First Felting Project

I've been wanting to make these felted slippers for a long time now but it just never was the right time. I got a bunch of wool from one of my mother's friends and have been hanging on to it for several years now. There isn't a lot of any one color so it has to be used for a small project or one that makes use of multiple colors.

My friend Shari gave me this pattern for felted slippers and she shared some of her thoughts about the pattern the first time she made them. I wasn't able to see the finished product before leaving Fairbanks. I knew from listening to me nieces talking about their felting projects that the item was going to look huge. I was a little concerned that it wasn't big enough but I thought I'd just watch them while they felted in the washer.


(pay no attention to the orange rug) So I knitted the gold inner sole first then you knit the top part. These two get sticked together and then you knit the outer sole and knit them all together.


They knitted up quickly which is kinda fun. I like that immediate gratification that comes with finishing a project. I guess that's why I like to knit baby booties - I can usually get a set done in a few hours! I decided to go ahead and make both of the slippers just to be sure that they came out about the same before putting them in the hot water.

I put them in an old pillow case and started up the washer. I stood by for about 15 minutes never letting the washer agitate. After checking them several times I realized it was going to take awhile so I walked away…and got distraacted…and when I went back all the water was gone and they were spinning - oops! They were starting to get hairy but they were still too big. So I started over and paid more careful attention. After 30-35 minutes they were sized pretty good so I tried to pat most of the water off them. They are still wet after 48 hours but they are getting close.


and they fit pretty good!


notice the scratch in the floor - I didn't do it!