Tag: sock knitting

Trout Season Socks, i

In the California Sierras, trout season begins around the last week of April, the first week of May.  Snow is possibly still on the ground.  Certainly, the weather can be chilly!

A very good friend of mine has been providing me with some of his catch every year.  One day he mentioned cold feet from a day of fishing.  That thought has been in the back of my mind for quite some time, and the other day while rummaging through the stash, I found some yarn that made me think of the beach.  From there, tropics and fish, and from there, fish and feet.  So, as a surprise thank you, I’ve begun some socks for him for his next trip.

Here is the pattern thus far, with the complete pattern posted online later on.

Trout Season Socks

Use two different shades of yarn, held together.   Here I am using Baby Ull, by Dale of Norway, which is machine washable, 100% merino.  The colors are a royal blue, and a bright turquoise.

Gauge: 5.5 st / inch on US 3 needles

CO 52 stitches; 1 x 1 ribbing for 1.5 inches.  Stitches are distributed over 3 needles.

Drop turquoise yarn, add second royal blue skein, k using doubled yarn 5 rounds.

Drop second royal blue, pick up turquoise.  K one round in doubled yarn, then 1 x 1 rib for 2 rounds.  Make sure to leave a loose strand where you knit the blue, so that the stripe is not puckered.  Repeat as necessary.

Cut turquoise yarn, pick up second royal blue skein.  K using doubled yarn 5 rounds.  Cut second royal blue skein, leaving a tail to weave in later.

Once more double up with the turquoise and royal blue yarn.  2 x 2 ribbing to desired sock length, beginning with k2, p2.  (I did 8 inches.)  Drop or cut turquoise yarn when ready to begin heel flap.

Heel Flap: 26 stitches.  Double up the two royal blue skeins.  K 25 st, end p1.  Turn.  Slip first stitich on heel needle purlwise, k3, purl to last four stitches of heel flap, k3, end p1.  Repeat these two rows till piece measures desired length (I did 2.5 inches).  End ready to purl.

Note: At this point, I redistribute all my stitches so that one half are on the heel flap needle (26), and the remaining 26 are divided over 2 needles, 13 stitches on each needle.

Turning the Heel: P 14, p 2 tog, p 1.  Turn work.  Slip first stitich purlwise, k 3, k 2 tog, k 1.  Turn work.  Work back and forth until all stitches worked up, with 14 stitches remaining on needle, ready to begin next row knitting.  Cut second royal blue and attach turquoise.

Note: If you don’t know too much about turning the heel, this is a good site for some instruction.

Gusset: Using double stranded turquoise and royal blue yarn, pick up 10 stitches along heel flap, and one more in the turquoise-royal blue yarn by instep, 11 stitches total.  At this point you can choose to knit across the 2 x 2 rib, or continue in its pattern until you reach the toe.  I am continuing in the rib, which across the instep is p2, k2 rib, ending p2 before the third needle, which holds heel stitches.  Pick up 1 stitch in the turquoise-royal blue yarn, then 10 more along heel flap, for a total of 11 stitches.  Knit 7 more stitches (1/2 of the remaining heel flap stitches).  From this point forward until the toe is reached, the doubled yarn is the turquoise-royal blue.

Note: At this point, I redistribute needle stitches.  I have 18 stitches on needle 1 (heel) , 26 for the instep on needle 2, and 18 on needle 3 (heel).

Gusset Shaping: First Round: On needle one, k 15, k2 tog., k1.  Knit or follow ribbing across instep needle 2.  On needle 3, k 1, ssk, k 15.  Second Round: K all stitches on needle 1 (17 sts), follow pattern decided for needle 2 (26 sts), k all stitches on needle 3 (17 sts).  Continue these two rounds until there are 13 sts on needles 1 and 3, and 26 on needle 2, for a total of 52 stitches.

Foot: Continue in established pattern until 1.5 inches short of desired foot length.

Inside out, these socks look the Space Needle in Seattle, but the design idea is to allow a muscular calf to have some comfort, while the 2 x 2 ribbing helps keep the socks up.  Also, these socks are not reinforced with any nylon, so the owner will be told to wear them with care, not to go hiking down the driveway in them, and so on.  Hopefully he will get many years of good use out of them.  And we will continue to get fish!

I’ll follow up with more later on.  In the interim, the Buttoned Cardigan is moving along nicely, as well as several other pairs of socks!

Flight of the Albatross*

Whew!  What a relief it is to get those socks out of my life!  I’m glad I did them, but the frustration – combined with guilt – about finishing them was a burden.  I had no energy to do anything.  And now they are gone I’ve been on sort of a rampage – cleaning house – gardening – and finishing up a heap of UFOs.   I’ve got a number of berets and a pair of socks now, with loose ends woven in and toes woven shut, and a dropped stitched secured.  That makes me feel really productive, and here are the results:

A grey Meret for a birthday last February:

Two berets for a friend’s May birthday:

A Porom for myself, out of handspun grey yarn plied with an orange (sounds ghastly, but really very nice!):

A watch cap for a different February baby, to match Christmas mittens:

And socks for me – or maybe a gift for someone with the same size tootsies:

And finally, a model for a pattern which I may post, or submit to a magazine . . . . but that picture will remain a secret for now!

