Shorties! Shorties! Shorties!

Last summer I knit my first shortie socks (ankle socks) because I had some yarn that was no more than 50% wool. I thought they would be good for some warmer weather socks. I've enjoyed wearing them, so this summer I started taking any single ball or partial ball of sock yarn I had and knitting them into shorties.

I had one ball of this 50/25/25 wool/bamboo rayon/nylon that I had used a little of for a previous project. Even a full ball is not enough for a pair of socks, so I started some shorties.

I had a little (15 grams of 50) of the same kind of yarn in a contrasting colour

so I figured between the two of them, I would have enough for a pair of ankle socks.

I knit the first sock with no problems, adding a little of the navy in a pattern at the top.

The sock is a little big which is why I'm
grabbing it at the toe. The white string is
how I kept track of the number of rows.

I started the second sock and soon realized I was in a game of yarn chicken. I wasn't quite finished the heel when the yarn ran out:

This is what losing at yarn chicken looks like.

I undid the cast off of the first pair and started knitting with that yarn, unraveling the first sock as I knit the second. When the second sock was knit as far as the first sock had unraveled, I would know that was the most I could get out of the yellow. Of course it wasn't quite that simple because I had to redo the colourwork section, but I got it done (although I did have to knit the last five stitches of one sock with a piece cut off the end from the cast on!)

I changed the pattern around the cuff and knit all of the ribbing in the navy and was able to finish the pair.

It was a wonderful yarn to work with: soft, plush, and cushy. They felt great on my feet, but they were not for me. I made them a little larger and gave them to my younger sister. I had given her a pair last summer but they were too small. I wanted to make that up to her. :)

Project Stats
Started: 27 May '19 / Finished: 4 Jun '19
Pattern: made up as I went
Materials: Serenity Sock Solids by Premier Yarns in Hot Lime DN150-08 (44 grams) and DN150-10 Navy (5 grams)
Ravelry project page: Summer Shortie Socks



I had about half of this skein left after using it for my Water for the Elephants socks.

It's a really satisfying red (simply named "Really Red"). I cast on a new sock the day I cast off the pair above.

I wanted more pattern in this one so I ran three cables up the front of the sock.

I also started matching cables on the bottom of the heel flap so that they lined up with the front cables at the top of the heel.

In order to line up the ribbing with the cable pattern, I had to decrease some stitches, which makes them a little tight going over my heel. Now I know better for next time. These aren't as plush as the pair above, but they're nice to wear. And the crisp cables are very satisfying.

Project Stats
Started: 4 Jun '19 / Finished: 21 Jun '19
Pattern: made it up as I went
Materials: Pagewood Farm Chugiak Hand Dyed Sock in Really Red (55 grams)
Ravelry project page: Red Shortie Socks



I had a little less than two-thirds of this yarn left after using it for my Broken Seed Stitch socks. It was a skein I bought in the Netherlands when I was there with my mom.

I started another pair of shorties with this yarn the day after finishing the red ones above,

this time with one cable running up the side.

Yes, I moved the cable on the second sock so it was a mirror image, going so far as to change the direction of the cable twist as well.

Another plush sock yarn. These are also a little big and I hope they will be big enough for the person I have in mind.

Project Stats
Started: 22 Jun '19 / Finished: 22 Jul '19
Pattern: I made it up
Materials: HPKY (Hand Painted Knitting Yarns) Sock Donegal in "Fire" (47 grams)
Ravelry project page: Shortie Socks



The day these were finished, I found another single skein of sock yarn in the stash and started another pair. I should start calling these potato chip socks.