We all get cold feet. Literally and emotionally. But let’s just examine the literal side of this.

Knitters for many decades have knit something we’ve called “Dorm Boots.” The original circulated pattern may have been Amy Detjen’s “Aunt Alm’s Dorm Boots.” Veterans of knitting on the web will remember the camaraderie of the old knitlist. It was in the knitlist days that I knit my first pair of Aunt Alm’s Dorm Boots. Brenda Zuk modified the pattern a tad and came up with a good comfy pair of Dorm Boots. Garter stitch soles for a bit of traction. A nice cuff so they don’t slip off. And an excellent spine up the top of the slipper for a bit of style.

Ditching the center spine, Kris Basta has been working up variations of the so-called “dorm” boots for quite a few years now. The boots in the top photo are her Better Dorm Boots Deluxe. By now, college students with ties to the knitting universe must have a lot of warm feet. Basta’s patterns are free, which is incredibly generous.

I knit my Better Dorm Boots Deluxe in King Cole Comfort Chunky, on US size 9 needles. They fit a women’s size foot from about 8-10 (US sizing). Basta’s pattern calls for worsted weight yarn, doubled. I have an aversion to knitting with doubled yarn because, for me–especially in an acrylic yarn–using doubled worsted yarn makes my hands hurt. But you of the nimble-handed world may prefer doubling worsted weight to wrestling with chunky.

Basta calls these next ones her Better Dorm Boots for Men. Again, I like to knit them in a chunky/bulky weight. And I prefer lengthening the cuffs. So far, no men I know say they want a shorter variety.

This pair is knit in King Cole Shadow Chunky on US size 10 needles. I’ve not used King Cole yarn in a month of Sundays. Let’s see, you ask exactly how long is a month of Sundays.

Thirty or thirty one Sundays would pass in 30/31 weeks. I last used King Cole when I was a teenager, more than half a century ago. Wow. OK I’ve not used King Cole yarn in way way longer than a month of Sundays. I should stop this before I depress myself. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first printed use of the phrase is from 1759 when someone named Hamilton Murray was writing his “Life & Real Adventures.” He reported that his commander swore he would dance to a particular part of a tune “for a month of Sundays.” At least I don’t personally remember 1759. Just take my word for it that a month of Sundays is a very long time.

The point is that I like the yarn. It’s excellent 100% acrylic yarn, if that’s what you need. And this Black Currant colorway is wonderful. Manly even, in a womanly way. Again, I used a chunky weight rather than doubling the yarn. Mine fit a man’s size 10 foot nicely and will easily stretch to fit a larger foot. You’ve seen me working this pattern before, within posts here and here and here.

Basta has even more dorm boot variations. I decided to try Crocodilly Mocs for Women. Same basic construction. These have a fun crocodile stitch on the cuff. Basta provides a video link that clearly instructs on how the stitch is worked.

These mocs look sweet on feet. I especially like the mismatched result when knit in this Adriafil Mistero, a 47% acrylic 53% wool mix.