I’m makeing slipper socks for my fil for Christmas (I hope 
)
The pattern calls for Worsted Weight yarn it’s 2 strands held together throughout. I am hoping to find some that aren’t expensive (like $3 or less a hank/skein) and that would be good for slipper socks…
I just wanted to get any recommendations from you all… what do you think?
My Knitting buddy from Kansas knits lots of those little slipper socks on a tiny circular needle and sent me the pattern and some yarn…It was Caron Simply Soft
and you use that double throughout. I have made 3 pairs myself and they are lovely.xx
If it’s not going to be felted, Michael’s has Caron’s Simply Soft Shadow on sale for $2.99/skein.
I recently made a hat of out it and enjoyed using it.
Are you wanting them to be washable? I think I would look to see if anything from knitpicks might fit your need. I was felting clogs and used WOTA and it wasn’t nearly as harsh as I had imagined. It comes in a ton of colors and it is cheap. But if you want him to be able to wash them you might look at the washable yarns. Oh and painted on rug backing is a good idea for the bottoms.
Sounds great. What pattern are you using? Caron Simply Soft sounds like a good idea to me too.
Caron Simply Soft is much less than $3 at walmart, joann’s and hobby lobby.
That’s actually what she used in the pattern… Caron Simoly Soft.
I wasn’t sure about using Acrylic for socks… just not sure if it would feel too plasticy (is that a word :think: )
I do want him to be able to wash them… so I’ll go look for the Caron Simply Soft…
Thanks so much
Oh and this is the pattern I’m using…
I’ve made slipper socks with Lion Boucle, one strand throughout, on size 8 needles. They turned out really well and there is a free pattern on the Lion Brand website.
Maybe woolease? I hae made socks among other things with it. I think it feels a bit rough to knit biut softens up a ton when washed.
I’ve never heard of this. Where can you buy it, and does it come in a bottle, tube or what?
Personally, I do not like Simply Soft for socks. It’s too silky and doesn’t keep it’s shape so socks end up stretching out and getting really floppy. Plus it’s very slick and the slippers would be like skates on tile floor.
If want to buy yarn locally, I would go with Lionbrand Wool Ease. It’s bouncy, has some texture, and is a good quality inexpensive yarn.
Yeah that! 
Dawn,
I made these, using a basic sock recipe, for my mom. She loves them and told me I can’t quit knitting as long as she’s alive, so she can have her slipper socks LOL
Any worsted weight yarn will do, as will any bulky yarn that is the a similar thickness to two strands of worsted weight. I made these with Simply Soft, simply because it’s what my mom prefers.
I have tried to convert her to other yarns, since I prefer to knit with natural fibers. I knit a pair from some great bulky wool/nylon blend that I reclaimed from an Eddie Bauer sweater that I had used to knit some hiking socks for my husband (and he loved), and I knit her a pair from some Jaeger Matchmaker superwash merino wool, and she still prefered the Caron Simply Soft, so Caron Simply Soft it is 
When I knit these for my daughter’s, I use wool or wool blends, but it’s often yarn reclaimed from bulky sweaters, so I can’t give you a specific brand.
I made these, using a basic sock recipe, for my mom. She loves them and told me I can’t quit knitting as long as she’s alive, so she can have her slipper socks LOL. At least I know my knitting is appreciated
A few things I have discovered. My mom wears these everyday anytime she’s not out of the house, so I have watched a bit of wear.
Most yarns won’t hold up for a longtime to super duper heavy use (walking all over the house all day) with this pattern, because they aren’t knit really tight like a regular sock. However some do better than others. The plus is that I can knit about 5 or 6 pairs of these in the time it takes me to make 1 pair of regular socks, so I replace my mom’s as she needs them.
Softer wools (like merinos) don’t hold up in the foot very well. I won’t use the Jaeger again for slippers. Also, yarns with minimal twist tend to not hold up as well. If those are going to be used, you might want to put either the anti-slip coating on or a leather sole to help them last.
If using wool, something with a bit of nylon mixed in can help the foot of the sock hold up, and make it more likely that it can be washed without felting/shrinking.
Leather soles made for slippers can make these last a long time, but can be a bit pricey. I know some people watch their thrift stores for leather skirts and such, and cut a leather bottom patch out of those. However, I don’t think you can machine wash with the leather bottoms.
One last thing… if your FIL has more than a narrow foot, I would recommend a few more stitches cast on. 34 for a narrow or medium man’s foot, and 36 for a wide man’s foot. I just wrote the pattern using these numbers up for someone else, but haven’t tested them to make sure I didn’t miss a number change/make a mistake. Let me know if you need those changes.
Mama Bear
Thank you so much Mama Bear… (like the name there btw )
I got the simply soft yeaterday… didn’t see your post here until today.
His foot is kinda narrow and I knit kinda loose, so do you still think I should increase the # of stitches? I’m usually just 1/2 to 1 stitch off of the gauage
I’m excited to start these, but I’m making myself wait till I finish the headband that I started for my MIL. (stupid I-cord)
Oh and I almost forgot…
WOW you have a lot a sock on your blog!!! That’s awesome!! They all look so great… how may did you knit before you got where they looked that good?
Dawn,
If his foot is thin and you knit at all loose, the pattern is probably fine as written if he won’t be wearing them over regular socks. Otherwise I would consider going up one size. The ones my mom wears are based on a 34 stitch cast on because she likes to wear hers over another pair of socks. 2 extra stitches makes a considerable difference with the bulky yarn and large needle sizes. Basically, the pattern has 2 more stitches, with the heel flap done the same as the 32 stitch pattern (so 16 stitches on the heel flap and 18 stitches on the part that goes across the top of the foot).
Then at the toe, you do a row where you only decrease the top to equal out the top and bottom of the sock.
If you want it written out, let me know. I have it written out, just not in a form to put on the web site yet.
Thank you for your kind words on socks. While I have knit on and off for many years, it was only 2 years ago that I knit my first sock. For some reason I let those double point needles scare me off for a long time. I can’t believe I didn’t try them sooner, as now I love working on double points. Good thing as my grandchildren are always asking me to make them socks.
The other thing I took too long to learn, was good finishing techniques. Again, not sure what took me so long, but learning those made all the difference in the world.
There is a great article on knittyabout weaving in ends that really helped me.
Good luck on the I-cord! That’s another thing I only learned in the last few years.
Mama Bear