Felting Fail

Last week, because the Yarn Harlot raved about them, I decided to attempt these felted slippers. The Yarn Harlot said they were simple and easy to knit, which they were, and that it was a quick project, which it was. Unfortunately, my end result bears no resemblance to the cute things in the pictures on the pattern.
All the pieces knit and ready to be sewn up. I swear the sewing took longer than the actual knitting.

All sewn up and ready to go in the washer for felting. I tied them into a pillow case, per instructions, but the pillow case came untied, and the slippers ended up floating around in the washer. Perhaps that has some bearing on how they turned out.

The final result, but without the cute straps sewn on, mostly because the straps are not the same size and I can't figure out how to remedy that short of knitting and felting new ones. As you can see, the slippers don't match each other in shape or size. They sort of fit me, but they don't stay on well when I shuffle around in them. Right now I'm so disheartened by the whole project that I can't even bear to de-fuzz them, which they desperately need.

I like felting, in theory, but I think I need to find a less fussy pattern for slippers - maybe some that are a bit more shapeless. Or I need to take lessons on felting from someone more expert than I.