Ah . . .

A Foray into Toe-Up Socks: The Pattern, Version I

I haven’t quite finished the socks, but thought I would create a rough pattern for those who might like to have it. It is just too hot to knit wool socks, and as it is also summer, the urge to be outdoors and wandering around is far more attractive than sitting still.

I think that, overall, the socks are rather pretty. Will I become a toe-up convert? Not sure.

Given that, you may find it in the Patterns section of this blog!  Or, just click here.

A Foray into Toe-Up Socks, v

This past week I really have not done much of anything except munge around.  The highlights of the week have been watching the very funny Betty la Fea – in English, and the American version – on DVDs from Netflix.  What is there not to enjoy?

The second of the toe-up socks have been progressing over the past week.  I’ve turned the heel using the Fleegle Heel, which is the reverse of a top-down sock gusset, but without the need to pick up stitches along the heel flap.   The body of the sock measured 7 inches when I started the heel.  Most toe-up recipes with gussets say to begin it 2 to 2.5 inches before the total length.  I make my socks 9 inches long, so 6.5 to 7 inches would be fine – in theory!

Having turned the heel, before trying it on, just an eyeball of the sock told me that 7 inches was too long of a sock length.  It should have begun at 6.5 inches, or maybe even 6.  Another element of the heel was its angle, especially when compared to the short-row heel of the first sock.  Additionally, I usually turn my sock heel on about a third of the total stitches, not the traditional one half.  My gusset is a lot shorter as a result, and I am pleased with the way my top-down socks fit.

Still, the fit of this second sock, is not bad.  The problem, in my opinion, is the tediousness of turning the heel.  It was a lot easier to do, in some ways, than the short-row heel, but that is because the construction of the heel is one with which I am familiar.  The heel flap construction of a top-down sock requires picking up stitches, but the Fleegle heel does not, so the overall product is a bit tidier, though longer in doing.  

I may attempt to do this heel, if I do another toe-up pair of socks, on fewer stitches. It will be interesting to note at what point along the foot to begin a Fleegle heel with fewer stitches – I think the length of the sock may need to be a bit longer than when you use half of the total sock stitches. I also think I saw a reference to a Dutch heel for toe-up socks, which is not as fitted as this particular heel. Hmmm.

This second sock of this pair is made with only 54 stitches, not 60.  The reason is that I don’t really think that 60 is good for the lace pattern here.  The lace is stretchy, and doesn’t stretch out on my foot or leg.  I’d make that for a large leg, and use 42-48 for a young girl or small woman.

Here, you can see the difference between the two socks, especially at the heel. The short-row heel sock is a bit too short, and the Fleegle heel sock is a bit too long. Still, I have no plans of ripping out either sock, and will wear them as a pair!

My inclination is to go with a Fleegle heel as preferred method, but use maybe a third of the stitches, instead of half. Also, fewer stitches for this lace pattern. The fact that knitting is stretchy allows for errors like this, and I can wear them before I decide I don’t like toe-up socks. Right now, I’m just now sure I like making them….

A Foray into Toe-Up Socks, iv

I’ve finished the first sock of this pair, and I can only say I am not too fond of it, as far as doing it, and as far its design.  This being the first sock, and fraught with a high learning curve, it is understandable.

After turning the heel, I continued on with lace rib stitch for 6 inches, and then began the top pattern, which is a repeat of 7 stitches.  To recap, the sock is a 6-stitch repeat, done on 60 stitches.  I decided to increase 3 stitches, every 20th round.  Then I began the pattern, which I will modify, and attach to posts about the second sock, which 1) should be nicer looking, and 2) have a gusset rather than short row heel, and 3) have a decrease of stitches (maybe) for the top border.  Just so you know, the bind off is stretchy, done as k2, slip 2 stitches back to left needle, k2tog, k1, slip 2 stitches back to left needle, and continue until done.  It was a nuisance to do, but the edge worked out rather nicely.

The top of the sock, as you can see, flairs out a bit. As this was the calf area, I figured it would be better to make it the 3 stitches bigger rather than 4 stitches smaller. Maybe I’ll change my mind on that, seeing how it doesn’t have any ribbing on the top. On my leg it looks like it will slide down toward my ankle, which is fine if I want a baggy sock around my ankle, but with this design, I don’t think so.

As far as the overall design of the sock, I’m not displeased, but not happy either. The vertical lines of the ankle and foot are in a nice contrast to the horizontal quality at the top.

At this point, I admit that I am still not sold on toe-up socks. This being my first one, I know I am far from any point of making a definitive statement. There is a lot more still to learn, and certainly I am doing that! And, that was the goal in the first place.

A Request

If you have any sock patterns that you think are just the BEST toe-up sock pattern, leave me a note and a link if there is one.  Or email on Ravelry. I’d love to see other socks, and though I do have books on the subjects, the subject is far more vast than I first realized.