Knitting

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Knit All the Slippers for Fall and Winter

by

the knitted slipper book

Carol Lee is the winner.

It’s starting to get cold in the mornings where I live, which means it’s slipper weather!

I’ve actually never knit a pair of slippers beyond those beginner ones that you knit flat and sew up, but I love the idea of knit slippers because they’ve got to be even warmer than knit socks, right? And my feet are pretty much always cold.

If you want to explore knitting slippers for yourself and everyone else you know, this week’s giveaway is for you.

The Knitted Slipper Book by Katie Startzman has 30 patterns (check ’em out on Ravelry) for clogs, booties, loafers, boots and more for men, women and children. There are whimsical designs and totally practical projects, and I’ll bet you’ll want to knit a bunch.

If you’d like a chance to win this book, leave a comment on this post by the end of the day Sunday, Oct. 15. I’d love to know what you do to get ready for colder weather. I’m knitting socks and getting out all the knit blankets, and trying to finish up a couple of lingering sweaters. My daughter wants a new knit blanket, too, I’d better get cracking on.

Thanks for visiting, commenting and sharing, and good luck.

Looking for more Slipper patterns? Check these out on Etsy.

Comments

  1. I’m busy knitting some of these new, rectangular ponchos to wear over thinner turtlenecks or long sleeved sweaters. The one I’m currently working on is a loose weave that isn’t supposed to provide a lot of warmth, although I’m sure with me running hot, it will be very warm.

    I can remember making lots of slippers when I began to knit. Now I’m wondering why I can’t remember why I stopped. Hm.

  2. I stack wood by thr fireplace, kit up all my knitting and crochet projects.
    I will also spin and sew this winter.

  5. I have just knit several hats for the homeless. Now I will concentrate on family and slippers are top of the list, specifically Seamless Slippers by Melissa J Goodale. Everyone I have made them for in the past loves them. They start with magic cast-on at the back of the foot and build from there, seamlessly! I LOVE making slippers and wearing them. If I don’t win this, I will definitely be purchasing it! ??

  6. My daughter-in-law has you take your shoes off in the house. I made her a basket with a few knitted slippers for people to use. I will sometimes add another pair as I try new patterns. Her guests love them. Great housewarming gift or Christmas gift.

  7. I would love to knit a pair of felted slippers. I’d like to try to insert an arch support in them somehow…

  9. What a wonderful book! I am knitting up a hat (1/2 complete) and have a couple triangular wraps 50% done. That is the issue — half complete! need to ramp up the needles and finish before the cold weather sets in.

  10. cold weather in TX isn’t as cold as where I was before, but warm slippers are ALWAYS welcomed. 2 of my sons & their families take shoes off at the front door & I’ve always wanted to knit a bunch of slippers to keep at the front door for them…

  11. I am a new knitter. I aspire to make gloves so I taught myself how to knit mittens first. I am on my second pair and am planning my third. This is fun and addicting.

  13. I have a few people who would love some slippers – I am loving the ones shown on the cover! Thank you!

  15. I knit socks and mitts all year round, so I have a pile ready to wear for the colder months. Now my knitting turns to cardigans!

  16. Other than saving all year to be able to run the heat, I worry more about the homeless. It’s getting cold enough they’ll accept hats and mitts. Also need to knit more slippers for Mom. How convenient, eh?

Have you read?

Knit a Leopard Print Shawl and Learn about Yarn Substitution

When I was looking around for free knitting patterns to share recently, I came across this fun leopard print wrap from Yarnspirations. 

This fun bulky wrap gives you tons of practice with instarsia and makes a bold statement while keeping you warm. It’s rated for intermediate knitters and the design is charted but pretty easy to follow. And it’s only 50 rows and worked in bulky yarn, so it wouldn’t even take that long to knit. (You can grab the free pattern from Yarnspirations.)

So what’s the problem? The yarn that the pattern calls for has been discontinued, and it’s not a yarn that a substitute for immediately springs to mind. 

The original yarn was Patons Alpaca Blend, a single ply bulky yarn that was a combination of acrylic, superwash wool, nylon and alpaca. 

My first thought was Lion Brand Hue + Me, which is an acrylic and wool blend, with two plies instead of a single. It looks like it has the colors you would need to make this fun shawl. 

But as I was thinking about it, I thought this would be a good opportunity to introduce you to YarnSub if you don’t already know about it. This website is a giant database of yarn that can consider the qualities of the yarn you want to substitute and offer potential substitutions. 

It’s not only thinking about yarn weight, like I was, but also fiber content, number of plies, gauge and even the difference in yardage between one ball and another. It even looks at the price and can be filtered by your price range or preferences about fiber content (if, say, you’re sensitive or allergic to wool, for example, or don’t want to you acrylic). 

When I plugged in Alpaca Blend, it gave me a lot of different options, though many of them were self-striping or multicolored, which wouldn’t work for this project, and I don’t see a way to filter for solid colors only. 

Still, it’s a good tool to give you some ideas you might not know about or might have forgotten about, and it tells you how the new yarn is similar to the old one and how it differs, allowing you to make smarter choices when substituting yarns. 

[Photo: Yarnspirations]