It’s been a bit bonkers this week, as my routine has been messed with so I got to 9pm last night, realised I hadn’t written a post (or taken any photos) and gave up on producing a Wednesday post. My focus this week has mainly been on slippers and finishing WIPs, so I’m going to write a little bit about the part between them being a proper WIP and an FO.
After finishing the slippers, adding buttons and sewing in ends, I apply sock stop to the soles. (For anyone that doesn’t know what it is, it’s basically liquid latex.) To do this, I use a range of complex and technical equipment to ensure it is applied well and has the required time to dry (undisturbed). First of all I rummage around in the cereal cupboard to find the most empty box so that I can cut it up and just put the bag of cereal back. You see, the soles need to have some support whilst the liquid is being applied and cereal boxes are the perfect thing for the job. (As I’ve made so many sizes now, I’m actually building up quite a good collection of cardboard sole strengtheners!) I also employ the use of tins of peas and carrots to place in the ankle part of the slippers to hold them up and keep them in position whilst they dry. The small tins are perfect for child sized slippers, and the larger ones are great for adult sizes. My set up works surprisingly well!
I am also eternally grateful to Mr C for building a frame for the washer and tumble dryer in the conservatory and putting a worktop on it as it provides a perfect space for me to use for these jobs without them being in the way. It takes around 24 hours for the sock stop to dry fully, so they need to be where no one will knock them.
I’ve delivered 6 snowmen to new owners this week. Now I just need to make a lot more, and some other decorations to sell at the craft fair. I also have some routine sewing jobs to do (including sewing badges onto my little boy’s new Beavers uniform!)
What have you been working on? How do you make use of household items when you are crafting?
Use what you got …always my go to. You are so crafty my head is spinning.
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Thanks, you have to get creative sometimes!
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Fascinating insight, love it. I used to use Pringles lids and bases to draw and cut circles for matting and layering before I got appropriate dies
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Ooh, that’s a good idea. Pre cutting dies I remember scrabbling around for different sized circle things too!
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I love your range of super technical helpers for getting the job done! I’ve never seen sock stop; however am going to look for it for my slippers. We have a lot of tile / wood floors downstairs and they can get slippery sometimes 🙂 I have a whole office / craft room to myself, and no kids, so luckily I do not have to search out other areas of the house for drying / crafting time.
A great tip is to use binder clips to hold your knitting / crochet together when lining things up and sewing together. I used this technique recently with the hood of my unicorn blanket and it worked like a charm!
Also, I’m working on an adult size unicorn blanket now. However, I haven’t decided if I’m going to go full on blanket or make it a large scarf with the unicorn hood 🙂
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Thank you, I love the tip as knitted items can be hard to hold together. I have some sewing clips which are basically the same thing and they’re very handy.
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Sock stop is new to me.. Though I have seen those little bobbles on the bottom of socks so don’t know why I shouldn’t be surprised you can buy it..
Loved the finished result.. And your snowmen have been growing lol.. Hope all were happy with them.. 🙂 xxx
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I think they liked them! Sock stop is brilliant for projects like this. x
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🙂 Brill
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very good job 🙂
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Thank you 😊
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I haven’t made any slippers yet, but I plan to, so I appreciate the info on your setup! I have been working on a few things, but didn’t get my WIP Wednesday post done either. Maybe I’ll get to post something tomorrow night. I’m excited because I got the border done on my quilt top, now I have to sandwich it all together and quilt it.
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Hope you get one done, the quilt sounds lovely. It must be satisfying when you complete each stage.
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It really is exciting! The next step will take me a while, I’ve never done free motion quilting before, so I need to practice on some smaller items before I take the plunge on my quilt.
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Good luck, sounds like you have a fab plan in place 😊
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You’ve been busy! The slippers look so nice and cosy:)
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Thank you 😊
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I just love those little booties. They are sooo cute and so cozy!!!! =)
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Thank you, they are super popular!
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I can see why haha.. and those little mice your making. I cant wait to see them… they will be awesome too!
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Thank you
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Sorry your week hasn’t gone to plan. I hate it when the week gets out of kilter. Hope you’re back on track now.
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I am on track, nearly, but not reading nearly enough other blogs
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I’m currently crocheting a bed blanket (Granny Squares) and collecting loo roll tubes for a Christmas project that will be revealed at some point on my newly set up blog. Your slippers look am-az-ing 🙂
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Ooh sounds intriguing! Thank you, the slippers are incredibly popular!
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Sounds like you are very busy at the moment. I had to laugh at the use of a tin of peas and cereal boxes to help with the slippers. I think the most bizarre household item I use for crafting are frozen peas to help cool down translucent clay quickly as I always forget to make ice cubes!
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If they work then it doesn’t matter Lol! I am super busy, and my blog is sadly neglected.
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Apologies for being late to the party here … I’m trying to catch up but seem to be continually 2 days behind for as fast as I’m catching up, people are posting more blog posts, so it’s like the painting of the Forth Bridge. {ssssigh}
Like you, I use cans, boxes, wire coat hanges and all sorts of stuff to do things.
I’ve never heard of that latex stuff for the bottoms of knitted things. I am wondering if that bottle of sparkly stuff I sent would work in the same way? DON’T test it on your knitted things. Try it on an old pair of the little ones and leave it to dry overnight. It might work …. who knows… and …. cause it’s glittery …. MAGIC! Magic stuff on the bottom – made by fairies, for little ones so that they don’t slip on the floor. (but test it first … and also make sure that it doesn’t peel off when dry. ’cause we all know that little people like nothing more than picking at things!)
Buckets of love and oodles of squidges ~ Cobs. xx
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Oh gosh, we are so the same on the catching up with blogs front. I am entirely hopeless! I may have to try the sparkles now, but only on special boots (if it works!) Hope you’ve had a fab weekend x
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You are so thorough in your slipper making. I had not heard of that product before to reinforce the soles. If I ever make slippers, that will come in handy. As well as your special tools in making the process much easier 😉 Don’t worry about keeping up the blog at times. Life happens. I have neglected my poor blog, too. The good thing is that our blogs will be there whenever we have the time to attend to them 🙂 I have been working on AAN’s Chandelier SAL. Trying to get that one caught up. I hope to post about it soon.
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Thank you, I like to make sure things are as safe as possible (years of writing risk assessments have done funny things to my brain!) And you are right about blogging. Hopefully I will catch your blog post and see your project.
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Your setup is so neat! And I’ve never heard of sock top before it sounds awesome!
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Thank you, it’s fab stuff!
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