When my sister was little, she got a pair of red slipper socks from L. L. Bean for Christmas one year. They almost never left her feet. She absolutely loved them. So when I saw this pattern for slipper socks in the latest Debbie Bliss Magazine, I knew that I had to knit these for her.
Pattern: Cabled Slipper Socks from Debbie Bliss Knitting Magazine Fall/Winter 2009
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool Ease in Grey Heather
Needles: size US 7 and US 8
The pattern for these is great. I was completely intrigued to see how they came together and I had a hard time putting them down. Needless to say, the knitting went fast. I had completely no idea how to knit the welt around the toe and foot and the magazine offered up no instructions other than to knit the next stitch with the corresponding stitch 5 rows below. That seems easier than it really is. I went to my knitting instruction books but they had no instructions for this and I was completely at a loss. I finally found instructions on this web page: http://charisa-martin.livejournal.com/24489.html It was an Ah-hah! moment.
I knew that I wanted real leather for the soles and I ended up finding leather working materials at Michael's craft store. They sell single squares of leather for around $8.00 which worked out perfectly for this project. I also found special needles for sewing leather and I used some heat-n-bond just to be sure that the leather stayed in place. I blanket stitched the edges to the bottom of the slipper.
I really love how these turned out and I think my sister loves them too.
