Current USM Project - A Worsted Weight Slipper

This is a worsted weight slipper made on the USM.  I had in mind a warm bed sock or house slipper.  If you're going to wear them around the house, you'll want to squiggle some puff paint or silicone seal on the bottoms  to make them non-slip.

These would make wonderful gifts.  They take less than 3 ounces!  You can make them out of odds and ends of worsted (American 4-ply) yarn.  Of course, the better the yarn you use, the better your slippers are.  For the video, I used pink variegated yarn which photographs well, but isn't this Tweed smart?.

These are NOT socks to go into a shoe!  These are thick.  The pictured pair is made from Lion Brand Tweed, which is marked as a bulky.   I don't think it's very bulky at all, since I keep getting worsted gauges with it.   I love the stuff; think it would be wonderful in men's sizes.  My son was eyeing the pink ones last night, declaring them "legit," the current Steven stamp-of-approval.  He already made off with the Lion Brand tweed hat and scarf, which he's using in his chilly old car.   These Tweed ones are much too small for his feet, but I do plan to rechart the pattern in lots of sizes for the book, so I can fix him up with a pair for his manly feet.

Wouldn't these be great to knit for the troops?  How about for the sailors, sleeping in cold bunks below deck? Or, perhaps for a nursing home?  Come on, big-hearted knitters!

I will upload the videos in a few days, with the ladies' medium instructions, probably next weekend.  It's all filmed, but I'm hoping folks will try out the baby blanket first.  The blanket is a great little project with its own interesting techniques to add to your arsenal.  The baby blanket has short-rowing, an unusual edging, Kitchener, and closing the center.

I am planning a USM book, all small, interesting projects with plenty of techniques to learn.  I think I will arrange the projects in order of difficulty.

I haven't thought of a title.  Suggestions?

There's nothing here in my USM projects - the slippers, hats, scarves, mittens, or baby blanket - that you couldn't make on a regular bulky machine.  In fact, they'd be easier on the Japanese bulky with a lot less hand-tooling.

I believe that with space constraints for both DVD and book,  the how-tos must be focused on the USM, though.  The USM is a great way for crafters to begin machine knitting, because of its low price and wide availability.  This is my current outreach to newbies.

It is, however, a quirky device and things must be done differently.  For instance, short-rowing a toe is more difficult on the USM.  I tried a slew of experiments and finally came up with a way to short-row the toes and heels that is absolutely reliable.  I do suggest you practice it a little before you make your slipper socks, though.