I'm still sharing the handmade gifts I made for this past Christmas. The one I'm sharing today is probably my favorite of the bunch. I had been eyeing this crochet pattern for awhile. I just loved the cuff and the ties with the pom poms. So I was excited to finally get an excuse to make it. The most difficult part of this pattern was probably figuring out the yarn. The pattern gives the amount of skeins needed of their brand of yarn, not the yardage. I did not have time to order their yarn if I wanted it made for Christmas, so I figured out approximate yardage by calculating the the amount skeins required and the yardage in each skein.
Pre-gift opening. I was especially excited for the box with these slipper boots to be opened.
I did my yarn shopping at JoAnn Fabric and Crafts. I was disappointed with the lack of selection for super bulky and boucle yarn. For the super bulky yarn, I ended up purchasing Bernat Softee Chunky yarn, 2 skeins in True Grey for the slipper body and 2 skeins in Black for the cuff, slipper bottom, and ties. I did enjoy working with this yarn. It was very soft and I had zero tangling problems. For the boucle, it was only sold in huge skeins that were way more than I needed and in colors I didn't like. I understand the big skeins since it's probably most often used to make sweaters. To my disappointment, though, I couldn't find a simple grey. I wandered around the yarn aisles trying to see if there may have been something I missed. That's when I found the Patons North America Metallic. The pattern calls for the boucle to be worked up with with the chunky yarn in the body of the slipper, which I assume is for softness and warmth. Well, the metallic yarn won't add much softness or warmth, but it was aran weight like the boucle and shiny. The shiny won me over. I love the touch of sparkle it added to the boots. On it's own, this yarn seems like it would be slippery to use. Held together with the chunky yarn, however, it was perfect.
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For this pattern, I used 2 skeins of Bernat Softee Chunky in True Grey, about 1.5 skeins of Bernat Softee Chunky in Black, and about half a skein of Patons North American Metallic in Pewter. The grey yarn was barely enough to make these slippers, so if you need to make a medium or large size you will need to purchase 3 skeins for the slipper body.
I did the smallest size for the pattern, 5/6.5, with a slight modification. The recipient of these boots wears a 6.5/7, and 7 is in between sizes for this pattern. To avoid a tight fitting slipper, I added an extra row of sc with the gray + metallic yarn for the slipper foot. I actually like how this looked better too. The small size in the slipper pattern had an oddly tiny looking foot compared to the body of the slipper. The extra row of sc made it look more proportionate.
The other minor alteration I did was for the dc increases. I didn't like the gaps these stitches created in the slipper. To fix this, I just went back with a yarn needle and the gray yarns to sew up the gaps a bit. This gave the stitches a much more uniform look.
On the recipient. The pom poms are blurry because they are being shaken, of course.
What surprised me about these boots is how quickly they worked up. That is due in large part to the use of super bulky yarn and an 8mm L hook. I have made crochet slippers before using aran weight yarn, and think those actually took me more time than these boots did.
Overall, I am very pleased with how these boots turned out. I *almost* wanted to keep them for myself. I actually want to make myself a pair for myself too. The only thing stopping me is the amount of yarn needed. I have a hard time justifying spending that much money on yarn for something that I can't even wear outside. But they are just so cute!
Stay tuned because I have more handmade gift to share with you. Keep up with the latest on my blog by following me on Instagram, Twitter, Bloglovin', Google+ or liking my Facebook page.
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