Happy Mother's Day!

No, don't panic. It's not really Mother's Day yet; you haven't missed it. But my family is celebrating a week early. And so I had to have my present ready.

This year I knit her a pair of slippers. I knit her a pair before (click here to see) but they were in garter stitch and she admitted once that the ridges hurt her feet when she wore them. I didn't think of the solution right away, but one day while I was enjoying the cushy sole of my "travelling slippers" I realized that was the solution. The soles of those slippers were double knit, so they were twice as thick and none of the bumps were against your feet.

I didn't want to repeat that pattern, however, so I modified a basic sock pattern. I started with a basic short row toe, but once it was half done, I joined a second strand and started double knitting the bottom.

Part way up the foot, I added a gusset to give a little extra room. I started with too many stitches the first time, but over compensated a bit so the slippers are a little snug. The extra stitches really helped with the fit. Once I worked far enough over the top of the foot, I worked back and forth across some of the top stitches on each side of the foot and the sole stitches.

When they were long enough, I did a couple short rows to shape the heel and then knit the sides around the back, knitting stitches together with the heel stitches as I went.

After that was done, I picked up stitches all around the top and knit about eight rows before casting off.

The stocking stitch curls back on itself which makes it a very durable finish. (All the wear isn't on one line of yarn.)

Here you can see the knitted sole inside the slipper.

I hope she enjoys them.