Project: Crocheted Slippers

A year or two ago, I picked up two skeins of Lion Bran Vanna's Colors in a brown tweed pattern for just $1 each. Since I bought them on a whim because it was such a good sale, I didn't have a particular project in mind. Recently when I was going through my yarn stash and pattern books looking for a new project, I decided that the yarn would be perfect for a pair of slippers to wear around the house in the autumn.

One of my knitting books had a nice pattern for ballet-style slippers, but it was a bit too advanced for me, so I wound up searching online for an easier method. I came across The Zen of Making's pattern for crocheted slippers, which is both super simple and in the style I was looking for. Even though my yarn was not quite as bulky as the pattern called for and the biggest hook I had was 6 1/2 mm while the pattern called for a 9 mm hook, I decided to give it a go and make alterations if necessary.

As it turns out, very little adjusting was required. The pattern supposedly makes a pair of slippers in women's size 7/8 US, and even though I wear a size 8 and was using lighter yarn and a smaller hook I only had to increase the length of the slipper by a couple of rows. I didn't need to increase the width at all, and in fact I had to alter the pattern a bit to make it less wide. To make everything fit a little more snugly, I went down to a 4 mm crochet hook when adding the single crochet border around the top of the slipper, and I threaded some brown grosgrain ribbon all the way around to create a drawstring that could be tightened and tied.

With my alterations, the slippers fit great and are very comfortable. I love the tweed effect of the yarn and its smooth, soft texture, which feels nice underfoot. Right now we're having a bit of a late-summer heat wave so I haven't worn them much yet, but I'm looking forward to wearing them more after the weather breaks.