playing festivus footsie

Posted on Posted in Bare Naked Wools, book reviews/events, designing, patterns

now for something warm and cozy for those cold feet . . . bottoms up booties!

like i said the other day, nothing fits me better than a quick, cute, giftable project to knit in december and these scrumptious slipper socks are just the thing to round out our red scarf scholarship fund pattern collection this year.

with three sizes to choose from, bottoms up booties will fit men, women, or teens and knit up quickly in worsted weight yarn.

knit them taller, shorter, or slouched, with a flat top cuff or a turned—there’s even a buttoned cuff option (i’m finishing my sample up today so i’ll add a photo of that later). you can also adjust the sizing a bit on your own by experimenting with different needle sizes and yarn weights.

i knew as soon as we started talking about festivus yarn back in february that i wanted to make slipper socks as my red scarf fundraiser project this year. and because we had invited several other designer friends to do scarves, mittens, and hats, that slot was open, yay.

I had it on my mind all summer long, and waited anxiously for the yarns to arrive. we were keeping the red scarf patterns secret so i couldn’t share my progress with you but it was interesting for sure! i had several false starts using cables that were too large, for instance. and then a couple more to get the shaping just right.

finally got it right over thanksgiving weekend and once i did, i was addicted—once you understand the construction, this project is a lot of fun; i couldn’t put them down (as my cluttered dining table can attest to).

trust me, i’ve had NO extra time these last couple of weeks, but in between other tasks, i’ve managed to knit a sizable stack of samples. i just couldn’t stop, once i began experimenting!

remember, 100% of the purchase price of this pattern will go into our scholarship fund!! you can even add a few bucks to that amount if you like; more on that in a bit.

you can make the smallest size from just one skein of our festivus 4.0 worsted weight yarn (or any of our worsted weight options). knit in the round, the fabric is very stretchy and highly textured to make the most of a delicious fiber choice.

i just love the kent worsted for instance, paired with the festivus 4.0 worsted in cranberry crush—everything about these is smooshalicious, mmm.

like kate’s mayberry cap, the bottoms up booties are a great candidate for that “insurance” pile; a make-ahead project that could fit the person who lands on your list at the last minute or a surprise holiday houseguest.

shown here in size medium, with kent worsted in beachglass and festivus worsted 4.0 in cranberry crush.

i also love, love, love, the combination my friend hilary chose—confection worsted in dark chocolate with a barber-pole skein of festivus 4.0; these are going to be suh-weet!

grab a pattern or kit and join the festivus KAL in our ravelry group to knit along on this or any of our 2017 scholarship fundraiser projects (see below)!

everyone’s knits look so festive in festivus 4.0 worsted! cranberry crush just screams HOLIDAY, but then works far beyond that to cheer us up through the coldest days of winter; it’s one of those reds that goes with everything. and the yarn—this springy, cushy, soft worsted weight is just what you want for a knitted cap or mittens—so responsive in this kind of fabric, you won’t want to put it down. it’s a delight to knit with and even better to wear.

 

now, you’re probably wondering how to get hold of the pattern, right?? there are so many options!

just click here to purchase in our online shop; with this option you can also add a few buck to the pattern price to add to the fundraiser AND we’ll be happy to send you a copy for your ravelry library if you leave a note at checkout.

OR, click here to purchase a bottoms up booties kit, complete with yarn and pattern (again, we’ll be happy to put the pattern in your rav library). the kit makes a great gift for another knitter as well, even a beginner!

OR, purchase the pattern on ravelry by clicking here; you won’t be able to make an additional contribution with the option, but we still appreciate each and every purchase. Patterns also make great gifts for knitters!

i am so very grateful to our partner designers who joined me in creating designs to our scholarship effort this year; BIG hugs to kate atherley, mary o’shea, and kerri blumer for their contributions. keep an eye out on monday or tuesday for the release of my own design; it’s coming!

speaking of our partner designers, here are a few other options for holiday gift knitting that are designed especially for using our festivus 4.0 yarn. you can find kits for all of these designs in the FESTIVUS section of our online shop. and while you’re there, take a moment to browse past festivus designs for more quick knit gift ideas.

keri blumer started the rollout of our 2017 pattern train with her andiron cowl and andiron scarf designs available for the ENTIRE fundraising period (we only asked for a month of sales, but she’s extending it!); she’s just awesome and she has lots of beautiful designs to share—be sure to check out her ravelry shop.

in november, we featured our festivus 4.0 sport weight in a delicious trio of colorwork accessories by designer mary o’shea of tullymongan designs.

mary has created many delightful items using bare naked wools yarns—check out her designer page for alternatives that will also work well with festivus 4.0 sport or worsted.

first up, if you live in a very cold climate and need to be outside frequently, these gorgeous cranberry trellis mittens might be right up your alley.

and if you like your accessories to coordinate mary’s got your back here too, with an awesome little cap and fingerless mitts.

the cranberry lattice cap is a match for the cranberry lattice mitts, but also coordinates perfectly with the cranberry trellis mittens—note the pattern in the thumb which matches the hat.

now, let’s talk about goals . . . with one month to go, doug tells me that the total is $3779.85—we are getting there! our goal this year is to reach or exceed $6,000.00—after all, college costs are constantly rising. please help us get there; your $7 purchase is one more (important) brick in the foundation!

if you are fired up and feel passionate after reading the fundraiser details, here are some small things you can do to help:

  1. purchase any of our 2017 red scarf fundraiser patterns herehere, here, here, and here, and/or add an extra donation on our website—use the pulldown menu to increase your gift and we will donate the entire pattern price PLUS that extra amount. we are happy to add the pattern to your rav library if you let us know!! (but we have to do it manually, so please tell us)
  2. purchase a pattern on ravelry hereherehere, here, here, and here—the entire retail pattern price will go into the scholarship fund.
  3. purchase a 2017 festivus kit which includes the pattern PLUS enough special edition festivus 4.0, to knit a scarf or cowl. we will add 5% of your yarn purchase price to the fund.
  4. buy one or more skeins of festivus 4.0 for any project and we will add 5% of your purchase price to the fund.
  5. please, please, PLEASE tell everyone you know about the fundraiser—they don’t need to be a knitter to throw $7 (or more!!) at this wonderful cause. please mention it with a link in your favorite ravelry groups, a link and hashtag on your Instagram, Facebook page (and link it), tweet it (with a link!), pin it (yes, with link) and finally just drag your friends over to look at the blog, haha. we’ll even give them a “knit naked sticker badge” if it helps them to help out.
  6. join us for a fun red scarf KAL in our ravelry mothership—we promise a rollicking good time, plenty of support, and of course, neat-o prizes.

and from the bottom of our hearts, thank you for all that you do to make this happen each year!

4 thoughts on “playing festivus footsie

  1. I so love these slipper socks! They look like just the kind of thing I should be wearing right now with this chilly weather…

  2. Ooooh, I love thick squishy wooly things for my feet! )But mostly I love how sweet pupkin manages to get herself in every blog post! Smooches for Cardigan!)

  3. This pattern looks lovely! How complicated is the construction? Also, does it involve any sewing?

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