The Solution to the Sock Knitter's Dilemma... Magic Slippers!

My biggest problem as a sock knitter, is what to do with my left over yarn, in particular with these no bigger than a walnut darling balls of yarn.
Yesterday, as I was packing all this week's colorways to be shipped from Hawaii to Brussels, and occasionally staring at the little yarn walnuts on the table, I found what I wanted to do.
For every pair of socks, I would knit a pair of baby slippers. So I took a little break from packing, grabbed my trusted Addis, and a little yarn walnut, and got to work. Here is the result. These slippers are magic to work. NO SEAMS at all, no origami construction, all garter stitch, mostly knit in the round, and about one pair per hour! My promise to myself is that I will knit a pair of slippers for every pair of socks I knit, and that I will donate the slippers to my local community health center.




Without further delay here is the pattern for the Magic Slippers.


Magic Slippers

These slippers are newborn size, but can easily be made bigger by knitting the even section of the sole longer, and picking up more stitches along the sides of the sole.

Materials:

Yarn: any walnut size left over ball of SW sock yarn. I used left over SockPixie SW Merino Sock yarn.
Gauge: 7 1/2 sts/inch in garter stitch
Needle: 2 16" US 1 circulars, or a set of DPTS in same size (Note that I wrote the pattern for 2 circulars, but it would be as easy t knit on dpts)


Sole:

Note that the sole is knit in garter stitch, knitting back and forth.
Cast on 7 stitches.
Knit 2 rows.
Repeat the following 2 rows until you have 15 stitches.
R1: K1, K1f&B, knit till 3 stitches are left, K1f&B, K2
R2: Knit

Knit even in garter stitch until the whole sole, from the cast on edge measures 2 1/2 inches.

Repeat the next 2 rows until you have 5 stitches left.
R1: K1, K2TOG, knit till 3 stitches are left, K2TOG, K1
R2: Knit

Do not BO. Keep these 5 stitches on your needle, and with that same needle pick up and knit 28 stitches to the center of the toe. Take you second needle, and with it pick up and knit 29 stitches from the center of the toe to right before the 5 original stitches, and knit 2 stitches from the first needle to the second. You will now have 31 stitches on each needle. The beginning of the round will be at the heel. Attach marker to show location of heel.

The rest of the slipper is knit in the round, in garter stitch (Purl one round, knit 1 round)

Round 1 and all odd rounds: Purl
Round 2: K25, K2TOG, K8, SSK, K25
Round 4: K24, K2TOG, K8, SSK, K24
Round 6: K23, K2TOG, K8, SSK, K23
Round 8: K22, K2TOG, K8, SSK, K22
Round 10: K21, [K2TOG] 3 times, [SSK] 3 times, K21
Round 12: K18, [K2TOG] 3 times, [SSK] 3 times, K18
Round 14: K15, [K2TOG] 3 times, [SSK] 3 times, K15

Purl Round 15.
BO loosely knitwise.
Weave in ends, make a second identical slipper, and find a lucky baby to give the slippers to!

This pattern is for personal use only. It may not be reproduced for commercial purposes.

Copyright 2007, caroline Dlugy-Hegwer.