Felted Stockings

These little booties are made from recycled sweaters. Not hard to do at all, just a little time consuming from beginning to end. I took it in steps. This little process has been made trendy by Betz White, who has made a small fortune with her little cupcakes. I'm not a huge fan of cupcakes themselves, but I like the idea of recycling old things to make new ones.

I went to Goodwill (I always like to support them as I worked in the accounting department of one as my first job out of college. I was able to see firsthand all the great things the Goodwill Industry did for the community, it was huge!) and found pure sweaters. By that I mean, 100% wool, cashmere, angora, etc. Wool by far is the easiest to deal with. I washed the sweaters until they wouldn't stretch anymore in hot/ cold rinse with a little soap and fabric softener (they shrunk to the size of infant clothing.) and viola...felted wool. It basically means that when you cut it, there is absolutely no raveling.

I made a pattern and used all the old buttons from the sweaters for decorations. A couple hours later...I had a set of adorable little felted wool stockings.