I made Mike a pair of felt clogs for Christmas with a pattern (AC-33x) from Fiber Trends, Inc. He needed new slippers. The pre-felted clogs were so big and goofy (think clown slippers) that I wanted him to see them that way, so I wrapped them without felting. Plus, I didn’t have to guess when to stop the felting; this way, he tried on the wet slippers during the process.

Mike has seen me knit and felt hats. He’s familiar with the shrinking, but it still seems a bit like magic, and I think he likes the slippers better having witnessed the transformation. I felted them by hand in a tub on the living room floor. We have a front-load washer, and I’m not sure I can open the door with water in the machine to check the sizing. If you’ve used a front-loading washer to felt, leave a comment on how you did it and how it worked. I like felting by hand, though. It’s neat to watch and feel the change. It took about an hour, I think, of gentle agitating. Mike had doubts they’d get small enough, but onthe third test, he gave them a thumbs up. They’re drying now.

I’ll try to add pics when they dry and we can get the “after” shots.

My goal is to make a few spare pairs of slippers for visitors. In Alaska, it’s customary to remove your shoes when entering a house. I take my own slippers everywhere I go because my feet are always cold, but not everyone travels with slippers the way I do, so having a few loaners will come in handy. It’s a great reason to knit, which I love, and this pattern is great.