update 12/13/08: hello to everyone stumbling upon this page or linking over from somewhere else! this is the original post for this slippers pattern, but i’ve since redesigned the pattern and made a free pdf download! see the blog post with the full updated pattern here, download the pdf directly here, or check out my patterns page with all of my patterns (including several free ones!). enjoy!!
yay free pattern! ok so this is something i designed almost 2 1/2 years ago, way back before i even knew how to read patterns. it was in the form of a page in my sketchbook with a list of each row like a checklist to work off of. i used this to make about 6 pairs back then, altering each one a little to try to perfect the shape. then i got bored with booties and forgot about it. anyway, i remembered the “pattern” a few days ago, found that old sketchbook, and deciphered the notes into an actual pattern. i changed a few things, and now i’m happy to share the final result with you!
these are super quick and easy to make, a one night in front of the tv kind of project. basic mary jane style slippers, knit flat in garter stitch up to the toe, then knit around on double points. great gift knits, since the sizing is very flexible, nice and stretchy. i made a pair for my mom back when i first designed them (with monkey buttons!)… here are a couple of my original pairs:
these are knit with several strands of yarn, on size 11 needles, making a super thick fabric. on the examples i used 3 strands – one being joann’s sensations angel hair, which is two strands in itself, including the soft fuzzy stuff which makes the booties super soft and warm. this is a great project for using up a bunch of stash yarn. i don’t know exactly what yardage they take, but i’m guessing not more than about 70-80 yards (for both), maybe less. i don’t like to use nice yarns for slippers i’ll be wearing around the house, probably stepping on things and wanting to throw them in the laundry, don’t want to worry about hand washing… so grab any balls you’ve got buried in your stash, find a few strands that’ll look nice together, and use them up!
pattern notes:
i use the long tail cast on at the beginning, and the backwards loop cast on (or single cast on) when i add stitches in the middle of the pattern. you can use whatever methods you like – it is suggested in knitty that you use the knitting on method when casting on in the middle of a pattern, which i’ve never tried, but it’s probably better.
when writing out the toe part of the pattern, which is knit on double pointed needles, i wrote it the way i think about it – each needle separate instead the whole round as a row altogether. this is the first pattern i’ve written that uses dpns, so that’s probably a silly way to write it, but it’s what makes sense to me, so hopefully it’ll make sense to you.
everything is the same on the left and right booties except for the strap, so when you get to that part just follow the pattern for whichever side you’re knitting.
the buttons are purely decorative, so there are no buttonholes in the pattern. the straps are sewed over permanently – the slippers are easy to get on and off with the straps. if you wanted to make a functional button closure, it would be easy to make a hole on the end of the strap by binding one stitch off and back on again. or you could attach a loop of yarn on the end afterwards to loop over the button, like i do with my knit bracelets.
as for sizing: my feet are size 9 and they fit great, but they are very stretchy because of the garter stitch bodies, so i think they would fit fine on feet a couple sizes smaller or larger. if you want to adjust, i would suggest adding or subtracting a couple rows in the sections where you knit 6 rows. sorry i don’t have multiple sizes figured out, but i think because of the way these fit and how they stretch, you can just guess and it’ll be ok…
EDIT 1/20/08: ok i was wrong about the sizing. after wearing mine around for a few nights i found that they are a bit too big for my size 9 feet (the heel kept slipping off), so they definitely won’t be fitting smaller feet than mine. i’ve edited the pattern with sizes – small(medium,large) – large being the original pattern. so the other sizes have not been tested or anything. i would so very much appreciate pattern tester volunteers out there (meaning anyone who wants to knit some booties and give me feedback) to let me know what size they knit, how they turned out, and any further suggestions. i am guessing the large would be for size 10+, medium would be around size 7-9, and small would be for smaller than 7, but i don’t know how small they’d fit without the heel slipping. and these are all total estimates, so again, please let me know your results!! thank you!! (end edit)
i will ask this though, if anyone makes these and changes the pattern for different sizing, i would love it if you commented or emailed me (leethalkoala at yahoo dot com) to let me know what you changed exactly. then i could add your input here, and give you credit and many thanks.
