A Pair of Socks

I have not been churning out huge amounts of knitting, but knitting is still being done around here. Pictures take a little longer...

So by the time I was ready with pictures of one pair of socks, I actually had two done. (And don't look now but I actually finished another pair today in the time since I took these pictures. But those will wait for another day.)

I start with the toes and in both cases here, my favorite short row toe:

I. Toes from the yarn raveled from a yellow Ann Taylor cardi and overdyed with Wilton's icing.

II. Toes in the main colour, a multicolour red I picked up on my trip to the Netherlands.

After the toes, I start the pattern on the top of the sock.

I. Using the same raveled yarn but overdyed one more time, I started a textured pattern intended to let the little blips of colour pop, the Double Fleck Stitch from The Harmony Guide to Knitting Stitches (p 19).

You can see columns of K2 alternated with P2 but with a row of all knits in between horizontally and columns of knits in between vertically.

II. Alternating the multicolour with a solid yellow in a broken seed stitch. This means the seed stitch (K1P1 on one row, P1K1 on the next) is broken up with rows of all knits in between each row of the pattern.

When alternating yarns, this means that one yarn does all the knit rows and the other does all the seed stitch rows. Easy to keep track!

Here is a sample of using the yellow on the knit rows (right) and using the red on the knit rows (left). Very different results and I very much preferred the one on the left.

Up next is the gusset and heel:

I. I increased a stitch on each side every other row. When I decided I had enough and the sock was the right length, I did the first half of a short row heel on the bottom stitches only.

Then I started a heel flap and decreased the gusset stitches at the end of each row.

I don't do a textured heel flap. Some do it for durability, but I haven't found that that's where my socks wear out and I prefer a smooth fabric.

II. Here I once again increased a stitch on each side on every other row. This time I incorporated the gusset stitches into the pattern on the top. (Unlike above where the gusset is in stocking stitch like the bottom.)

I then did a short row heel on the bottom stitches. I continued the pattern of alternating the yarn for each row and becasue of the way I incorporated this into the short rows, the heel ended up being half as many rows.

I then started the heel flap, decreasing the gusset stitches. In this case, the heel flap is done in the pattern to match the top of the sock.

I continued the pattern on both socks up the leg. In both cases, the socks are not very long so I didn't worry about doing any increases to fit the calf. The only thing left then is the cuff:

I. I went with a 1x2 rib so that the knits of the rib would line up with the knit columns in the Double Fleck Stitch.

II. A 1x1 rib while continuing to alternate the two balls of yarn on each round. Although the colour pattern isn't the same as the pattern on the leg, it blends with it pretty well.

Make two and you have a pair!

I. I haven't worn these yet, but look forward to it. Or maybe I'll keep them brand new to submit to the fair next summer.

The yarn is a blend so I'm hoping they won't be overly warm. They feel very soft and cushy. They were knit with a double strand and are slightly thicker.

Project Stats
Started: 4 Sep '17
Finished: 28 Oct '17
Pattern: My own, with the Double Fleck Stitch from The Harmony Guide to Knitting Stitches (p 19).
Materials: 66 grams of 51% wool/20% rayon/10% rabbit hair/4% Cashmere from an Ann Taylor cardi.

II. I wore these for the first time last week. The highest recommendation I can give is that I didn't think about them again until the end of the day...that is, they weren't too tight, too loose, too long, too short, too droopy, too warm or too sweaty. And the colour combination in this pattern makes me happy when I see it.

I hadn't anticipated this, but I like how alternating the yarns has made the colours in the multicolour yarn spread out into wider stripes.

Project Stats
Started: 24 Jul '17
Finished: 1 Oct '17
Pattern: Broken Seed Stitch Socks by Hanna Leväniemi - although I'm sure I just took the stitch pattern and did my own toe, gusset, heel and cuff :)
Materials: 37 g HPKY (Hand Painted Knitting Yarns) Sock Donegal (color: fire; 65% Merino, 25% Nylon, 10% Rayon) and 32 g Zitron Trekking Sport (colour: 1490; 75% Wool, 25% Nylon)