This is the Kala Tee by Pip and Pin, knitted in Socks Yeah! which is my fave solid colour sock yarn.

It was only made in summer 2021 so I have no idea why the photos are so potato quality, but here’s a closer look at the yoke detail if you can see past me apparently trying to be “quirky”.

Love it, wear it all the time, it goes with everything. Big recommend for this pattern!

Just sharing this one because I happened to be wearing it and realised how often that’s the case 😄

What’s your most worn (or used) project?

  • ginaEnglish
    3•1 year ago

    That’s beautiful!

    My most-worn knitting project is Fiber Trends Felted Clogs and no other project is even a close second. The first pair I knit was for my dad for Christmas 2008. Since then I have replaced that pair of slippers maybe 5 or 6 times, after they are too far gone to resole or repair. He works from home and literally wears them all day, every day, although he has stopped wearing them to the mailbox to make them last a little longer.

    I’ve also made adjustments over the iterations to see if I can make them more durable:

    • Double-soles (so each sole is actually 4 layers instead of two).
    • In addition to wet-felting I also needle felted the soles of the most recent pair to make them extra-dense. My dad also has a little needle felting kit of his own so he can keep tiny holes from growing larger. So far it seems to be working, but this reminds me that I should probably check in and see how they are doing.
    • Different yarn combinations - I have tried denser yarns to see if they result in something longer-lasting, but keep going back to the Lamb’s Pride because it felts so thoroughly. I have found that if you can still see traces of stitches in the soles, you are likely to get rubbing between the layers and develop holes more quickly.

    We have also considered adding a suede sole, but the pre-made don’t really come in the right size and he really likes how they feel as-is. Plus I am always genuinely delighted to knit another pair, knowing that they are appreciated. They knit up quite fast, although the assembly is kind of tedious.

    • @[email protected]OPMEnglish
      1•1 year ago

      Oh wow these are amazing! I’ve actually never tried wet felting, always been too intimidated. Is something like this a decent place to start or would you recommend something simpler?

      Love that you’ve been doing it so long you’ve managed to iterate, too. One day you shall achieve slipper perfection!

      Your dad must be truly knitworthy.

      • ginaEnglish
        2•1 year ago

        Felting hides a multitude of sins - I think it’s a great project for anybody that wants to try it out. The uppers are shaped with short rows and I’ve certainly had to start over after I zone out and lose my place, but even then I can finish the knitting over a couple of evenings in front of the tv.

        Another good pattern for a first felting project is Fuzzy Feet. Those would also be a really great way for someone to learn the basics of sock knitting since the stitches are massive.

        With both of those projects you have something useful in the end, and it seems to me that objects with some structure to them felt more successfully as well. I swear I saw like 9 million failed Booga Bags back around 2008 when everyone was going wild for felting. It’s a pretty simple pattern, but once felted, a lot ended up comically wide and shallow (probably some user error involved). Or they looked great initially, but after being carried around for a few days they stretched…and stretched…and stretched. I’d love to know how many of them actually got a lot of use after the photo shoot. I distinctly remember some ended up as cat beds.

        And yes, my dad is definitely knitworthy. Sometimes my mom is the one to let me know he is trailing little bits of wool behind him everywhere he goes because he doesn’t want me to bother me for new slippers, but it is never a burden.