you need:
1 pair size us 11 straight needles
1 set (4) size us 11 double pointed needles
a crochet hook
a tapestry needle
pattern:
cast on 16 stitches (leave at least 1 foot tail)
knit 4(6,6) rows
k4, k2tog, k4, k2tog, k4
knit 1 row
k3, k2tog, k4, k2tog, k3
knit 1 row
start strap section:
-LEFT –
cast on 12, knit across (24 stitches)
knit 3 rows
bind off 12, knit to end
knit 1 row
-RIGHT –
knit 1 row
cast on 12, knit across (24 stitches)
knit 3 rows
bind off 12, knit to end
(end strap section)
knit 2(4,6) rows
k1, make 1, k10, make 1, k1
knit 1 row
k1, make 1, k12, make 1, k1
knit all onto dpns – k7 onto 1st needle, k7 onto 2nd needle, k2 onto 3rd needle
cast on 4 (now there are 6 sts on 3rd dpn), join around, and knit 1 round
knit 1 round
(1st needle – k2, k2tog, k3) (2nd needle – k5, k2tog) (3rd needle – knit all)
knit 1(2,3) rounds
(1st needle – k2, k2tog, k2) (2nd needle – k4, k2tog) (3rd needle – knit all)
knit 2 rounds
(1st needle – k2, k2tog, k1) (2nd needle – k3, k2tog) (3rd needle – knit all)
knit 1 round
(1st needle – k1, k3tog) (2nd needle – k2, slip 2 from 3rd needle to 2nd, k3tog, k1) (3rd needle – knit all)
(1st needle – k2tog) (2nd needle – k2tog, k2tog) (3rd needle – k1, k2tog, k1)
cut yarn, thread through all stitches with a crochet hook, pull tight, tie, and weave in ends.
use the cast on tail to sew up the back, and weave in ends.
sew the strap over on the other side with a button, bottlecap, or whatever you want for embellishment.
Lee Does Stuff 
Hi there. I will be knitting the small size booties. I am a size 5 1/2-6 so I may need to adjust. I will let you know how they turn out.
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These are excellent! I’ll be making them in large size (I wear a 9-10 or more), with dark red and black (anarchy!). Thanks so much for posting this….I love these booties!
Martha
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These are excellent! I’ll be making them in large size (I wear a 9-10 or more), with dark red and black (anarchy!). Thanks so much for posting this….I love these booties!
Martha
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Hooray for free knitting pattern! I’m gonna raid my stash and make my bad self some boo-tays. Thanks!
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Hooray for free knitting pattern! I’m gonna raid my stash and make my bad self some boo-tays. Thanks!
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I love these slippers!! They’re so cute!! The tips of the slippers always end up looking a little pointed for me, but I may just be not closing them up correctly. Excellent pattern!! THANkS!
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I love these slippers!! They’re so cute!! The tips of the slippers always end up looking a little pointed for me, but I may just be not closing them up correctly. Excellent pattern!! THANkS!
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Oh…these look so wonderful. (I found them on Ravelry…you’re not surprised.) And bottlecaps! Now you have me thinking…I love new ideas. -christina
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Oh…these look so wonderful. (I found them on Ravelry…you’re not surprised.) And bottlecaps! Now you have me thinking…I love new ideas. -christina
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These are so cute! I made the large because I wear a size 11 in womens, and they were still too small. They’ll make a great christmas gift for somebody though. And if I get around to modifying the pattern for my giant meat slab feet, I’ll let you know what I did.
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These are so cute! I made the large because I wear a size 11 in womens, and they were still too small. They’ll make a great christmas gift for somebody though. And if I get around to modifying the pattern for my giant meat slab feet, I’ll let you know what I did.
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I’ve knitted up a couple of pairs of these (in the middle of giraffes! yellow/brown with little giraffe buttons 🙂 ) and I’ve made a couple of changes. First, I cast on with 20 stitches and follow the large pattern. I have wide, size 10/11 feet and using only 16 stitches makes the area sort of above my arch too narrow (the six rows right after the strap). I also had to totally re-write the toe portion. I’m not entirely sure what I was doing wrong, but I always ended up with a super-pointy toe that was badly crooked (because of the knit all on the third dpn, which was one of the sides for me.)
When I knit onto the dpns, my first and third needles are the two uppers of the slipper, while the second needle is the sole. I’m not sure if this has to do with how I knit onto the dpns or what. But this is how I make the toe, if other people are having problems with offset toes:
knit onto dpns. k7 onto 1, k7 onto 2, k6 onto 3 (remember, I start with 20 stitches. If you’re working from 16, k2 onto the third needle and then cast on 4, like in the original instructions.)
join around and knit 2 rounds.
