French Press Slippers

 

My lovely friend Sarah told me about these darling felted slippers and I simply had to try them! I’m not much of a slipper person myself but I figured my mom would love them. Unfortunately my mom will never see them because they turned out AWFUL!! (Though sweet Sarah still says they’re not so bad…)

Why so awful? First, the seaming is a mess. If you look at the pictures you can see the HUGE roll-like seams on the insides of the slippers. This makes them far too uncomfortable to wear!! I blame the pattern here. It said you can seam them up using whatever method you prefer so I just did the standard mattress stitch. Mistake! It turns out you have to use a totally seamless method like the Bickford seam. Had I bothered to read the Ravelry forums before I started the project this would have become immediately apparent. Shame on me for not doing my homework. (Note: 4 days after I finished these monstrosities the designer released an updated pattern directing you to use the Bickford seam!)

 
Second, the texture of the felted fabric itself is really yucky. I guess the best way to describe it would be that it’s kind of furry? I chalk this up to my own inexperience. I used a heathered yarn which I thought would create some lovely dimension in the felt but it turns out that all the heathery bits just kind of did their own thing in the felting process. Now I know: just use a smooth yarn when you’re gonna felt. And third, this is 100% my fault but somehow a piece of paper or a tissue or something ended up in the washer while these puppies were felting. This led to random little paper bits embedded in the yarn! Oops!
 
Still, these slippers are definitely worth a second try. They knit up lightning fast because they are done with doubled/tripled yarn on huge needles and the end product really is very cute based on all the pics on Ravelry.
OK, here are the specs:

 

yarn details
Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Amber Heather
dye lot 87483
100% Peruvian Highland Wool
worsted weight
hand wash in cold water
50 grams/110 yds @ $2.19
purchased 1/10

pattern details
pattern: “French Press Felted Slippers” by Melynda Bernardi (web download – $7)
needles: size 15
size: medium
yarn used: 2.38 skeins
started: January 17, 2010
finished: January 25, 2010
total cost: $12.21 (including pattern purchase)

 

notes…

p.s.  this is what the slippers were supposed to look like:
 
 
9/28/12 UPDATE:  Just for fun… I’m linking this up to Jen’s Stinky Linky Party over at Four Marrs & One Venus!!  … because these slippers are stinky!!
 


10/5/12 UPDATE:  Guess What??  I was featured on the party wrap up post as one of the stinkiest!  Check out my cool prize: