KTFO-2016.20 : Simple house slippers

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FO: Simple House Slippers

Kathy’s been here this week working with me on the holiday photo shoot for Fringe Supply Co. (can’t wait to show you!) and while we were at it, she was kind enough to take these pictures of my latest finished object: a quickly knitted pair of slippers. I needed to be wearing slippers in one of the photos and mine are all a shabby mess — with my big toe having just recently broken through the end of my favorite pair. I’ll come up with a good patch for that when I have a minute to think about it, but since I also needed a break from the endless stockinette of my knitalong sweater, I thought these little quickies seemed like a good idea on multiple levels.

They are the Simple House Slippers from Temple of Knit, which are sort of a relative of the Tootsie Toasters, but much cuter. Going back through those Tootsie Toasters posts (from five years ago!) I was amused to see myself noting that Meg had cleverly converted the vintage flat pattern to in-the-round, and here I am now — as noted last week — converting Simone’s in-the-round rendition back to flat! In addition to that little mod, I also knitted the garter rows to 4.5″ instead of 32 rows, since at my row gauge that reached about to my ankles instead of the front of my foot. I wish I knew what Simone’s gauge is, or what dimension her 32 rows amounts to, in order to know how my version compares in that regard. (Note to self: then knitted to a total length of 8″ before toe shaping.) And on the last row of garter, I increased one stitch at each end to give myself selvage stitches. Since I was really just thinking of these as photo shoot props, I did the seaming pretty hastily and also had knitted them in Shelter, because I had it handy, which is not really a suitable yarn for a slipper. But I really like these little guys, so I’ll either wear them as socks inside my boiled wool scuffs, or maybe put leather slipper bottoms on them. And I’ll definitely be knitting more. Really fun, quick, satisfying and useful.

Pattern: Simple House Slippers by Simone A
Yarn: Shelter by Brooklyn Tweed, in Soot
Cost: Free pattern + one skein of Shelter = $13.25

(Nitty-gritty details on Ravelry)

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PREVIOUSLY in 2016 FOs: Black linen-wool cardigan of my dreams

 

16 thoughts on “KTFO-2016.20 : Simple house slippers”

  1. I just printed out this pattern on Friday and checked it for gauge this morning! I wondered why I didn’t see one…What do you recommend?

  2. How funny! I also just cast these on last night, my feet have been freezing lately and I need something to wear around the house. I’m using a handspun of unknown origin I “saved” from a local green sewing shop for two bucks!

  3. There must be something in the air about cozy footwear. I am in the midst of transforming some dreadfully huge, store-bought “rustic” wool socks that someone gave me as a gift into squishy cabled goodness (Inglewood sock pattern). I can’t believe I’ve never made socks before. Fun!

  4. Hey Karen!
    I am so happy you like the pattern!
    Right now I am actually in the process of rewriting it for a kit with local yarn (local to me here in Sweden) and because it will be written for a specific yarn I am including a gauge. But the first pattern was deliberately written with a pretty backwards approach. My thinking was that not having a specific gauge or even needle size connected to the pattern would make it so that knitters would have to adapt it to what they had on hand and decide for themselves if they liked the fabric and proportions. I felt I could do that because ultimately it is a gauge swatch sized project so nothing has really been lost, if the first one doesn’t feel right. You’d just end up with a thorough gauge swatch :)
    Besides I think letting go of a little control both for me as the pattern writer and for the knitter is ultimately a really creative and stimulating thing. I am pretty amazed with the amount of adaptions made to the pattern (yours included) and part of me can’t help but think that, that wouldn’t have happened if it was written in a completely stringent manner.

    Phew this ended up a little long and rant-y. Haha. Never the less Thank you for the kind words they are much appreciated!

    – Simone

  5. I have been searching for leather slipper bottoms to add to a simple pair of knitted slippers that I knitted for myself out of left-over yarn and that I have come to love. If you find a good source for these (or decide to stock them!) please let us know.
    PS I love your blog. It is one of the very few that I read religiously.

  6. 53 years ago I was walking down a street in Minneapolis and came upon a yarn shop. While I didn’t know how to knit, I did love the look of it and the fibers. The clerk – probably the owner – asked if she could help and I said I couldn’t knit so I was just looking. She said here, let me teach you. So across the counter she “taught” me and soon I left with yarn, needles and instructions for knitting “TV slippers.” They are very similar to your pattern and I still have it and occasionally knit slippers. It was a rocky beginning but in the end it was my brand new husband who actually taught me to knit. I am still at it and he continues to be very supportive. Slippers are a more instantly gratifying first project than, say, a scarf and it was fun to revisit them through your blog. Thank you.

  7. I have made these 1000 times (more like 16 in real life) and thank you for sharing the pattern and reminding me about them. They are such a quick, cute knit, perfect for gifting. You just sorted the last few folks on my holiday knit list!

  8. I just made these with the Lopi you recommended (and that I purchased immediately without a plan) a while back. Perfect for my drafty apartment. Thank you!

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  11. Hi there, any way you can share the pattern some other way? The pattern website is no longer active!

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