Fall Footwear

It may be "sweater weather" (it is!!), but fall also means it's time to pull out those warm knitted socks. Especially those I haven't had a chance to wear yet!!


My sock production has dropped a lot for a lot of reasons, and I have been plugging along on these socks since last November. But here is proof that if you keep plugging, eventually you get done:

These socks were made from a ball of Cherry Tree Hill Yarn Supersock DK

I got at a resale back in 2015 for $10. At the time, that was about half of what a new ball of sock yarn would cost. It was later identified as the colorway African Grey. (Thank you, Ravelry! Knowing the color name doesn't at all change the yarn or how much I like it, but I still love to know!)

You can see it sat in my stash for a while and I think I picked it up because I needed something to take on the go and this ball was easy and available.

It's a weird combinations of colours and I was hoping the colour runs were a little longer, but no matter. I used a slip stitch pattern to break up the variegation, but it turns out the colour runs were so short that they wouldn't have pooled like most variegated yarns do.

On the right is the bottom of the sock where I didn't do the pattern and you can see the stripes. On the left is the slip stitch pattern (every fourth row: K2, bring yarn to the front, slip 2, move yarn back; repeat). Turns out I actually like the stripes better! But again, no matter.

I knit them toe up making up the pattern on the fly. I made a gusset of increases every other row for a total of 24 stitches.

I did a short-row heel turn and heel flap in stocking stitch. Continued the slip stitch pattern all around the leg, and finished with a 2x2 rib with Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off.

I finished the knitting in June. I blocked them sometime in August. And now I got to the pictures in September. Once again, plugging along gets it done...at some point.

I've been looking at these socks hanging on the blockers for the last month or more wondering if I really need another pair of socks. But when the first chilly day came along last week, I slipped them on with pleasure! :)

Project Stats
Started: 3 Nov '19
Finished: 16 Jun '20
Pattern: of my own making: slip stitch pattern, toe up, short row toe, gusset, heel flap, 2x2 rib
Materials: Cherry Tree Hill Yarn Supersock DK (African Grey), 78 g ($10)
Ravelry project page: link

Not Short on Shortie Socks

Ready for one more pair of shortie socks? It's been a summer full of them!

The very day I cast off the last pair, I cast on a new pair! I found one ball of self-striping yarn in the stash, and got started. I quickly realized that my usual short-row toe was not going to give the best results with the stripes. (If by "quickly" you understand that I knit the toe and then had to take it out.)

So I tried a more common toe that starts at the tip and increases to the full width of the sock. I started with 12 sts (on each needle, 24 total), and quickly increased to 22 (44 total) by increasing one stitch on the right and left of the sole and top every row. Then I increased every other row to 32 (64 total) stitches.

Six days later, I was casting off the first sock. Or almost casting it off. I had started the sock right where the yarn changed from blue to grey and wanted to start the second sock in the same place. Well, I only had five stitches left on the bind off and only had about 2 inches left of blue. Not enough to cast off five stitches and leave an end to start the next sock.

I was stumped for a minute, but then noticed the other end of the ball was dark blue so I used it for the last five stitches. Makes a couple more ends to work in, but I had preserved the colours. Later I noticed that I could have used the tail at the beginning of the sock too. It was longer than normal (and of course blue).

I then cast on the second sock starting at the same grey/blue colour change and hoped it would match the first. This would depend on knitting it the same as the first sock, keeping my tension the same, and the yarn being dyed consistently over six repeats (three for each sock).

And guess what! It worked!

I think I had to make a slight adjustment when I went around the heel to keep the colours the same but it's hardly noticeable.

I made the heel turn a little different, making the short rows from short to long instead of long to short and I didn't like it.

There are little bumps from the short rows and they end up on the bottom of the sole instead of at the edge of the heel. I can't feel it while I'm wearing them but I prefer the look of how I normally do them. Now I know.

I finished with a 1x1 rib. It's a little shorter than I would have done but, as noted, I was constricted by the yarn stripes.

Totally worth it!

I love the muted colours of this stripe. This was a ball of yarn my sister found at a second hand store and passed on to me because she wasn't knitting socks at the time. Then later when she got into socks again, she knit a pair with the same yarn!

These are a little small for me which is a good sign that they will fit the person I'm giving them to. :) At first I was confused about why they were small because I did the usual number of rows before doing the heel, but then realized the new way I did the toe is fewer rows than my usual toe. That would do it!

Project Stats
Started: 22 July '19
Finished: 5 Aug '19
Pattern: none (improvised); toe-up, gusset, heel flap
Materials: Patons North America Kroy Socks Ragg Shades (in Blue Stripe Ragg), 45 g
Ravelry project page: Grey self striping shortie socks

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.

Entrelac Socks

While preparing another post, I realized I had never posted about these socks. Not even that I didn't post when they were finished, but I didn't post when there were started or any of the middle either.

These socks were the result of two things coming together: I decided I was going to use the sock yarn I had purchased in Iceland and a sock idea taken from a fellow Raveler.

User carolkimball regularly shows off her entrelac socks with replaceable soles in our "Unravelers" group and I decided to try it for myself. Entrelac results in knitting on the bias which results in stretchy fabric for a comfortably snug fit.

I found a pattern for an entrelac sock to get me started and would make the rest up from there. I started at the cuff and knit them top down. The yarn changed colours gradually,

and since the squares are built up in horizontal rows,

by the time you work your way around the sock, the colour has changed for the next row.

Which gives a really delightful effect that looks far more difficult than it is. (It also makes for some rather addictive knitting. Entrelac itself is bad enough since you do it in tiny chunks (one square at a time), but add changing colours and you don't have a chance of resisting "just one more"...)