1st: k2, k2tog, k3. 2nd: k7. 3rd: k3, k2tog, k2.
knit 3 (1, 2, depending on size) rounds.
1st: k2, k2tog, k2. 2nd. k7. 3rd: k2, k2tog, k2.
knit 2 rounds.
1st: k2, k2tog, k1. 2nd: k7. 3rd: k1, k2tog, k2.
knit 1 round.
slip one stitch from 2nd onto 1st and 3rd, ending up with 5 stitches on each dpn.
k2tog, k1, k2tog on all three dpns.
knit 1 round.
cut yarn, thread through and pull tight, as in original instructions.
Hope someone else finds this helpful 🙂
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I’ve knitted up a couple of pairs of these (in the middle of giraffes! yellow/brown with little giraffe buttons 🙂 ) and I’ve made a couple of changes. First, I cast on with 20 stitches and follow the large pattern. I have wide, size 10/11 feet and using only 16 stitches makes the area sort of above my arch too narrow (the six rows right after the strap). I also had to totally re-write the toe portion. I’m not entirely sure what I was doing wrong, but I always ended up with a super-pointy toe that was badly crooked (because of the knit all on the third dpn, which was one of the sides for me.)
When I knit onto the dpns, my first and third needles are the two uppers of the slipper, while the second needle is the sole. I’m not sure if this has to do with how I knit onto the dpns or what. But this is how I make the toe, if other people are having problems with offset toes:
knit onto dpns. k7 onto 1, k7 onto 2, k6 onto 3 (remember, I start with 20 stitches. If you’re working from 16, k2 onto the third needle and then cast on 4, like in the original instructions.)
join around and knit 2 rounds.
1st: k2, k2tog, k3. 2nd: k7. 3rd: k3, k2tog, k2.
knit 3 (1, 2, depending on size) rounds.
1st: k2, k2tog, k2. 2nd. k7. 3rd: k2, k2tog, k2.
knit 2 rounds.
1st: k2, k2tog, k1. 2nd: k7. 3rd: k1, k2tog, k2.
knit 1 round.
slip one stitch from 2nd onto 1st and 3rd, ending up with 5 stitches on each dpn.
k2tog, k1, k2tog on all three dpns.
knit 1 round.
cut yarn, thread through and pull tight, as in original instructions.
Hope someone else finds this helpful 🙂
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I’m new to knitting but really want to make these.
Should I attempt or not?
I’m not quite sure how to size it down to a 7.
help?
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I’m new to knitting but really want to make these.
Should I attempt or not?
I’m not quite sure how to size it down to a 7.
help?
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great pattern! thanks for sharing!
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great pattern! thanks for sharing!
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I’m also new to knitting and I’m a little stuck on the strap section. Help!
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I’m also new to knitting and I’m a little stuck on the strap section. Help!
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For those of you new at knitting and wanting to try this pattern I suggest you do, its quite straight forward, and I have really enjoyed making them. I’ve already made 2 pairs as gifts. As far as sizing it down, you may not have to. The ones I made were quite stretchy, I made smalls for my friends because they have size 5-6 feet, but you probalby would be fine with a medium slipper
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For those of you new at knitting and wanting to try this pattern I suggest you do, its quite straight forward, and I have really enjoyed making them. I’ve already made 2 pairs as gifts. As far as sizing it down, you may not have to. The ones I made were quite stretchy, I made smalls for my friends because they have size 5-6 feet, but you probalby would be fine with a medium slipper
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So I knit one up and it ended up tiny, I wear an 8 1/2 size shoe and i knit the medium. I am wondering if because I used a super bulky yarn instead of several strands together? It was so small I think I am going to make the large and potentially add a few stitches, if anyone could give me some feedback, that would be fantastic. I have only been knitting for a little while so I could just be doing something wrong.
thanks!
🙂
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So I knit one up and it ended up tiny, I wear an 8 1/2 size shoe and i knit the medium. I am wondering if because I used a super bulky yarn instead of several strands together? It was so small I think I am going to make the large and potentially add a few stitches, if anyone could give me some feedback, that would be fantastic. I have only been knitting for a little while so I could just be doing something wrong.
thanks!
🙂
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Hi there. I will be knitting the small size booties. I am a size 5 1/2-6 so I may need to adjust. I will let you know how they turn out.
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well I did write out the other slipper page and this one is or looks easier hope so
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