11 October 2008 - Felt Clogs

Eileen has taken on a fairly challenging pattern by Fiber Trends called Felt Clogs. My hat is off to her for taking on such a challenging project as her first effort. Though have no fear, she's already displayed the determination and spunk to make it happen and there is no doubt in my mind she'll be successful. She is doing them as a single color which is the simpler version, however, she is using a hand spun yarn that varies greatly in thickness along its length. This adds to the challenge as 'seeing' your preceding work and the pattern it leaves tends to be quite difficult. On top of that, the yarn is a dark, a rich brown color. It will look great in the end but makes stitches and patterns tough to see as you go. After a couple of starts, rip outs, and restarts she is getting the hang of it and already has clog #1 ready for making the closeout cuff! Way to go Eileen! She is making great progress. We'll get some pictures of soon.

Here are a pair felted and ready to go. They were knitted from the same pattern and is what inspired Eileen to give it a try.



In knitting the pair, all went well and according to the pattern, best I could tell. Although, quite frankly, I had more than my share of ripouts and restarts myself. It is challenging to get the 'picture' and you proceed on faith in more than one place. It was easy to get lost, particularly given the fact the pattern described five (5) sizes all within the same pattern. Additionally, it was tough to find yourself because counting rows didn't work. Single rows doubled back on themselves a number of times with wrap & turns within the sole and with simple mid-row turns within the upper. However with diligence I eventually found myself when I got lost and restarted - or more likely, I'd rip back to some point I recognized and started again.

After knitting, and stitching the pieces together, it was time to felt. The felting was a challenge., too, at least for me as it was my first attempt at felting anything. The suggestion was to use an agitating washer. However, that sort of machine is rare here, the washing machines being a little different, more of a spin and slosh kind of thing. Therefore we landed up felting by hand - my wife Sharon lending a very helpful hand and much needed encouragement when I was just sure it wasn't working. In the end, it did work, but it took some effort. At the end of the day, establishing the length was easy enough, a combination of continued felting and the use of a clothes dryer to provide some shrinking heat. However, for my son's narrow feet, getting the width right proved to be elusive. In the end, our plan is to put in a pair of laces to help draw up some of the width. However, he's still waiting on those laces. I guess I'll have to get with it before the weather cools and the floors get cold.

Here are some shots from a second pair 'in work' for my other son. As with most of my projects, they were scheduled for last year some time and I'm still working on them. Actually, I parked them by the wayside while delving into other fun things. Since Eileen is making such good progress, I'm inspired to jump back in and finish these up. These are the two color version, the upper a different color than the cuff and sole. I've also added an extra 'spirit band' on one to depict my older son's school colors. The intent is to provide a little warmth and comfort around the college dorm. By not completing them last year, he will have a greater sense of appreciation when he finally does get them. Yeah, that's it. That must have been the plan all along.

Here are the uppers, as knit up from the first sole. A second sole is added when finishing, adding a little extra cush. They're oversized prior to felting which is a little disconcerting at first. Once you get through a pair, you realize that felting covers a multitude of sins and makes knitting the second pair a much less stressful process. For sure, though, felt the two at the same time. They're much easier to size together than they would be to try and size separately at different times.



A second sole is added after finishing the knitting of the uppers. The center of the sole is stitched as a final step. This was a fact I initially missed on the pattern. I had no idea why I had such an incredibly long and narrow sole. I think I restarted the project three times before I finally figured that out. It was because the sole folds on itself and stitches down the center. Here are the soles ready for attachment after the uppers are complete.



Hopefully soon, we'll have a finished pair to show you. We'll see if it's these or Eileen's that get to be the first show case! I'm kind of thinking, even with my head start, she'll finish hers first.