Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Last minute slippers to make

If you want to knit a last minute gift. Try thrumming some slippers. Almost any of the simple patterns will work.
Use a slightly bigger size and knit with two balls of yarn knitted together. I wind the two strands together to relieve tangles. I also knit both slippers at the same time on a circular needle.


I use acrylic for the slippers, but they are lined with the comfort and warmth of fleece.


I get a bowl full of tuffs of fleece ready and sort of straighten out. Each is about 1.5 inch wound in a figure 8.
This is the pattern I like. The inside is warm and soft and the outside looks like hearts.You can use white or dyed fleece..



(Thrummed Slippers)

Needles - 4.5mm or size that
 will give you a firm, but not 
too tight tension.Yarn -  handspun yarn or 
any purchased yarn that will
 knit up well with size 4.5 
needles. I sometimes use hand spun wool (when I wash it, I know it 


will felt so I knit with a looser tension).If you knit up slipper with a non-shrinking fiber, have your tension firm, but not too tight. But more often than oft, I use  acrylic for the body, for  their wash ability.


Thrums -  This pattern says to cut sliver or roving into 5"


 sections.  I used wool straight from the sheep (washed, but 


not carded). The staples were naturally 4.5 - 5" so I pulled off


enough to make it approx. 2 or 3 times the thickness of the 


knitting yarn used.




PATTERN
  • Cast on 39 sts. (to obtain smaller or larger sizes, decrease or increase number of stitches by 4's).
  • Knit  one row
  • Purl  one row
  • in every 2nd purl row, thrum, This is the figure 8 into the purl stitch.
Continue rows 1-4 until slipper is desired length (9"-10"


 womens medium). 


At the two I knit 2 together each 4 stitches. This does a nice shaped toe.
If I feel a little extra is needed, I pick up the stitches at the foot opening, and using one strand of wool, I knot a cuff.
To stop slipping on wood floor, you can get the puff paint at the hobby store and put little dots on the ole. This puffs up when you apply heat.

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