Create and Tape Paper Slipper

Planning these slippers is actually a fun and easy step that you will not regret. It will open your eyes to exactly what you will be knitting and why.

It will be invaluable for planning the color sequence of your squares.

It will also help you practice the seaming sequence which is arguably the hardest part of this project.

Make/Print Your Paper Pattern and Cut It Out

Either print the schematic from your pattern and cut it out, or make the schematic yourself as follows:

1. Take a piece of paper and anything that you can use to trace a small square. I used the box from a pair of Apple headphones. You can use anything about 1 1/2 inches wide as long as it’s square. Use this to recreate the pattern so you can cut it out, tape it up, and label the pieces and assign colors to each square.
2. Trace the pattern schematic for yourself onto the paper – 6 squares, top-to-bottom, plus one square to the right (down one from the top) and one square to the left (up one from the bottom).
3. Label the squares “toe bottom, toe top, etc. according to the schematic.
4. Write seaming labels A-G around the pattern on the inside edge of the squares, according to the schematic.
5. Cut out the pattern and get some tape so you are ready to “seam” (tape) it together.

“Seam” (Tape) Together Your Pattern

Cut 7 pieces of tape as wide as one of your squares and “seam” (tape) the paper strip together in alphabetical order.

Watch this video to see how to “seam” up your paper slipper.

Thanks to Knitting Up a Storm for recommending this specific order!

Plan Your Colors

Choose Colors and Label Pattern

Once you have your paper slipper, decide what colors you want where. On the smaller schematic in your pattern, label the pattern squares with the colors you want where.

To Knit the Slippers in One Color

You can knit these slippers in just one color. One thing that will help is marking the end of each block as you knit with a stitch marker, even though you will not be changing colors. So if you are doing the child size, you’re to knit 28 rows before “changing colors” even though you’ll just continue knitting with the same yarn. You’ll count your rows along with the video, and just put a stitch marker in every 28 rows.

When you’re preparing your seams, this will make it easier to see where the block edges are.

Here are some color-placement ideas shared (with permission) by Cricket of Purple Cricket Blog: