Last Christmas, while visiting in-laws in Illinois, my mother in-law showed me a felt slipper pattern in Martha Stewart magazine. I thought it was pretty neat, and since then have had it in the back of my mind for something to try. Over the summer, a coworker of mine gave me a fleece from her flock of sheep, and I said to her, "I'll make you some slippers!". Well, a year since I saw the pattern, and 6 months since given the fleece, I'm finally going to make good on my promise.
In the summer I washed, dyed, and carded the fiber:
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| Willie sporting a sexy shaved leg post ACL surgery. Poor guy! |
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| Carded wool |
In the fall I wet-felted the fiber and tried some physical resist dyeing techniques:
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| All tied up and ready for dyeing |
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| Each side was very different! |
Two weeks ago I cut the felt into pieces using a pattern. There was enough for two pairs of slippers:
I tried using my sewing machine to stitch some patterns into the felt, but broke three needles before deciding it was just too thick for that type of technique. Henry helped me prep some fiber I used for needle felting the seams.
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| Felting assistant |
And here are the finished slippers. They are extremely thick and feel pretty luxurious on bare feet. One pair for my coworker, and one pair for...?! You'll find out after Christmas! Hope the recipients like them!
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| The slipper on the right has some machine stitching, but I gave up on that before getting to the other slipper. I guess that makes them truly one of a kind, right? |
