Hubby’s Christmas Present
If you have been following my blogging progress since I began, I have made quite a few pair of felted slippers for my husband. He wears them out at a very fast rate. I’m not really sure why my slippers last so much longer than his. He needed a new pair so I decided that would be a good Christmas present. Unfortunately, I didn’t start working on them until December 22nd so they didn’t quite get finished.
The template/resist that I used was again one that was originally shown here in a guest post from Nada. I think that Nada no longer uses this template when making slippers but I really like the way the heel works on this one. I have two shapes here because I have made these for my husband before. The one on the right is the shape I used originally. The slippers turned out too wide and almost too short. I made this pair a couple of years ago and I had forgotten the finer points of how the heel works on this slipper after being cut. So I was just thinking that I needed to make the template longer and more narrow. So I used the template on the left. I was in such a rush to get these done that I didn’t take any felting photos at all. Sorry!
So here are the finished slippers. The new template did give me a better size that fit better for my husband’s feet but there was definitely an issue with the heel. Because I made the heel in the template so long and narrow, it ended up with an extra round part on the bottom of the heel. You can see it slightly in the right hand photo on the bottom slipper a little extra lump there at the heel.
Hopefully, you can see it a little better here from the bottom. I had to really work this area to shrink down the extra felt in that area. It actually gives a better cushion to the heel which isn’t bad, but the next time, I need to remember that the heel on the template should be much more wide and rounded.
I think this is the shape I would use next time. Or maybe even a bit less distance between the “ears” and the end of the heel. Do take a look at Nada’s tutorial if you’re interested in making a pair. I am still waiting for the leather bottoms for hubby’s slippers which I will stitch in place. He was very excited to get them and was really appreciate of my efforts – always nice to have a happy recipient of hand made gifts.