When my Mother-in-law turned 70 last month I wanted to make her something special. She likes to wear slippers especially when she stays in a hotel so I started to look for the perfect pattern. I found the Tweed Slippers by Natalya Berezynska on Etsy. There were several things I like about them. First of all I think they look good. The combination of crocheting and knitting is very clever, because in general a crocheted fabric is very sturdy and a knitted fabric is stretchy. I also like the double soles which make the slippers very comfortable to wear.
I decided to dye the yarn purple, because it is a colour that my MIL really likes, but thinks it does not suit her. I thought purple slippers would make her smile. For the outer sole I found a very sturdy yarn that I had bought many years ago. It is not soft, think carpet yarn. For the rest of the slipper I used two strands of my Aran weight yarn one in light purple and one dyed in dark purple. I made no changes to the pattern other than messing up at one point and crocheting an extra row.
It turned out that my arm likes crocheting even less than knitting, especially since I tried to make a firm fabric. At one point I thought about giving up, but I persevered and finished the slippers just in time.
To make the slippers even more whimsical I attached two needle-felted flowers. I felted these onto a water-soluble stabilizer so that you can make the petals thin and soft. In the end I added lines of puff paint to the soles to make them less slippery.
The slippers look huge and they are a size 9/10, but they fit and are very comfortable. If I were to make them again I would add a few decreases at the back of the heel to a make them a bit more fitted around the ankle.
My MIL is very happy with her slippers and I am glad I got them done after all.
You can find the pattern on Etsy and on Ravelry.
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