Felting is fun, so long as it's intentional.





Oven Mitts, Fall 2005:


Made from beautiful, rough, and natural sheep's wool, knit on needles a size or so too large for the yarn and thrown into the wash a zillion times until they were very densely felted.

I constructed them from the fingertips down, using a method very similar to making toe-up socks. When I thought the hand was long enough (about 1.75 times the length of my acutal hand, because felting shrinks the length significantly), I knit a few stitches in a smooth contrasting color cotton yarn, and continued for another inch before using an I-cord bindoff. Then I undid the stitches done in cotton, picked them up with the wool, and knit the thumb.

Return of the Felted Slipper, Summer 2005:


If you look at the row of slippers at the bottom of this page, this slipper will look familiar. A few months after I gave the slippers to everyone for Christmas, my stepmom wrote to say that she loved her slippers, and wore them constantly, but they were already starting to wear out.

So I remade them, using the same pattern--a toe-up slipper pattern with shortrowed toe and heel I heavily adapted from this toe-up sock pattern, and a stitch pattern from the Pulse Warmers in the Winter 2004 Issue of Interweave Knits. This time I added leather slipper bottoms. Hopefully this will keep the slippers going for longer!

Squirrel Nut Slippers, Spring 2004:



A get-well gift for my mom. I thought the squirrels would amuse her, and they did.

These were constructed the same way as the other felted slippers on this page, by using a toe-up sock pattern and drastically changing the gauge. The squirrel was applied by duplicate stitch, from a chart very slightly adjusted from a very old booklet entitled "Scandinavian Sweaters" (I think I added a stitch on his nose).

As I worked the duplicate stitching, the phrase Squirrel Nut Slippers popped in my head and wouldn't leave. And that's how they got their name.

Franklin Ave. Bag, Winter 2004:



So named because I dreamed that people in the old neighborhood were talking about it for some reason. The yarn once composed the Grey Disaster, and I'm glad I was FINALLY able to turn it into something worthwhile.

I made the pattern up. If I can make the directions less of a dog's breakfast I'll post them.

Parade of Slippers, late November/December 2004:


Seven pairs of slippers, all kinds of sizes and styles, for my in-laws and my dad's family. I started with this basic sock pattern and adjusted for size and post-felting gauge. Besides the obvious changes (ie: Make Bigger), I made the heel and toe longer and narrower than that pattern, since felting reduces length more than width.

The red and white motif is located in a recent Interweave knits for Norwegian wristwarmers. The brown and white Fair Isle motifs are from Sheila McGregor's Traditional Fair Isle Knitting, though they might be changed a bit here and there. The red and grey is an intarsia Trylon and Perisphere of my own design (it'll go up on the site eventually). The rest of them are pretty plain.








Anyone interested in how I made any of these things: You have a few options. A: Figure it out on your own. B: Contact me (tjane1216, then the "at" symbol, excite.com), although if it's copyrighted (as in, I didn't just make something up), I'll only be able to direct you to a reference. C: Never find out what I did, and wonder forever.