Tag Archives: Nola’s Slippers

More doubles

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Maybe, possibly, well likely not, you remember that Nate the kindly rural mail carrier so loved his first set of these mittens that he asked if I could make him another pair. His special request was to ask if I could knit him a camo-colored pair. Nate is not a knitter and had no idea how difficult it would be to find a worsted weight yarn (or any weight yarn, actually) in a decent camouflage colorway. These mittens, knit in Patons Classic Wool Worsted in “Forest” (#77014), came as close as I could find in a wool yarn.

I don’t know whether or not this colorway’s been discontinued. But it was extremely difficult to find. I couldn’t find it on-line. I finally located one skein in the back of a bin in a shop near me. It was just barely enough yarn to complete the mittens. Shopping in person was more fun than I anticipated:

Me: I’m looking for some camo-colored worsted weight yarn. I really like Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride but I don’t think it comes in any colorway that would work.

Dorinda: How about this, wouldn’t this work…(bringing me to a dark taupe shade of Lamb’s Pride)?

Me: (Puzzled.) No, I really want it to be camo-colored. It’s a special request.

Dorinda: Did you see this color…(bringing me to a darker shade of brown Lamb’s Pride)?

Me: (Even more puzzled). No, that’s all one shade.

Dorinda: What kind of camel are you knitting?

Me: Camo as in camouflage, Dorinda, not as in Bactrian.

Much laughter ensued. And then Dorinda found the one skein in the shop that worked out well.

This mitten pattern is Mittens From the Top, by Elizabeth Zimmermann. Nate thinks his new mittens are the cat’s meow.

But I wasn’t completely satisfied that Paton’s Classic Wool was going to give Nate the warmth of Lamb’s Pride. So I doubled up and knit him another pair, this time in the Lamb’s Pride Old Sage (M-69) colorway. Khaki, the green shade, is sort of in the same aesthetic as camo. There’s nothing much warmer than the Lamb’s Pride mix of wool and mohair.

Next up is a freebie slipper pattern that I’ve knit so many times it’s embarrassing. Nola’s slippers, by Nola Miller. This time I used King Cole Big Value Chunky. It’s a good non-pretentious 100% acrylic that will wear well and wash up easily

One modification to the pattern that I make is to use chunky or bulky yarn rather than knitting worsted weight doubled. I feel that worsted doubled produces such a stiff fabric that feet don’t so much get cuddled as manhandled. Plus, speaking of hands, mine don’t do well knitting worsted with doubled strands.

My other main modification of Nola’s pattern is that I extend the ribbing to form a nice deep cuff. Knit on US size 10 needles, following the pattern yields a slipper that fits a woman’s US size 8-10 foot.

Here’s another Nola’s, this time knit in Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Superwash Bulky. I love the name of the colorway: Explosive Berry. I haven’t used this yarn very often. Good yarn.

Here’s a look at the soles, showing my final modification. I work a 3-needle bind-off that shows up as the center garter stitch ridge. You could bind off and sew the seam instead. But why bother when the stitches are all live. As I recall, there’s an odd number of stitches so I just knit 2 of the stitches together as I bind-off.

Next up is one of Kris Basta’s freebie dorm boots variations: Better Dorm Boots Deluxe. This first pair is knit in Plymouth Encore Chunky. The XL size, with the body of the slipper knit on US Size 9 and the cuff knit on size 10 ends up fitting a woman’s foot from about a size 8 to a size 10 (US sizing).

That little bit of lacework in the cuff dresses up the slipper quite a bit.

Here’s another pair, this time knit in Hayfield Spirit Chunky, an 80% acrylic, 20% wool. It’s been many decades since I knit with Hayfield yarn. It just hasn’t come up in my knitting world lately. A yarn shop near me stocks the yarn and I was drawn to this appealing colorway (Orange Swirl). It turned out to be wonderful to work with. I’d buy it again in a heartbeat.

And finally, the same pattern in Cascade Yarns Pacific Chunky Multi in their Brights colorway. WEBS had it so seriously discounted that I gave it a try. It’s 60% acrylic, 40% wool. For this type of project, it worked out really well. Oops. Not doubles anymore, triples, I meant triples.

