My Monthly Make-Crochet Moccasins

Today I want to tell you all about my March monthly make. I thought after making a sweater last month that something a bit smaller and hopefully easier was in store. After seeing all the cute shoes by Jess from Make and Do Crew I knew I wanted to try a pair myself. I decided on the moccasins because I've been looking to replace an old pair of slippers and knew these would be great for wearing around the house.

Jess has so many amazing patterns on her blog, but her shoes made with flip-flop soles are definitely some of my favorites. Here are my finished moccasins made from her free pattern.

They turned out pretty cute, but I'll be honest this was kind of a frustrating project for me. Making crochet shoes are not an exact science and it took me a few tries to get them right.

I used one skein of Lion Brand 24/7 cotton in Taupe. I couldn't find this kind of yarn in stores so I had to order it online from Loveknitting.com. I purchased a new pair of tan flip flops from Old Navy and used leather lace and beads that I already had on hand.

After cutting the straps off of the flip flops and poking the holes, I couldn't wait to get started crocheting. I used a super small 1.5mm hook to do the first round. It was a bit pointy on the end so I ended up using it to poke the initial holes too. I then used a 3.5mm(E) hook to crochet the rest of the base of the shoe. Once I started crocheting the top sections I realized I was going to run out of yarn and wasn't sure what I as going to do. If I tried to order another skein of yarn it wouldn't have gotten here before the end of March. I didn't want to miss my deadline so I made the hard decision to take out what I had done and work with a smaller hook. I took out one shoe first and reworked it using a 3.25mm(D) hook. When I compared the two shoes I realized that maybe I had been using too loose of a tension the first time.

The one on the right was made with the 3.5mm hook and the one on the left was made with the 3.25mm. I got through round 8 and when I laid them side by side I definitely knew I would be reworking the other one too.

It took me about two evenings to remake the base of the shoes and after all the hole poking and tight crocheting my right shoulder was killing me. Be forewarned that it is a bit awkward to crochet into a flip flop sole and your hands, arms and shoulder may hurt afterwards. Oh the joys of crochet!

The tops of the shoes are made separately and then sewn on. They are pretty quick to work up, but again it took me three times to get them right. I first thought maybe using the larger hook would be fine, but then they ended up being too wide. I remade them with the smaller hook, but then the first attempt at sewing them on I couldn't get them to line up right.

Everything lined up right on the left side, but when I got around to the right side, it was too short. I decided to steam block the tops and stretch them out a bit and that did the trick. I attached the tops to the base of the shoes with stitch markers and then whip stitched around to secure them. 

Once I had them all sewn up and the leather strap in place they fit great! I as a bit worried they would be too loose when I walked, but with the leather strap tied up they were nice and snug.

Don't mind my faded Ninja Turtle tattoo...I'm a cool mom. ;)

Now it was time to add the beads. It took what felt like forever to pick out ones that looked good. I ended up going with colors similar to the original moccasins in the pattern. After attaching them to the first shoe I couldn't decide if I liked it or not. I think they would look great plain too. Finally I had my daughter decide and she thought the beads were really pretty. 

I was so excited to finally be done with these little cuties. Towards the end of the project I was feeling very frustrated and was just so relieved that they actually turned out decent. They are super comfy and are great for wearing around the house. If you have larger feet like me (size 9.5) I recommend getting two skeins of yarn just to be on the safe side. I used every last bit of this yarn in order to make these shoes work and I ended up eliminating one round from the base of the shoe so I had enough to finish. You also might want to try using the smaller D hook so your tension is correct. 

Even though it was a bit complicated, I did have fun making these shoes and after making this pair I feel better prepared to make another. I really want to make the espadrille style too. 

If you want to make a pair for yourself you can find the pattern here. You can see more from Jess at Make and Do Crew on her blog or Instagram. 

If you make a pair I would love to hear about it, comment below to let me know how it went!