Knit Yourself a Pair of Slippers

Slippers might seem like a cold-weather project (and if you’re in the colder part of the world, now’s a great time to make some!), but I think slippers are even more important in the summer.

I don’t wear shoes in the house, and in the summer I don’t want to wear socks if I’m wearing sandals when I go out. But my feet tend to get cold in any weather, so a pair of slippers is a great way to keep my feet warm in the house without having to wear socks.

And of course I’ll also wear them with socks when it’s cold outside. So basically I’m saying there’s not a bad time to knit, or to wear, slippers. Here are a few patterns to get you started.

I love the classic look of a garter stitch slipper, and this pattern from Kween Bee on Etsy is a good one. It is a moccasin style bootie with a cuff, which will keep it on your foot. It’s worked on straight needles and there are lots of photos in the pattern to show you how it all comes together.

Another great option for a garter stitch slipper is Lisa Chemery’s Cozy Toesies. The sole is worked flat, then you pick up stitches and work the top of the foot and the cuff in rounds. The cuff folds over and has elastic inside to ensure the slippers stay right where you want them. This pattern is available on Ravelry.

The slipper sock booties from Lulu Pattern on Etsy knit up super fast in super bulky yarn. They’re worked flat and seamed, and available in four sizes.

The Better Dorm Room Slippers from Kriskrafter on Ravelry are worked with two strands of worsted weight yarn held together for extra thickness and durability. It also makes them a fun stash busting project. They are knit flat and seamed and are a super quick project — the designer says they can knit a sock in about two hours.

The Woodland Warmers on Ravelry from designer Claire Slade are so pretty and they fit your feet well, too, because there’s a lot of shaping involved to make it hug the foot better than a lot of slippers do. The sole is worked flat and the rest of the slipper is worked in the round, and this one uses bulky yarn.

The combination of garter stitch and stockinette on the Cloud Slippers from Adrienne Sullivan gives these slippers a distinctive look. They’re super quick and easy to knit and you can make any of the four adult sizes with just one skein of super bulky yarn. This free pattern is available on Ravelry.

Wooly Moccasin Slipper Knitting Pattern

Simple Slippers to Keep Your Feet Warm

Simple Slippers to Knit for Women

Generally I like knitting patterns where I feel like you can use whatever yarn you have (because my stash is big enough and I want to use it, thanks) and make a successful project. This is one of those times when a special yarn makes the process that much easier.

The Floral Bouquet Shawl from Xandy Peters uses a specific extended color pooling yarn from Feisty Fibers, which allows you to place the bobble flowers with increasing frequency as you knit the project.

It starts with a solid color yarn, then the two color yarn is added in, and you make a bobble whenever you encounter the color pops. This would be hard to replicate with other yarn that doesn’t have the extended color pooling built in.

The background of the shawl is ribbed, making the project reversible.

The shawl uses fingering/sock yarn and comes out to be an asymmetrical triangle that’s 54 inches/137 cm long and 36 inches/ 90 cm deep and 60 inches/150 cm across the top edge.

Xandy says the pattern is for intermediate to advanced knitters. Knowing how to work traditional bobbles would probably help, but there’s a great video tutorial for how to work the floral bobbles so you can practice on other yarn or even incorporate the bobbles into other projects.

The bobbles are five-petaled flowers but they also kind of look like starfish to me, which could be fun on a child’s cardigan or other pattern. They’d also be fun on the leg of a sock or around the brim of a hat for extra whimsy.

The pattern includes photo and video tutorials, and written and charted instructions. It also includes tips on what to look for if you choose to use different yarn for the project, and instructions on how to dye your own yarn to use in the project.

If you want to give it a try, you can find the pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Xandy Peters]

Have you read?