Abeyance by Hunter Hammersen

Abeyance

no longer available from 1 source show
Knitting
September 2019
DK (11 wpi) ?
20 stitches = 4 inches
in blocked stockinette
200 - 250 yards (183 - 229 m)
Written in three sizes and four gauges to fit most anyone (see notes below for more).
English

This pattern (along with most of my earlier work) was retired in the summer of 2022. However, it may be available for a few days once or twice a year. Read on for details!




In the summer of 2022, I realized that maintaining a back catalog of hundreds of patterns was kind of 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.

Since then, a handful of my favorites have come back, and lovely new things have come out. But the vast majority of the old patterns are retired and will no longer be generally available.

However, enough folks have asked about some old favorites that I’m planning to make many of the retired patterns available for a few days once or twice a year (most likely in late spring and then again in the fall around Thanksgiving).

  • If you see the buy buttons on this page, you’ve caught it on one of the days it’s available, and you’re welcome to grab it!
  • 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 will be available, subscribe to the mailing list or patreon, or keep an eye on my instagram.



Abeynce: noun a state of temporary inactivity




I feel like I should give you some big, dramatic story for these. A tale of some fantastic journey or dashing adventure, after which I came home and put on cosy slippers and curled up by the fire and cuddled a kitten and drank a cup of tea.

But the truth is I just really wanted slippers with a little loop on the back. There wasn’t any reason for this sudden, unspeakable longing. I just woke up one day and realized I needed them in my life. And I knew I wouldn’t have a moment’s peace until I gave in and made them, so I did.

I’m hearing from a few of you that this sudden longing may be contagious. If you find yourself similarly afflicted, well, I’ve got the cure.




These knit up quickly with a skein of dk, light worsted, or worsted-weight yarn. I knit mine with about 200 yards of dk-weight yarn (and I have women’s size 11 feet, so lots of people have smaller feet than me). I suspect you can comfortably make any size with 250 yards or less.

And just because slippers can look a little funny while you’re making them (especially these, they really do feel rather like a magic trick in the middle), the pattern includes lots of extra photos that show you how the slipper comes together, just so you don’t get nervous!

They’re written in three sizes (40, 44, or 48 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 4.5, 5, 5.5 or 6 stitches per inch (and remember you’ll want a firm fabric so they feel more substantial than socks…you’ll probably be using smaller needles than you would expect to use with your chosen yarn), 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 7.25 and 11.75 inches (with lots of points in between).




These are perfect for you if:

  • You, too, will not have a moment’s peace until you have some slippers with a loop on the back
  • You have a sudden urge to make the loop on the back one color and the rest of the slipper another color and thereby create the most delightful slippers in all the world

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)