Anyone else scrambling to get their knitted gifts finished before deadlines hit?

I knit these French Press Slippers (Ravelry link) for my mom’s birthday, but I thought it’d be a good time to blog them since they’re such a great gift knit. Three skeins of Wool of the Andes and some determination can get you a kicky pair of slippers with a single weekend of work.

Sure, there’s some seaming, but the pattern is really well written and the final result will get you some ooos and ahhhs from the lucky recipient.  The seaming gives them structure, and they have this low skimming fit that makes your feet look adorable.

Also, it’s a great opportunity to pick out some fancy-schmancy buttons that you’d normally never try. I found these great dark-dark blue ones with metal button holes at my local fabric store (Bolt, on NE Alberta in Portland, OR). Too cute!

My mom’s feet are about half a size smaller than my own, so I was able to felt the slippers in the washing machine and take them out periodically to check on my own feet. A little wet and sloppy, but it worked.  If your recipient has a radically different shoe size, I’ve had luck felting slippers and using homemade inserts made of plastic bags stuffed with fabric or newspaper. 

If you’re new to felting, here’s our list of felting tutorials to get you started.  Machine felting is definitely the fastest, but it works best in a top-loading washing machine.  Front loading machines tend to be too gentle to felt (well, technically full) your knitting down into thick fabric.

Kick!

Pattern: French Press Slippers by Melynda Bernardi (Ravelry link)

Yarn: Wool of the Andes in Mist, three skeins for a size 8 shoe size

Needles: US size 15