Socks to slipper socks mashup

Date:
What I did:

Before

Click on any picture below to see a larger image and enter slideshow view.

The story:

  • I had patched the red cabled socks that I had knitted a few years ago once, and now they had another hole in the heel.
  • I had knitted the mostly green socks circa 2015-16, and they now also had holes.
  • I rediscovered some socks my mom had knitted circa 2004-2012, and found that (due to irresponsible storing on my part) they were partially moth eaten. I don't have photo evidence of this, but my memory tells me that they were also multi-patched and that it seemed (regrettably) like the way to go was to salvage just the intact parts and compost the rest.

Before: The red cable socks, knit by me, patched by me, and hole also by me! (I wore them a lot.)

Before: the mostly green socks with a hole in the heel. These are cotton; I made them from yarn left over from my grandmother, with embroidery thread reinforcing the heel. I knit them mostly on the commuter rail, back when I was working in the city and commuting in M-F.

Before: the pieces of socks that my mom had knit. These were two pairs of socks, made from leftover yarn, hence the cool color-blocking.

After

I did a combination of sewing and crocheting to make two pairs of slipper socks out of these socks and sock remnants. The sock remnants made it possible to have a more robust sole and heel. I later found that I could slip sneaker insoles (not pictured) into these to give more of a slipper sock feel. Scroll down past the picture (which you can click on for a larger version) to see the "After After" installment of the story!

After: the two pairs of slipper socks, once I had finished them.

After After

After constant wearing, the red slipper socks got holey heels again. I did some extremely visible darning on these, using up small scraps of yarn. As I write, I am wearing the green slipper socks, and have been for most of the winter/spring. One of this pair now has a hole in the ball of the foot, so after I finish wearing them they'll go back into the mending pile.

After After: Here are the visible darns in the heel of one red slipper sock.