Making Non-Slip Booties



Felted Booties with Non-Skid Sole


I have gotten a lot of requests for non-skid soles from Etsy customers so I tested a few products and methods and came up with what I think is the easiest way to make your slippers non-skid.  I figured out that heat activated puffy paint (not just the 3-D kind) gives you the best spongiest result.  When finished it has the look and feel of the product you see on lots of baby socks.  So here is brief tutorial:

Step 1:  Prepare the surface of your slipper.  For felted slippers I use a razor (just a regular bic disposable razor) to shave off all the little fuzzies.  You want the paint to have a nice surface to adhere to.  For other materials you can probably just skip this step, but do make sure the sole is clean.

Step 2: Get the feel for your paint.  I have found that I need a few practice rounds on a piece of paper to make sure I get an even application.  You can also play with your design a bit too.

Step 3:  Pick a design.  I use just horizontal lines.  I find that this is the easiest for me to apply and has a really clean nice look - plus I do think that the horizontal lines provide some additional friction compared with other designs.  Some people do dots or wavy lines, etc.  Get creative!

Step 4:  Apply the paint to the sole.
Step 5:  Let dry for about 4 hours. 

Step 6:  Most of the instructions on paint bottle say that at this point you should use a hair dryer to activate the paint.  I have found that a hair dryer takes forever.  The better method is to put your iron on the steam setting and hold the iron about a 1/2 inch from the surface of the paint.  This method takes just a few seconds, it is incredible!  The paint will puff up into a wonderfully spongy non-skid surface.

DONE!  Love that!

Here are some other fantastic ideas listed on this blog!  I really like the shelf liner idea.