Pattern Sales Benefit Artist Community in Italy

Mutonia is a sort of travelers’ camp, sort of arists’ colony in Italy that has been relatively peacefully existing for 23 years. From what I’ve read there’s basically one person who wants rid of them, and community is in danger of being shut down because of this person’s complaints, even though the people who live there have never occupied the land illegally and most of the people in the town accept them.

The reason this has to do with knitting is that one of the residents is Wooly Wormhead, the renowned knit hat designer. She’s released a hat knitting collection that includes 10 popular past designs, all modeled by residents or friends of Mutonia. The ebook, called Hatopia, retails for £9 (a little more than $14 US), and £6 from the sale of each book will go toward supporting Mutonia’s cause.

You can learn more at Wooly Wormhead’s website, or check out the petition in support of the artists at Change.org.

[Photo by Wooly Wormhead via Ravelry.]

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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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