Non-slip gripper coating hack for infant and toddler items. (And other favorite warm inside footwear)

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It is officially winter in Pittsburgh. There’s currently a wonderful flurry of snow outside and the temperatures have very much dropped over the last week. So, it felt like the perfect time for this post. When the weather is this cold, the house just feels colder for some reason, regardless of what the thermostat says. This time last year Poppy had been walking for a few weeks and having warm clothing that was grippy to aid with getting around, both crawling and walking, was so important.

I am inherently cheap. We are fortunate enough to be able to buy expensive items when we feel it worth it and the products are multi-purpose or have the potential to be used for long periods of time. Otherwise I prefer to save money for fun things. I am also all about convenience. The day to day as a parent, especially now, is hard enough as it is and products should make life easier, not harder.

Footed pajamas are an item that creates warmth and convenience. Poppy is not the largest of children and I was shocked at how hard it was to find reasonably priced footed pajamas that had 2-way zippers (a total must in my opinion) and non-slip grippers on the feet in sizes under 12 months. Poppy started crawling at around 8 months and walking at around 10.5 months: She was wearing a size 9 months at this time. Since I wasn’t willing to spend $30+ on each pair of footed pajamas, I decided to put grippers on the $9 pairs I purchased, mostly from Carters.

Non-slip gripper coating can be added to any item you desire. It only takes a small bit of time and minimal creative effort necessary.

What you need:
– Clothing Item. Some favorite footed pajama options are Simple Joys by Carters and Carters 2-Way Zip-Up Sleep and Play.
– Fabric Paint (aka “Puffy Paint”). Single packs all the way up to several color multipacks are available.

*One thing to keep in mind is that these items cannot be placed in the dryer. I was worried that this would be a deal breaker (especially as I just said convenience is something I am all about) but it wasn’t. I just laid these items on the drying rack or hung on a hanger and called it a day.

How to add non-slip coating:
Wash and dry the clothing item prior to applying the coating to allow for any initial shrinking of the fabric.

Place item on a flat surface where it can dry for several hours.

Create a pattern which incorporates the entire bottom surface of the item. After some trial and error, I found this pattern (see below) with zig-zags placed closely across the bottom and dots surrounding the entire perimeter of the item was very effective.

Allow item to dry for 24 hours before use or washing.

Don’t have the time or energy for this craft – that’s completely reasonable given the state of the world in early 2022. Here are my favorite items that come with nonslip textured bottoms at purchase and are so durable and reasonable in price:

Bombas Baby and Toddler Socks.

Zutano Boots (Cotton or Fleece).

Enjoy the warm snuggles with the littles on these winter days (some days are certainly harder that others, but another day is soon to come.)

Let’s talk soon,
Al