Foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains: felt

Friday, January 13, 2017

Adorable Felted Slippers

Hello from the hills!
I'd been wanting a Christmas Cactus for a while, but I totally forgot to get one when they were available in the stores last month. I found this one on Etsy from Cumberland Plants for only $2.50. It's small, but half the fun of plants is watching them grow.

The single digit temperatures last week had me thinking about warmer footwear to ward off the chill around the house. I found this free pattern, Two Hour Felted Slippers and had the best time knitting up a few pairs and felting them in the washing machine. These red ones were made with Cascade 220 yarn and took 3 cycles to felt.

If you've felted wool you know the knitted item must be larger than your normal size before you start the felting process. And some yarn felts quicker than others.

These natural/oatmeal slippers were made with Patons Classic Wool and took only one cycle to felt. I added straps and a few of my polymer clay buttons for the French Press look, and they are toasty warm. I think they're the cutest house slippers ever, however, they will not be staying in my house...

For nearly a year as I knitted socks, hats and slippers I've had rashes on my face, but I naturally attributed that to my love and indulgence in chocolate confections. In the past few months I began to suspect wool as the culprit for the irritation on my face and itchiness on my wrists and hands.

The last pair of slippers that I knit, left below, were finished yesterday morning, and I immediately put them in the post to go and live with one of my sisters. I'd used Lion Brand Fisherman's Felting Wool, and it's great for felting, but you should have seen my face! It was really inflamed, and I itched all over until they were out of the house. It seems some wool yarns are worse than others, but to save myself from anymore outbreaks, I'm going to don a pair of gloves (and more protective clothing besides) and pack my wool yarn away until I decide what to do with all the wool yarn I have in my stash. There are skeins and skeins in large containers, baskets and well, all over the house.