One of the best ways to keep your heating bill down is simply by wearing slippers. I mean think about it....when your feet are cold you just feel cold all over. I've been pretty blessed with a mother-in-law who knits these kind for our whole family. It's a mark of being in our family if you get a pair of these slipped in with a Christmas or birthday present! And you might even find some money tucked inside. :-)
However, I tend to wear mine out pretty quickly with washing them frequently and snagging them on those little doorway dividers.
I had been hanging onto one of my husband's old wool sweaters for a while with the idea that I would make something from it. Thanks to this awesome tutorial, on how to upcycle a sweater into slippers, I decided to make my own. Thank you to Vanessa, the blogger behind Homemade Holiday Gifts.
I ran the sweater through a hot water wash several times to get it felted nice and tight. The kids thought it was pretty hilarious seeing a sweater that once fit daddy now in their size. I traced the outline of my feet just the way the tutorial suggested and created the pattern. Since I wanted my slippers to be extra warm I cut out two layers of fabric for each of the soles and sewed them together for that extra layer of insulation and comfort. It seems like I had one sick kid after another this winter in my house, so there were lots of "in days" to work on something like this.
Anyway, I won't give you every last detail, since it's described so nicely in the tutorial. I used the neck band of the sweater to make a nice, tight cuff and then added a couple of felt flowers with a button just for the girly factor!
Voila!
They are soooo warm and fuzzy.....and way cheaper than buying a designer pair.
Free and upcycled! Two of my favourite words!
I also made a pair of felted wool slipper socks for my 13 yr old out of the arms. Stay tuned for that post another time...
Hi there! I also saw that tutorial, and would like to try it, but am a bit nervous. Did you sew the neck band on? That's the part I'm nervous about, being able to do it well. I love your idea of doing a double layer for the sole.
ReplyDeleteDid you sew these by hand or machine?
And! I also grew up with those slippers, we call them Oma slippers. :) I like them, but not how quickly they wear out.