Back when mom taught me to knit her slippers, I typed in my phone:
Cast on 26
K8, p2, k6, p2, k8
Repeat until little more than half of my foot.
I didn’t write anything else lol
I thought she had said “after that purl all the next rows until the left you want”.
That’s all wrong!
Mom used any size needles, sometimes she would use 2 to 5 strands of yarn.
Thankfully dad gave me a lot of her knitting stuff after she passed.
Her stuff included finished slippers (still flat), so I can see the pattern.
Recently I started a test slipper, using 2 strands (same as mom’s).
Got part way and thought the purls were not like mom’s at all.
After some googling, I thought I would try a row of knit after the row with purls.
Bam, looked more like my moms. Mom was a loose knitter, and I’m trying to make mine more loose, just not there.
I’m wondering if I bought bigger needles, if it would help make mine look more bulky like hers?
I’m almost thinking I would like to double the size of my needles, think I’m using 5mm (us 8?)
You can see part way up my slipper where I started adding the knit rows after a row with purls.
Thanks for the help, much appreciated. I so wish mom was around for this, I miss her so much and often while knitting, I’ll say look at me go mom lol
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I should say, the cast on 26
k8, p2, k6, p2, k8 is correct, it was the other stuff I had wrong.
Bigger needles will make this lighter and perhaps lacier. If you use a heavier weight yarn with bigger needles that will bulk up the slippers.
Size 8 needles with two strands of worsted weight is worth a try. Even a larger size needle would work and might give you the knit fabric that you want. Of course, it’s also going to give you a larger slipper.
Have fun testing this out and let us know how it’s going.
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You were right, size 10 made it lacey, not a ton but definitely not the look I want.
Part way through I started using size 8 needles and again not the look I’m going for.
My next attempt will be with heavier weight yarn like you suggested, or add a 3rd strand!
I have a fair amount of my mom’s yarn, I hate to go buy more. All acrylic as far as I can tell.
Just ordered something that measures yarn and needle size, hope it’s accurate 
I buy cotton yarn when I’m making dish cloths, I feel like I’m due for a win, so I may need to do a few dish cloths. So tired of taking my stuff apart.
Don’t be discouraged! This is all part of the design process. You are essentially doing just that in recreating your mom’s slippers.
There are patterns online that might help with yarn weight suggestions (you already know the stitch pattern you want).
https://www.allfreeknitting.com/Knitted-Slippers/grandmas-simple-knit-slippers
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Thanks for all the information! I tried again today with 3 strands, didn’t work out. I’m just going to keep trying 
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This is the life of a knitting designer or pattern re-creator in your case. Let us know how it goes and good luck! You’ll get there.
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