I set out to start crocheting about a month ago. In a short period of time, it took over my thoughts and free time. Actually, it took over a lot of my not-so-free-time too. The dishes, the laundry, the grocery shopping, and even the children, were at times ignored so that I could pursue the craft. The past week and a half in particular was overrun with crocheting. Working that needle in and out, and in and out, only to undo hours of work because I hadn't done things just right. I wouldn't necessarily recommend doing a somewhat tricky project with no instructions after only learning the art recently, but this is a case of do-what-I-say-not-what-I-do.
I am happy to report that my crocheted boots are [mostly] finished.... at last! I say mostly because it is my utmost desire to put a rubber sole on these so that I can wear them outside "around town." Of course, the secrets of soling shoes seem to be well-guarded and thus I have had an extremely difficult time trying to figure out how to do such a thing, and in particular, where to procure the products. But, as of about an hour ago, I think I have some promising leads in that area. I hope they will be soled within the week. In the meantime, I guess I will just have to sit and pine over my awesome boots. I don't want to wear them, since I'd like to keep the crocheted soles as dirt-free as possible to prepare them for rubber soling. Yet, after about 30 hours (!!!!) of work, I long to enjoy the fruits of my labor....
So, here are some glimpses of my effort. And for those of you who don't do any needle crafts, please, please, don't think I have done anything amazing here. If you want amazing, look here: http://osbornfiber.com/. Now that is amazing work. What I have done here is clumsily crochet my way through something that for experts, would probably have taken less than a day to complete. I like to think that once I'm more proficient, it will take me 1/3 of the time. We'll see.
Today I'll be spraying the boots with a couple coats of water repellent made especially for fabric, again, so that they will be fit for outdoor use. Let's hope all goes well. And after that, it will just be waiting until I can get my longed-for rubber soling sheets..... oh the anticipation is killing me!
I love them! Great job : )
ReplyDeleteI have a friend who is a big knitter and her gifts this Christmas was felted slippers. I asked her what solutions she had to rubberizing the slippers, below is her response.
ReplyDelete"You can buy leather soles that can be sewn on. To make my slippers non slip I paint the bottoms with something called "Mould Builder" which is liquid latex. You find it in the soap making section usually. You can get a tub of it at Michaels. It's pretty expensive, so tell her not to forget a 40% coupon (they will take JoAnn coupons, as well). If you paint 2 or 3 coats, it covers well. The only issue I've had is that it dries a little yellowy. It is fine on most yarn colors, but on white yarn it looks a little like snot ;)"
Hope that helps! They look really great with the jeans!
thanks for asking your friend about the bottoms! i actually do have liquid rubber that i put on the bottom of elijah's slippers to give them more of a tread and to make them more water-proof on the bottom. (you should actually recommend to your friend to get silicone gel from walmart--cheap! only $3 a bottle! and if you get the "clear" color it won't have the yellow-tinge she mentioned) the thing is that it isn't really good enough for use as a regular shoe outside. :( i think i know just what i want--a sheet of rubber, cut to fit.... but these seem to be hard to get! there's a place in indy that has them, but indy is two hours away! not an easy place to get to with three kids... :( (there is a place online where you can buy them supposedly, but the company has really bad reviews for not sending what you paid for and then not refunding you your money)
Delete