I know. I can get ridiculous with my knitting stutters. Double doubles, this time. Here are Basta’s Better Dorm Boots Deluxes again in Plymouth Yarns Encore Chunky.

My recipients always also receive a warning with my slipper gifts: they are slicker than slick and don’t even think about wearing them on hardscape floors. In fact, I call them bedsocks.

I totally enjoy having 100% confidence that what I’m knitting will work out well. Maybe that’s one reason for all these repeats. Plus, with so many of my knit recipients having chilly feet these grown-up booties get snatched up from my choose-your-knit baskets very quickly.

For your feet

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These are Rebekah Berkompas’s a/k/a/ Bekah Knits’ Adult Moc-a-soc. It’s such a clever design. You knit the slipper part flat. Yes. Flat. On straight needles (or circulars used as if they were straights).The pattern is available in a fold-out pamphlet in many yarn shops and by download on Ravelry.

The slipper part is knit in worsted weight and seamed on the bottom and mid-heel. I used Cascade’s 220 Superwash Wave, an almost-gradient. Then stitches are picked up, in the round, on the inside of the slippers. The ribbed sock part is knit in a sport weight on double-points or magic loop.  I used Cascade 220 Superwash Sport. I’ve knit the adult version of these 3 times now. Check here to see an earlier version, along with a baby-sized pair. My recent pair is my favorite. There’s something about looking down at feet and seeing all that sunny color that makes a person smile.

The Moc-a-soc is slipper and socks combined. Sort of. This next bit of footwear at first seems like just half a slipper.

Most knitters who visit yarn shops (always a good idea) will have seen Lorna Miser’s Suede Soled Slippers. Miser’s slipper kit is a slipper sole that ends up as a whole slipper.  I probably knit my first pair twenty years ago. The kit is a slippper-bottom, a small skein of yarn, and a pattern.

Follow the included pattern to knit this:

Yes. Where’s the rest of your slippers? All is as it should be.

I am completely crochet-impaired. If you’re not, you will probably use one of those amazing crochet stitches I know nothing about to attach your knitted slippers into the soles through the holes in the slipper bottoms. For my part, I just sewed them on. I’m also almost completely sewing-impaired, so I just stitched through the sole-holes and into the knitted fabric. Easy peasy.

Miser’s kit knits up in two shakes of a lamb’s tail. Heck, there’s almost nothing to knit!

Next comes a holiday gift I knit for Steve, a man who loves hand knit socks. One of my knitting circle mates says she sees red reindeer running across these socks. I don’t think so. But these socks definitely look festive.

These are cobbled together from a number of patterns, so I’ll just call it my personal sock pattern. It started out life as a sock whose designed heel just didn’t look like it would hold up to feet. So I knit a traditional heel instead, in eye-of-partridge, and simply did a standard toe.

Steve’s socks are knit in Schachenmayr Regia’s, Design Line by Arne & Carlos, a 75% wool, 25% nylon fingering weight. Both the yarn and the heel will be able to stand up to almost anything feet can dish out.

Sticking to the theme of failsafe foot stuff here’s my recent knit of Nola Miller’s Nola’s Slippers. Mine are knit in Harrisville Design’s WATERshed, worsted and doubled (as the pattern calls for). They are knit flat and seamed at mid-bottom and mid-heel. I’ve knit gobs of these over the years. They never disappoint.

No cold feet here

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These are the super-cozy “Toba Slippers,” designed by Jane Richmond. I knit mine in the now-discontinued Knit Picks Full Circle, a bulky weight wool. This was a stash-busting project. Since I didn’t have enough dark brown, I changed colors at the cuff. That worked out fairly well, but knitting it all in one color would have eliminated the need to tame the color-changing row.

I believe that one time, eons ago, I used a Turkish cast-on for a pair of toe-up socks. Richmond’s directions on that cast-on are clear, complete with a video link if a knitter needs it. It worked out very well.

