Kimono slippers

I don't know how it happened, but somehow, the year that I had the least amount of time to sew ended up being the year that I made the most handmade gifts.  I think that probably has a lot to do with our incredible fairy godmother, who continues to send packages stuffed with gorgeous handmade clothes for my kids.  This has freed up my limited sewing time for other pursuits.  

I decided to make slippers for my sisters, who always wear them around the house.   I started out looking for some free tutorials, and sewed up a whole slipper using one of them until I realized that the sizing was way off.  In the end, I bought this pattern.  The sizing seems pretty on, but the instructions are kind of hard to decipher - I am guessing that the designer is not a native English speaker.  The construction is pretty easy once you figure it out, though. And for less than $4 on sale, I got a usable pattern.  

I sewed this pair using a scrap of novelty cotton left over from a beloved dress I made for Z when she was 3.  I bought some faux sherpa at Joann's for the interior.  The pattern calls for a ton of interfacing, but I skipped it and I don't think anything is lacking for it.  

The pattern leaves raw edges on the inside where the sole is sewn to the uppers.  Then you sew a separate sole pad, incorporating some batting, to insert into the shoe.  I'd rather have the slipper all be one piece, but my attempt on the second pair to do so didn't work too well, so I went back to the pattern instructions.

I bought some non-skid utility fabric to use for the soles.

And I finished them with some labels that a friend bought me last year.

The second pair has a mink interior, so it's not as plush as the first pair. The minky feels awesome on the feet though.

I hope they like them!

*In other news, Blogger is doing this weird thing where it wants to center all my text, and I can't seem to un-center it.  Really annoying!