Slippers, slippers everywhere!

This has to be the most fun I have ever had knitting. Five pairs are now felted, and are in various stages of completion.

Here’s what a pair looks like pre-felting; it’s placed beside my first slipper for comparison purposes. The bright blue slippers were knit from Nashua Creative Focus Chunky. Felting quickly and evenly, they were the easiest to shape. I put them on my feet and bingo! Custom fitted slippers. But the straps? One is huge and the other not. Even in the pre felting photos they are a different size. I need to reknit and felt them.

And here they are felted and still soaking wet. They usually sit in front of the fire for a day or two to dry out (and so I can admire them every time I pass through the room!)

straps after felting - oops!

I have modified the pattern somewhat too. To make the sides higher, I added 1 stitch, and to eliminate sewing and some end to weave in, I knit the two sides at the same time and join them at row 33. This actually makes a much nicer, smoother and rounder toe. And less ends to weave in. There are seventy three million ends to weave in with these slippers and eliminating a few is a bonus. Email me if you would like my written modifications, and I’ll be happy to share them with you.

And the last modification I made was changing the method of the back seam. I did not gather it as suggested in the pattern, I simply seamed it up to the hump. The slippers stay on my feet much better doing this.

The black and pink pair is for Mr Knits’ son’s girlfriend. Knit from SRK Rejuvenation, they were a quick and even felt, needing little tugging to get them into shape. I am doing a bit of topstitching around the top, and strap and I need to find the perfect buttons.

The turquoise pair is for Mr Knits’ mother....once again who knows if she will like them! They are knit from Nashua Creative Focus Worsted, a blend of wool and alpaca – they too felted nicely and evenly. There is a tan pair (not shown here, I accidentally deleted the photo) knit from Paton’s SWS – wool and soy silk. They felted super quick, and not so evenly requiring a bit of prodding to get them looking like the slippers they are. The resulting slippers are quick thick too.

Christmas is looming and I still need to knit 4 more pair! Did I mention that most of the girls I’m knitting for have the same size foot as me – how easy to shape them is that?

Purrl is blending in with the critter family quite well. She has kicked the dogs off their bed and is relaxing (with her mouth open) in front of the fire. Stinky and she still have their little spats, but the hissy fits are becoming less frequent.