Creation of the "boot buddies"
I've been working on a prototype for felted socks to wear inside rubber boots. If you live in Newfoundland, rubber boots are pretty much a given, but they've also become very trendy just about everywhere in the last few years. I wear the boring, old-fashioned black kind for tramping around the "back 40", but my twin nieces who attend university in Nova Scotia are right into the fashion statement versions.
Their mom, my D-S-I-L Pamela, asked if I could come up with something to help keep their feet a little warmer while they travel around campus. Those inserts you buy at the hardware store don't really do the trick -- nothing compares to thick, felted, merino wool, does it? She's the one who came up with the name of "boot buddies".
So, I've experimented for a couple of months. The first one would have fit a five-year old; the second one was about two times too wide. My latest attempt, shown in the above photo beside an unfelted one, seems to be about right for my foot. I wear a women's size 7 (in North American sizing). The girls wear about a size 9 and they're slim, so I've added to the next prototype what I believe is the right amount of length prior to felting, plus I added a slight decrease around the ball of the foot. The decrease can be omitted for a wider fit.
Now I'm knitting like a mad thing trying to get two pair done in time to send them to Pam before Christmas. I've nearly finished the first pair, in dark gray tweed. The acid test will be when I felt this latest attempt. Then if it looks like a go, I'll be pushing it to get the second pair finished and everything mailed.
Oh, and I do have hand-dyed CCK pure wool for felting but I've never put it on the website. It was just an extra something I took to shows, mostly as a loss leader. But if this looks like a plausible new design, I'll write the pattern and post the Boot Buddies on the site as a new kit. Keep you posted.
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