Once the leg was done, I left the pattern completely and started my version of a replaceable sole. A picture of the parts might help:

When the leg was done, I cast off half the stitches, which would become the top of the heel. (In the picture above, the leg is on the right and the cast off can be seen to the left of the dark blue squares.) I then cast on the total number of gusset stitches at each end of the remaining live stitches. (This is the long flat side of the triangle wing parts.)

I worked back and forth on these stitches, decreasing the extra stitches I cast on as I would for any gusset until I had the original number of stitches again. Then I knit straight (this is the top of the foot) until it was time for the toe.

I debated whether the toe should be part of the main sock or part of the replaceable sole. I think most people would put it with the sole because the toes wear out quickly as well. But I've never had a toe wear out--I get most of my wear on the heel and balls of my feet. So I put it on the main sock. I did a short row toe so it flowed over the front of the foot to the back. (Seen on the left in the picture above.)

For the sole, I cast on half the total stitches for the leg (which is the same number as for the straight part of the top) and worked back and forth. I started with the heel flap. In this case I used a slip stitch variation. I did twice as many rows as the number of stitches cast on for each gusset and then did some short rows to turn the heel.

All that was left was to knit straight until the length reached from the heel to the start of the toe. In the picture above, the sole pieces look like flat rectangles, but there is a bump in there for the heel shape; you just can't really see it. (It's most apparent on the left sole--you can see some wrinkles where the red changes to purple.)

Once my pieces were blocked, I sewed them together. I decided on a whip stitch (also called an overcast stitch, I think). It's visible, but it's also very flat which is important for comfort.

Deciding to add the toe to the top of the sock instead of the sole meant the seam was on the bottom. I debated about this for a white because that doesn't sound like a good idea. But the seam really is flat enough I don't notice it.

I used a different sock yarn for the seaming. I wanted to make sure that it wouldn't felt in with the sock and become impossible to pull out. The main yarn was fuzzy and very feltable so I went with a smoother yarn. (It may not even be all wool.)

The colours were similar but it matches in some spots (below) better than others (above).

But that's hard to avoid pretty much no matter what you do when you're working with a yarn that changes colours!

The changing colours that make the entrelac so pretty also really emphasize the way the sock is constructed. It's hard to miss the fact that the sole and top of the sock were knit separately.
Project Stats
Started: 2 Apr '19
Finished: 15 May '19
Pattern: Started with buttercupia: Noro Entrelac Socks by Jamie Fritz
Materials: Hjertegarn Kunstgarn (colour 07)
Ravelry project page: Memento of Iceland - Entrelac socks

Now I only have to wear them long enough to wear out the sole and then I can let you know how easy or difficult it is to replace the sole with a newly knit one!

It's Not Going to Work

Or, A Tale of Two Toes, if you prefer.

Once upon a time I purchased this orange sweater second hand with the intent to harvest its wooly blend goodness.

At another time, I found the same sweater in pink, like bubblegum pink.

I used the orange for a pair of socks already (this pair) but I always had the secret wish to use them together in an awesome, albeit eye-searing, project.

When I saw a project from the book Op-art Socks, I thought I may have found my muse. I got the book from the library, carefully considered many projects and then set my heart on this swirly masterpiece:

The designer, Stephanie van der Linden, has conquered my knitting heart with this masterpiece of a design. Look how the swirl moves seamlessly from one sock to the other. Incredible. How much more awesome would it be in orange and pink?

So I set about casting on the sock - I figured I could use the toe as a gauge swatch.

First I tried it with one strand on my smallest dpns (bottom sock above and right sock below). Then I tried it with a double strand on slightly larger needles (top sock above and left socks below).

I calculated my gauge as the following:
  single strand: 41st/4" and 72 rows/4"
  double strand: 34st/4" and 52 rows/4"

What the pattern called for was 34st/4" and 46 rows/4". It looks like the double strand was pretty close, right? It's right on for stitch gauge, which determines how wide the sock is (the fit around the foot); but the row gauge is off (determining the length of the sock).

I debated about reworking the pattern to be knit from the top down so I could adjust the foot length as needed after the colourwork section was done, but the pattern has an unusual heel and it was going to be more work than I wanted.

I went to bed and hoped for inspiration to strike overnight.

It did.

I had the brilliant idea of doing a provisional cast on, working the sock toe-up (as written) starting with the colourwork section, and then coming back to knit the toe as long/short as needed at the end. Ok, now I was set...

I knit happily for the morning and got this far on the colour chart:

It was enough to see 1. I love pink and orange together. 2. It was far too big around. I had had my fears beforehand because the pattern calls for 72 stitches and I don't ever use that many stitches for my own socks, but the maths said otherwise. I followed the maths and obviously was led down the wrong path. (Happens more often than you would think.)

So I gamely ripped it out. No easy task since I had to separate the strands that had been knit together, but I persisted.

I cast on again, with one strand and smaller needles and knit the early afternoon away.

I got most of the way through the colour chart and I saw two things. 1. It is the right size to fit around my foot. 2. It's way, way too short. Where I should have about 4.5" of knitting, I have less than 2".

That is where I stopped.

I have two thoughts: 1. I could knit the chart repeating each row so that it is effectively double tall. This would be a pain in the butt to keep track of because many of the rows are already the same and I'm not convinced it will be tall enough even with that modification.

2. These yarns and this pattern are just not meant to go together.

That is where the project sits. My knitting time that day ran out and I haven't picked it up again. But after a few days in time out, I'm leaning toward thinking it deserves one more try.