I may (and I emphasize may) have found the solution to slippery slippers! Or if not the solution then perhaps at least a solution (most real world problems having more than one solution if you sit with them long enough).

If you’re just joining us, the slippery slipper saga has several previous parts (here, here, here, and here in recent months). When last we left it, we’d tried both Sock Stop (quite grippy!) and Plasti Dip (less grippy, but this is for sure an off label usage, so it seems unfair to complain).* And both lent a person extra traction…but both were also quite noticeable underfoot in a way that does not work for my autistic little brain (your mileage may vary).

But now, now I think I may have found the (an) answer! Behold, a majestic little stick on rubber doohickey designed to go on the bottom of high heels to…wait for it…give them more traction (and a bit of cushioning).

It’s sticky on the back side, and you can just put it right on the bottom of your slipper.

You can easily trim it to size with scissors if needed (leave the paper on while you’re cutting it). And you could put it on both the heel and the toe, were you so inclined.

Now, my first concern is how well this will hold up in the wash. I don’t know, because I haven’t actually tried it on anything yet. I will likely try it on the other sock in the pair of sacrificial socks on which I tested the Sock Stop and Plasti Dip, and I’ll report back when/if I do. My strong suspicion is that it will hold up for at least a few rounds of gentle handwashing (I absolutely would not put it in the dryer, but then again, you’re not putting your hand knits in the dryer anyway, riiiiiiight?).

It’s designed to go on the bottom of shoes you wear outside, so I suspect the light duty terrain a slipper is likely to encounter shouldn’t pose much of a challenge. But it’s also designed to stick on something other than fabric, so it might wear out over time. But they’re inexpensive enough (a few dollars per pair of slippers) that you could likely replace them every few months if you need your slippers to have more traction (sort of like how you have to replace your insoles every few months if you need fancy insoles).

I’ve found a couple of options, including these that come with shapes precut for both your toes and your heel, and these that come in clear, and these that come in several colors (light brown, dark brown, black, clear, and red) in larger sheets you can cut to shape. If you put “non-skid shoe pads” or something similar into your search method of choice, you’ll likely find other options. I’m going to get some of the big, clear sheets to see if I can cut a shape that’s big enough I don’t really notice it under foot.

I will mention that there are some fuzzy/velvet ones out there that look quite similar but aren’t nearly as grippy, so make sure the ones you’re getting are some sort of rubber, not fabric.

But I think this may be the closest thing we’ve found to a solution! Let me know if you try it, I want to hear how it works out in the wild.

Someone is wondering, so the pattern is called Aglet, and it came out last week. It’s a patreon exclusive for the first little while it’s out. Rampant Nonsense and Utter Nonsense folks get free it with their membership, Utter Nonsense folks and free members can buy it if they want. All the info is over on this post.

*Amazon links are, as always, affiliate links. If you have another place to buy this sort of weird stuff please for the love of god use it! But especially for fairly niche things like this, I know that’s just not feasible for a lot of folks (me very much included, it would be a day or two of driving around and hours in the car to even try and find most of this stuff locally). So if you’re going to buy it from the giant assholes, and you use those links, they give me a little of the money they’d otherwise keep. Or you can totally find it on there yourself if you prefer that, I have faith in your ability to use a search bar!