crochains? snowchet?

[mrsflibble]

the weather here in my part of the uk has turned more wintry. we have snow, which means tomorrow after a slight thaw, we will have ice.

even my rubber boots don't have a decent enough grip to handle ice so how was i going to get my daughter to school (no such thing as a snow day here unless it's REALLY severe) along the un-gritted lane between our house and the main roads?

after being stuck in the house for a week last time it snowed (mid dec 09), i was determined to find something.

snow chains? great but omg expensive. and have to be ordered online because nobody round here stocks them. and i'd have to take them off once i get onto the main road. no. that's not a viable option.

then the other evening my mother rang me and told me about what she'd seen Bear Grylls doing on discovery.
he put his socks over his shows to climb a glacier.

cogs began to whirr in my "yarn-witch" brain.





tada!!

they're snow chain shape

(thanks to Rud Bergsteiger)

they're made from high wool percentage yarn, very thick (Arran) but crocheter with a smallish hook (4.5mm).

attached to the elastic by was of simple chains, and elastic then sewn in a heavy duty seam at the back. they slip on and off my shoes, work really really fricking well on ice and snow and make a perdy pattern in my garden lol.



*bows*

(ps no i dont have a pattern, i winged it)

and here's Bear being my inspiration (despite not being as cool as Ray Mears)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0zUdxZE0UU

(03:11-03:52)

[wawamommy]

What a neat idea!  We get our fair share of snow and ice up in northern Canada, and these could be quite useful here as well!  Does the wool stick to the ice and stretch much?

[mrsflibble]

it stretches a bit, but not that much to be honest.

[BonEsInspired]

What an innovative idea!
Nice work

[tattooedcrafter]

I love this idea, no matter the weather I always wear my converses which have 0 grip on the ice so I'll have to try my hand at making myself a pair of these. you had an awsome idea

[Jatoha]

this is so clever!

[fingerpistol]

jeezie chreezie, that's freaking brilliant. and the fact that you got the idea from bear grylls just makes it TWICE AS RAD.

i almost wish i still lived somewhere with snow. (almost.)

[maeveyo]

thats brilliant, wish i could crochet...... we got ice everywhere in ireland too and its pretty funny, nobody seems able to deal with it at all...

[sazzra]

Very cool I always used to be told to put socks over my shoes when I was a kid!

[amydice]

WOW! What a great idea!! I think I might have to make myself some of these. We just got tons of snow yesterday, so they will come in handy right about now. Thanks for the great idea!