Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

Felted Sailor Style Slippers Review – A Cozy Free Knitting Pattern Worth Trying

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If you love practical knitting projects, this free Felted Sailor Style Slippers pattern is a fun one to try. It has that classic striped look, and the real magic happens after felting, when the oversized knitted slippers shrink down into cozy, sturdy house slippers.

What I like about this pattern is that it is useful without being boring. The stripes give it that sweet sailor-style charm, and it is the kind of project that feels very giftable. You could go classic with navy and cream, or have fun with brighter colour combos from your stash.

The pattern itself is fairly straightforward if you already know the basics. You knit the slippers in the round, do a bit of shaping, then finish them off and felt them in the washing machine. It is not the hardest project in the world, but I would not call it a first-ever knitting project either.

One of the nicest things about this pattern is that it includes felting guidance too, which is handy because felting can feel a bit like crossing your fingers and hoping for the best the first time around.

Overall, this is a lovely free pattern for anyone wanting to make warm, handmade slippers with a neat striped finish. Cozy, practical, and just a little bit clever — always a good combo.

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Play with Texture and Embroidery in this Intarsia Knit Shawl

This is a project that kind of stopped me in my tracks when I saw it while scrolling Ravelry. It’s such a fun contrast of a semisolid color worked in stockinette stitch and a more tonal yarn worked in a feather and fan variation. 

(See more about feather and fan in this post on my blog; I also have a feather and fan scarf if you want to practice.)

The Nitty Wrap from Renate Dziedataja is worked in fingering weight yarn from a Finnish mill, and the name is the Finnish word for meadow. You of course can use whatever yarn you have handy.

It’s even more interesting because the project is worked from one short end across to make a long rectangle, and the two different sections are joined using intarsia. Generally we think of intarsia as being used for colorwork, so this is a fun different use of it. The lace section is charted in the pattern but it’s pretty easy to follow. 

And of course it’s totally optional but to add a little more interest and tie the two colors of yarn together the designer also added some embroidery along the short edges on the stockinette side. A drawing of what she did is included but you can also add different designs if you’d rather. 

The shawl has I-cord edgings to give it a nice finished look that doesn’t take away from the organic simplicity of the design. 

As shown, the shawl measures about 22.5 inches/57 cm wide and 59 inches/150 cm long. You can of course adjust this according to your preference, the amount of yarn you have and the gauge you are getting. Try a thicker yarn to make a wider shawl if you like. 

This pattern is available in English and Latvian for free on Ravelry. 

Photo: Renate Dziedataja