Wild Hares

No, those aren’t a pair of strange, mutant bunnies on my lawn. They are bunny slippers I made for a co-worker and finished this past week.

You might be wondering why she wanted bunny slippers. It’s because she saw a purple pair I sometimes wear when I’m working in the faculty workroom. A few years ago, I made 5 pairs of them for my 2 daughters, 2 nieces and myself.

They are a fun project and can be done in a few days if you’re really dedicated. If you’re looking for a cute project for holiday gifts, I recommend these. The original pattern comes from the Stitch and Bitch Crochet The Happy Hooker book and makes a pink or gray, slip-on style bunny. When I made the first 5 pairs, I modified them a bit by making pull-on slippers. I wanted to add bunny tails to the heels. I also used different yarns and colors than suggested.

The latest pair was made with Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool in dark brown, for the bottoms of the slippers, and Paton’s Divine (acrylic and mohair blend) in Deep Earth for the uppers and ears. The original pattern called for 2 yarns crocheted together, 1 wool and one 1 mohair blend. The pieces are designed a bit bigger because the slippers are felted. I was only planning to felt the bottoms, so I needed to decrease the other pieces so my recipient would have snug-fitting bunnies. I also opted to make the bunny ears a bit smaller. A pair of dainty, mini-rex bunnies seemed to suit her personality.

To finish the bunny faces I used iridescent glass buttons for the eyes and bulky pink yarn to embroider a nose. For previous pairs I used large crystal beads for the eyes and pink felt triangles for the nose. The tails are chenille pom poms from the store, but they could certainly be made from scrap yarn and the pom pom tools that are cropping up again. (Making pom poms is apparently becoming popular again. They were actually the first yarn craft I learned as a kid in the 1970s.)

For the more adventurous crocheter, the original pattern can be a good launching point to create different animal slippers. Pay attention to the recommended gage on your chosen yarn, and you should be able to make slippers for both small and big people. Since I have plenty of the brown wool left I might make a pair of growly grizzly bears for my husband.

The Project Queen