Brainy Slippers

So I have another science-themed knit item to add to my collection. I knit these brain slippers for my friend Elizabeth who got her PhD by studying the genetic determinants of brain folding. Her work was even featured in this article in the Huffington Post.

I originally was going to make her a brain hat such as this one, but she actually got a similar hat at her defense party. So I used my brain and thought of a different brain-themed project.

To make these slippers, I began with my favorite slipper pattern. Then I knit a super long I-cord (using this tutorial). For my I-cord, I used the 2 double pointed needle method with 5 stitches and size 6 needles. Then I sewed the I-cords on the slipper to resemble a wrinkly brain. As the wrinkles increase the surface area of the brain, it took a lot of yarn and I ended up going through all the pink yarn in my stash (3 different colors of pink). To make the slippers more durable and last longer, I cut pieces of suede fabric and sewed them to the soles of the slippers.