works great (when I try it I wil update with results).
There are things called "grippies" which you can use - I haven't used them myself, but have heard good reviews.
How to make an invisible join:
Being a perfectionist, I don't like the little "nubs" left after making a regular sl st join, so I devised the following method to make joins virtually "invisible":
Single Crochet (SC) Invisible Join: Cut the yarn and pull the end all the way up through the center of the last sc. Use a yarn needle to weave the end under the 2nd st to the left, then back down through the center of the last sc (see pic to right). |
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The result of an SC invisible join: |
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Slip Stitch (Sl St) Invisible Join: Cut the yarn and pull the end all the way through the last sl st made. Use a yarn needle to weave the end under the next sl st to the left, and back down through the center of the last sl st (see pic to right). |
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Crocheted I-Cord:
| This technique makes a crocheted cord which looks like a knitted I-Cord, but it is made with a crochet hook. You can make it as thick as you want by using 2 or more strands of yarn held together, and using any hook size desired. Click Here for the printable Instructions |  |
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