french press slippers

The stakes were a little on the high side when I decided to make ballet flat-inspired slippers for my sister-in-law for her birthday. After all, beautiful shoes are her family business. But I really loved the Felted Slippers from Melynda Bernardi of French Press Knits. It was my first felting project so I was a little nervous but I was so happy with the way they turned out.


If you've never felted a knit project before, it's quite magical.  These were knit with Cascades 220 Heathers 100% Peruvian wool.  I think the Heathers works well because it gives a nice variation in the felt rather than a flat solid.  The bottoms are knit with three strands and the sides and straps with two to give it good bulk.   The remarkable thing is the size of the project pre-felting.

Here's a before pic next to my size 7 (dirty) shoes:

Looking at these floppy, 15" long clown shoes, it was hard to believe that they would eventually turn out to be a chic, sturdy slipper.  But wool is an amazing thing and after 20 minutes in a hot wash with a touch of detergent and a couple of Henry's old rubber balls, the fibre worked it's magic.  Here they are right out of the wash:

I was very vigilant during the felting process and checked on the slippers every 5 minutes, shaping the shoe each time.  If they felt properly, it's sturdy enough that shaping the damp shoe becomes more like sculpting than fibre work.  After a couple of days the shoe was dry and I could attach the strap (also felted, also meticulously shaped) and the cute tortoiseshell buttons. 

By changing colour and button style, you could get a lot of great looks. I want to make these for everyone know.  Starting with a pair for me!

(Most importantly, my sister-in-law loves them and they fit perfectly!)