Friday Reads: Yarnbombing, Cryptic Knitting Notes and More

If you find yourself in San Francisco any time in the next year, you might want to pay a visit to the area around the Civic Center, where knitted octopuses and colorful garments have taken to the trees. The nonprofit Trust for Public Land teamed up with the knitters at Knits for Life to add sweaters to the trees and help tie together a three-block section of the city. Officials expect the exhibit to be up for 6 to 18 months, depending on how it fares in the weather.

In other wooly art, don’t miss the wool sewing machine made by Jessica Dance for John Lewis. The project is knit and felted, with details on the dials embroidered in, and is complete with spools of thread and tiny woolen scissors. Check out her website to see more of her amazing work.

Knit Like Granny recently made up a list of its top 100 knitting blogs. We’re not on it, but there’s lots of opportunities for great reading and inspiration there anyway. 😉

And finally, you’ll want to read this sweet knitting story from the Boston Globe, from a knitter who tried to decipher a knitting note her mother left behind. It’ll make you feel good about the legacy of crafting.

[Photo: Jessica Dance.]

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The felted slipper craze that began last year doesn’t seem like it’s fading away. The Sailor Slippers, often striped knit and felted slippers made with super bulky yarn, because the project of the moment late last year (check out more knit slipper options in this post all about sailor slippers) and they’re still consistently popular with knitters.

Which makes sense because they are fun and fast to knit, and seeing them go from this giant thing to something that actually fits a foot feels a little magical.

I have always loved felting (in fact my first book was about felting knitting) and it’s always fun for me to see people rediscover this technique.

If you’ve knit enough plain slippers to fit all the feet you know, maybe it’s time to stitch up some tabi style slippers instead.

Maymade Knits has designed these cute tabi ballerina slippers, made with bulky yarn and felted. They’re worked flat at first and then in rounds, and are available in 10 EU sizes (the Internet tells me add 31 to your American shoe size to get your EU size). The designer says the slippers are meant to have a close fit and you should choose a size a little smaller than your foot for the ideal fit.

The pattern includes a video tutorial along with the written pattern.

You can grab this pattern on Ravelry. The same designer has her own version of the striped felted slipper as well, called Sarah’s Striped Slippers. These are worked in super bulky yarn and have a contrasting foot and a striped body. These are knit flat and seamed and there are 7 size options available. Check that pattern out here if you’re looking for a more traditional slipper shape. They also look roomier so you can wear them with socks if you like.

[Photo: Maymade Knits]

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