Special Christmas Bonus
Bootie found the letter that Bossy wrote in 2011! Here's the text and we decided for a special Christmas bonus to record Bossy reading it.
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Here's the stocking from Dad's ski sweater:
Dad in Colorado circa 1943
How to make a Christmas stocking from a sweater
Start with a sweater that wants to be something else, like a stocking--it's best if it's all wool (nonsuperwash) because it will felt better.
Make a pattern for the stocking--it will shrink when it felts, so make it bigger than you think you want. I position the pattern on the sweater so that the ribbing is on the top, but you can do anything you want to take advantage of the features of the sweater you want to highlight. Here's the original pattern (brown paper) and the shrinkage:
Position the pattern on the sweater and cut out, then sew around the edges--about 5/8 of an inch around the edge is good for leaving enough room for felting. This is what it looks like before sewing and felting:
After sewing, throw it in the washing machine with some towels and wash on warm and dry in the dryer. Here's what it looks like after the wash and dry/felting:
Trim excess felt around the edges and then blanket stitch around the edges and add a pom-pom! Good job, you're done!
Here is a (free!) pattern for slipper socks that pretty closely replicates the ones that Grandma made us in around 1980. Of course we think you should add pom poms to the laces at the top! Slipper socks
And whatever you do, don’t knit like my sister!
