Our friend’s daughter, Hannah, had her Sweet Sixteen, and asked me for new knitted slippers exactly like the ones made for her years ago a friend from Holland. The original slippers now sadly have holes in one foot -- or perhaps happily, because the holes mean they were worn often which is the ultimate compliment for a knitter!

The inspiration slippers has a unique design. I didn’t see another pair like them on Ravelry. They are knit in garter stitch on two needles with two sock or light dk yarns held together, so each slipper is knit in one piece. You can also knit with one strand of worsted or a light aran weight yarn. The foot has a shaped heel and toe, with increases and decreases as though the slipper were a sock. The sides are separated from the sole with a special stitch (knit into row below on one side, purl on the other) that allows a perfect 90 degree seam and great fit, and then the top front foot and back ankle are quickly seamed. Very clever! And Hannah reports warm, comfortable, and cute in her favorite color - green.

You can use any combination of fingering weight yarns you like if double your yarn, or a worsted weight single, or even add in a mohair. Made with less that 180 yards of each fingering or the worsted, it’s a great stashbuster. And the fit is flexible, too. This pattern is so flexible and fun - and fast! Guys like them, too :)

Pattern Update Alert - June 10, 2012

Dear Woolen Shoes Knitter,

I hope you have enjoyed your Woolen Shoe pattern. I have been surprised and happy to see how popular this pattern has become! As I write you, I imagine lots of people all over the world happily staying warm in their Woolen Shoes.

To make it even easier for everyone to have warm and cozy feet, today I uploaded a revised Woolen Shoe pattern with more photos and details. It is June 10, 2012. The instructions let you see more clearly how the slipper is made flat, and then sewn up with only two seams. More stitch counts and stitch descriptions are also included.

I created the update to make it easier for the knitters who have pm’d me with questions. I didn’t realize that the instructions would not translate easily into other languages. I hope these changes will clarify and simplify the pattern. If you haven’t yet made a pair, I hope you will give them a try.They are truly a simple garter stitch knit with a little clever shaping!

Several Ravelry test knitters helped me out - thank you Klikinstiks, Lacyknit, and Jef3. I also knit a few more pairs of Woolen Shoes myself.

Knit on! Thank you again for downloading the Woolen Shoes pattern. I hope you find the update helpful.

Laura DeFlora
NewJerseyLaura

P.S. I hope you will post some pictures of your Woolen Shoes so I can see how pretty they are in different yarns.