This pattern is retired and not usually available. However, I make many of my retired patterns available for a few days twice a year, and this is one of those times! It will be available from now through some time on Monday, December 2. Then it will go away again.

In the summer of 2022, I realized that I found maintaining a back catalog of hundreds of patterns overwhelming. I couldn’t do it and still release new things. So I took my old patterns down so I could keep doing new work.

A few favorites have come back, and lots of new things have come out! But the vast majority of the old patterns are retired and are no longer generally available.

However, enough folks have asked about old favorites that I make many of the retired patterns available for a few days twice a year (usually in early summer and around Thanksgiving).

• If you see the buy buttons on this page, you’ve caught it on one of the days it’s available!
• If you don’t see the buy buttons on this page, then it’s not currently available.
• If you want to hear when the retired patterns are available, subscribe to the mailing list or patreon, or keep an eye on my instagram.

Excursion noun a short trip, especially for pleasure

I love a good trip as much as the next girl, but there are a few creature comforts I just can’t do without. The first is the things required to make a proper cup of tea. The second is a cozy pair of slippers. There’s nothing quite as relaxing at the end of a long day adventuring as putting on a pair of slippers and making yourself a cup of tea.

Now alas, the era of steamer trunks and porters seem to be gone forever, so suitcase space is at something of a premium. That means knit slippers are a bit more practical than bulkier versions. They don’t take up much more space than a pair of socks, and they’re delightful to slip into. These are my current favorite (and will definitely be accompanying me on my next adventure).

These are tremendous fun to knit. You start at the back of the heel and work some very clever increases and decreases to first make space for your heel then shape the gusset. Then you join to work in the round for the rest of the slipper. You’ll feel shockingly clever when you see how they go together!

They’re written in four sizes (48, 52, 56, 60 stitches around the ball of the foot), and you should feel free to adjust your gauge a bit to fine tune the fit. Just be sure that you’re working at a gauge that gives you a dense, sturdy fabric with your chosen yarn!

I recommend working at something around 5.5, 6, 6.5, or 7 stitches per inch, and I’ve included a table to help you figure out what gauge you’ll want to use for your size. With that range of sizes and gauges, the slippers will fit a foot (measured around the ball of the foot) between 7.5 and 12 inches (with lots of points in between).

These are perfect for you if:

• You want to feel alarmingly clever
• You want to pamper your feet on your next adventure
• Your next adventure might just be curling up at home with a good book

They’re not for you if:

• You don’t like charts (the pattern uses charts)
• You hate swatching (you need to swatch to check your needle size)