It is a lovely rectangle of fluff, made from two skeins of different colours of Punta Yarns Kid Mohair and nylon. The two colours was a buying error. One had more reds and golds in it and the other more blues. Both had a strong green component and by doing two row stripes it worked together quite well. I am still not a fan of low quality mohairs, but I have learned not to assume that a mohair and nylon blend is bad and I am definitely a big fan of kid mohairs. I keep this project because I have a really interesting idea for a sweater to wear it with.
And on to the knitting of the day. It wasn't so hard as I thought it would be.
It seldom is. It just took a little gumption and swiping that massive number of steeking strands to the worked side as I went along. I am very pleased with the way it looks along the whole length of patterns.
The wrap was wide, so the buttonband doesn't need to be wide for coverage. It meets very generously in the center. It just needs to pull all the pattern elements together and to give it a crisp edge so it matches the look of the whole. All the straggle steeking waste ends will be felted just a bit and will probably be tucked under a bit if a lining to keep them all nice and orderly.
Once I got a couple ribbed rows done here, I set it down and did a few other things that were becoming urgent.
I have long been planning to put some leather bottoms on my slippers. Before winter is done I want to play with a whole sole of fleece, but for now just leather bottoms on existing slippers. It was to the point that one small hole thin area was close to becoming a hole so if I was ever going to do it, now was the time.
Last time I did this, bought soles. This time, I am going with reclaimed coat leather. It's a bit thinner than would be perfect, but it is what I have on hand.
I originally meant to attach the pieces directly to the soles, but it was very difficult to get through the leather and keep the patch in place as I worked. I debated about ways to attach them and thought this pair of slippers would be great as a test case. I worked an edge using a buttonhole stitch in a heavy weight waxed cord and I also did an edge where I punch holes with an regular hole punch. At this point I am praying the hole punch is the winner, because it was so much faster than sewing around the patch. If neither of these prove to be good options, I have seen an awl somewhere in my took kit that I could use to punch holes.
And adhered. I used a double strand of sock yarn for sturdiness. On my sock slippers, the attaching only stayed sturdy after I used some ugly bright pink wool figuring ugly would probably last longer. It did. This may not be a perfect solution but then these are not the perfect slippers either.
The wrap was wide, so the buttonband doesn't need to be wide for coverage. It meets very generously in the center. It just needs to pull all the pattern elements together and to give it a crisp edge so it matches the look of the whole. All the straggle steeking waste ends will be felted just a bit and will probably be tucked under a bit if a lining to keep them all nice and orderly.
Once I got a couple ribbed rows done here, I set it down and did a few other things that were becoming urgent.
I have long been planning to put some leather bottoms on my slippers. Before winter is done I want to play with a whole sole of fleece, but for now just leather bottoms on existing slippers. It was to the point that one small hole thin area was close to becoming a hole so if I was ever going to do it, now was the time.
Last time I did this, bought soles. This time, I am going with reclaimed coat leather. It's a bit thinner than would be perfect, but it is what I have on hand.
I originally meant to attach the pieces directly to the soles, but it was very difficult to get through the leather and keep the patch in place as I worked. I debated about ways to attach them and thought this pair of slippers would be great as a test case. I worked an edge using a buttonhole stitch in a heavy weight waxed cord and I also did an edge where I punch holes with an regular hole punch. At this point I am praying the hole punch is the winner, because it was so much faster than sewing around the patch. If neither of these prove to be good options, I have seen an awl somewhere in my took kit that I could use to punch holes.
And adhered. I used a double strand of sock yarn for sturdiness. On my sock slippers, the attaching only stayed sturdy after I used some ugly bright pink wool figuring ugly would probably last longer. It did. This may not be a perfect solution but then these are not the perfect slippers either.
And no, I did not notice that one sole is buff and the other is buckskin. Not till I was putting them on. I will get to see if that makes a difference too. The picture looks pretty darn ugly, really, but the proof is in the pudding. Will it help the slippers last?
When I do this next time, one of the things I think I am going to do is to to make the sole patch go larger up the sides and back of my foot. Not lots, but just a little. This pair of slippers likes to swirl around my foot when I don't have socks on, so that little up the sides would probably make these last longer. I don't generally need a whole sole covered. I have never ever worn out any part of any footwear at the front so heel patches are all I am going to need.
No comments:
Post a Comment