Except for the first round after the cast-on, the directions assume you’re using magic loop instead of double-points. It isn’t hard to figure out what’s up, but there are directions for placement of 4 stitch markers that don’t work for double-points. And some of the directions are in relation to those markers. I just put a pin each place where a marker was meant to indicate a decrease. That worked.

These next slippers are an old favorite: Nola’s Slippers. This free pattern is available through Ravelry and direct from the Seaman’s Church Institute’s Christmas at Sea site.

nola_sets

This is just such an excellent easy pattern. I often make a few modifications, including lengthening the ribbing section so it can be cuffed back. The pattern calls for using a worsted weight doubled. That works well. But I had some skeins of Jamieson’s Shetland Marl, a bulky weight, and so I didn’t need to double the yarn.

Here’s a close look.

purple_nolas

nola_brown2

These are knit flat on circular needles to make it easier to pick up the stitches. The pattern calls for binding off and then sewing a seam along the sole, heel and cuff. I prefer to work a three needle bind-off on the sole. It does add a bit of bulk on the inside seam. So if yours will be worn by tenderfoots, best just to sew the seam.

In case you think the only colors I’ve been knitting lately are earthy ones, these next slippers could not be accused of being earthy-toned.

slipppers

Continuing the stash-busting effort, these are Kris Basta’s Better Dorm Boots. Basta has a whole series of Better Dorm Boots. These are the most plain version, with simple ribbing.

Mine are knit in left-over bits of Plymouth Encore. My plan was to make one pair with a contrasting cuff and another pair with a contrasting sole.

slippers2

Well. It turned out to be one of those best-laid plans gone adrift things. I even managed to get my half-and-half row on the outside instead of on the inside of the slipper. I was positive I had enough green for those soles.

There is something very satisfying in using up left-overs.

My family will be visiting over the holidays and these will all be added to my “pick-your-knitted gifts” library ladder. This year the ladder is spilling over to just about every flat surface in the living room. There are hats, scarves, hats, mittens, hats, slippers, hats, washcloths and hats to choose from.

Don’t get cold feet

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NolaRed2

This is the classic, vintage…let’s face it old pattern: Nola’s Slippers, by Nola Miller. The pattern is published as part of the Seaman’s Church Institute. Since 1898, during the Spanish-American War, volunteers of Seaman’s Church Institute have knitted and crocheted warm garments for mariners who are away from home for the December holidays. They call their program “Christmas at Sea.” Throughout the year, they collect hats, slippers, scarves, and mitts–with patterns published on their site, including Nola’s Slippers. This pair is knit in a yarn called “Canterbury Tweeds,” 100% New Zealand wool, worsted weight, and that’s about all I know about it.

The Seaman’s Institute says most of the mariners are men, so if you’re knitting for them keep that in mind. They discourage pastels. All donations must be knit in washable materials. No pom-poms or tassels (safety hazard). And they remind that mariners’ “work environment can get dirty,” so remember that when selecting materials.

These slippers call for worsted weight, held double.

Here’s another Nola’s pair, knit in Jamieson’s Shetland Marl, a bulky weight. So, no need to double the yarn.

bulky_slippers

These slippers will keep feet nice and toasty through the wintry weather, whether on board ship or sitting in front of your fireplace.

Veterans of knitting on the web will remember the camaraderie of the old knitlist. Did you get the daily digest or prefer to have a zillion emails fill your email box daily? It was in the knitlist days that I knit my first pair of Aunt Alm’s Dorm Boots. Amy Detjen was definitely the source and I recall that the pattern that she circulated was indeed a pattern from her Aunt Alm, with a few modifications. My original listserv copy is long-gone. This pair is a slight variation, by Brenda Zuk, with original attribution given to Detjen’s Aunt Alm, who died in 1998. The pattern is available on Zuk’s blog.

Aunt Alm and Zuk came up with a good comfy pair of slippers. Garter stitch soles for a bit of traction. A nice cuff so they don’t slip off. And an excellent spine up the top of the slipper for a bit of style. Mine are knit in long-discontinued Anny Blatt Mini-Sport which, despite its name, is actually a worsted weight.

AuntAlm