Slipper boots

One of the first things I did when I got to Edmonton was go through my mum's yarn and find something to do these slippers in. I ended up using this quite coarse worsted weight wool that she bought in 1980 here in Auckland from a carpet manufacturer who sold their short ends (which aren't all that short!). This amazes me for two reasons, firstly that there was ever places like that in Auckland because there sure aren't now, and how beautifully things keep in Edmonton with the low humidity and lack of wool-munching insects! The range of colours she has is wonderful, I would love to know what the carpets were like! Anyways, I made mine two-tone because I wasn't sure if there was enough orange to do them, although in the end there was plenty.



The pattern is very quick and I think you could probably make a pair in 2-3 evenings without any trouble. You start by doing the cuff in the round, and then switch to rows to do the sides and back, then switch to rounds again and come around the bottom and across the top of the foot for a couple rounds, before switching to rows to finish up the top. The soles in the pattern don't have much shaping other than some increases and were very narrow, so I started with a couple more chains at the heel and then increased more and only on the outside of the front so it matched my feet more closely. The original has quite a square toe which doesn't really suit my very tapered toes although I do like the look of it in the book! My slippers have a much more shaped look at the end there which maybe doesn't look quite as neat but they fit beautifully.

Despite the coarseness of the wool they are surprisingly comfy and I don't need to wear socks or anything (as you can see by my scruffy legs, I need to prep more for photoshoots obviously!). I still need to put the leather on the bottoms. They are supremely warm and will be very nice on cold days, although perhaps a bit too warm at the moment!