Spiders, Milk forgotten in the fridge, dog puke on the carpet, wet cat food... Many things, indeed.
Frozen toes though, they deserve a golden award. Frozen toes five minutes after a shower. Frozen toes that keep you from falling asleep for three hours until they warm up. Someone else's frozen toes in the back of your knees keeping you from falling asleep until they warm up.
So, in an effort to curb this dreaded thing, I decided to make myself some shmancy-shnice-shlippers. I vote we add this word to the Oxford Dictionary. Anyone to second the motion? Anyways, here's how I made these lovelies.
A while back - about a year or so - I came across this picture.
The pattern is just so attractive, and they look so playful. They became the inspiration for my newest pair of warm-feet-envelopes.
From previous experience, I knew that knitting slippers fully out of yarn - especially nice (read expensive) yarn, such as soft wool or other animal fibers - would deteriorate quite quickly on the pressure points under the feet. And require darning just a few short months after being completed. And since I refuse to use phentex, had to come up with a way to reinforce the bottoms. The lady at the yarn store suggested adding a soft leather sole - brilliant. But I thought I'd save myself the effort by dispensing altogether having a knit sole. In the end, I decided to knit an upper, and use suede for the sole. Quite like a simplified version of a mukluk really, which fits really well since I now live in Northern Canada.
And because I don't like doing anything the easy way, decided to come up with my own pattern and everything. I started by knitting a swatch in my chosen yarn, a fine, but not quite sock-weight baby llama yarn, to get my gauge. Once that was established and I measured my foot, I came up with a pattern that would fit nicely. And had fun coming up with a simple design, using two colours and somewhat fair-isle-esque technique.
After spending a few evenings knitting and binge watching documentaries, I had my uppers all done. You know what's really satisfying? Blocking the knitting once it's completed. Getting it to unfurl with the steam, and then lay flat and happy.
Once those had cooled, I seamed them at the back, and knitted a cuff in a bulkier yarn.
Then, while wearing one, I traced around my foot on a piece of paper and came up with an acceptable sole pattern. Which I then cut out of the suede. I'm not sure which animal it is, I'll venture and guess deer?
With an awl, I poked holes about every centimeter along the perimeter of the sole, then whip-stitched the upper to it. With any luck, they should last for a while and keep me toesies warm.
And if not, then I'll add a layer of rabbit fur on the inside.
And if not, then I'll add a layer of rabbit fur on the inside.
