Favorite Socks (9 page)
Authors: Ann Budd
With MC, loosely CO 60 sts. Arrange sts evenly on 4 dpn so that there are 15 sts each needle. Place marker (pm) and join for working in the rnd, being careful not to twist sts. Work k2, p2 rib for 9 rnds—piece measures about 1" (2.5 cm) from CO. Change to CC and work 4 rnds in established rib. Change to MC and work 2 more rnds—15 rnds rib completed; piece measures about 1¾" (4.5 cm) from CO. Change to St st and work even until piece measures 8" (20.5 cm) from CO, or desired length to top of heel.
Place next 29 sts on a holder for the heel. Turn work so WS is facing and p31—31 sts for instep. Work back and forth in rows in St st as foll, beg with a RS row:
Rows 1 and 2:
Work even in patt.
Note:
Work the edge sts on every row; do not slip the selvedge sts.
Row 3:
(RS) K1, ssk, work in patt to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1—29 sts rem.
Rows 4–6:
Work even in patt.
Row 7:
Repeat Row 3—27 sts rem.
Row 8:
Work even in patt.
Rows 9–54:
Work 46 rows even in patt, and
at the same time
sl the first st of every RS row as if to knit with yarn in back (kwise wyb), and sl the first st of every WS row as if to purl with yarn in front (pwise wyf)—piece measures about 7" (18 cm) from beg of instep, or about 4" (10 cm) less than desired total foot length. Place
sts on holder. Cut yarn, leaving a 12" (30.5 cm) tail.
Note:
In preparation for joining the instep and sole, you will establish live sts around all three sides of the instep rectangle using 3 dpn, picking up sts along one selvedge of the instep, working across the live sts at the end of the instep, then picking up sts along the other instep selvedge. The heel sts are worked using a fourth dpn. You may find it helpful to use 6 dpn instead of 4, using 2 separate needles to hold the sts along each selvedge of the instep. (The pair shown here was made using 2 cir needles, using 1 to hold sts from around the three sides of the instep, and the other to work the heel and sole, joining the sides of the sole to the instep by working sts tog at each end of every row.)
With RS of instep facing you, join CC to beg of RS of instep Row 1, in the corner where the instep meets the held heel sts.
Rnd 1:
With Needle 1, M1 (see Glossary,
page 124
) in corner between heel and instep sts, pick up and knit 5 sts from the first 8 instep rows, then pick up and knit 23 sts from the next 46 instep rows, picking up the outside loop of each slipped selvedge st—29 sts on Needle 1. Return 27 held instep sts to dpn, and with Needle 2, knit across 27 instep sts—27 sts on Needle 2. With Needle 3, pick up and knit 23 sts from next 46 instep rows as foll: pick up the outside loop of each slipped selvedge st, pick up and knit 5 sts from the first 8 instep rows, M1 in corner between instep and heel sts—29 sts on Needle 3. Return 29 held heel sts to dpn, and with Needle 4, k15 heel sts, M1, k14 heel sts—30 sts on Needle 4; 115 sts total.
Rnd 2:
Knit, working any loose sts from the last rnd through their back loops (tbl) if necessary to tighten them.
You may wish to put point protectors on Needles 1, 2, and 3, or place the 85 sts from these needles on stitch holders as you work the heel.
If the bottom of the foot ever wears out, snip the grafting at the end of the toe, and unravel the toe, sole, and heel. If the foot has holes and cannot be unraveled in one piece, carefully snip the CC from the first sole preparation rnd in several places, pick out the yarn from that rnd all the way around between the snips, and the bottom of the foot will fall off. Carefully unravel the rest of the sole to expose the live sts for the end of the instep and beg of the heel, and place these live sts on needles or stitch holders, then knit an entirely new heel, sole, and toe.
Heel Flap
Turn work so WS is facing. With CC, sl 1 pwise wyf, p29.
Work 30 heel sts on Needle 4 back and forth in rows as foll:
Row 1:
(RS) *Sl 1 kwise wyb, k1; rep from *.
Row 2:
(WS) Sl 1 pwise wyf, purl to end. Rep Rows 1 and 2 until a total of 24 rows have been worked—12 chain sts along each selvedge; heel flap measures about 2½" (6.5 cm).
Work short-rows to shape heel as foll:
Row 1:
(RS) Sl 1 pwise wyb, k15, ssk, k1, turn work.
Row 2:
(WS) Sl 1 pwise wyf, p3, p2tog, p1, turn.
Row 3:
Sl 1 kwise wyb, knit to 1 st before gap formed on previous row, ssk (1 st from each side of gap), k1, turn.
Row 4:
Sl 1 pwise wyf, purl to 1 st before gap formed on previous row, p2tog (1 st from each side of gap), p1, turn.
Rep Rows 3 and 4 until all heel sts have been worked—16 heel sts rem. Cont in this manner, working 1 more st before dec every row, until 14 sts rem.
Next row:
(RS) Ssk, knit to last 2 sts, k2tog—14 sts. Do not cut yarn.
If necessary, return 85 held sts of sole preparation to dpns or single cir needle. With RS still facing, cont as foll with CC, picking up sts from slipped heel flap selvedges through their outside loops:
Row 1:
(RS) Pick up and knit 12 sts along edge of heel flap, sl last picked-up st to needle holding instep sts, ssk last heel st tog with first instep st, turn.
Row 2:
(WS) Sl 1 pwise wyf, p25 to end of heel sts, pick up and purl (see Glossary,
page 125
) 12 sts along other edge of heel flap, sl last picked-up st to needle holding instep sts, p2tog (last heel st and first instep st), turn—38 sts total for heel and gussets; 1 st joined from each end of instep sts. Sole is now worked back and forth on sts of heel and gussets.
Row 3:
Sl 1 pwise wyb, ssk, knit to last 3 sole sts, k2tog, ssk last sole st with next instep st, turn—36 sole sts rem.
Row 4:
Sl 1 pwise wyf, purl to last sole st, p2tog last st with next instep st, turn.
Repeat Rows 3 and 4 four more times—28 sole sts rem.
Cont with CC as foll:
Row 1:
Sl 1 pwise wyb, knit to last sole st, ssk last sole st with next instep st, turn.
Row 2:
Sl 1 pwise wyf, purl to last sole st, p2tog last sole st with next instep st, turn.
Rep the last 2 rows until all sts from selvedges of instep have been joined;
do not
join any sole sts to 27 sts on needle at end of instep—55 sts rem; 28 sts for sole, 27 sts for end of instep.
With CC, k28 sole sts, k14 instep sts, M1, k13 instep sts—56 sts. Arrange sts on 3 dpns so that there are 14 sts each on Needles 1 and 3 and 28 sts on Needle 2. Pm to indicate beg of rnd at start of sole sts. If necessary, work even in St st in the rnd until piece measures about 9" (23 cm) from back of heel, or 2" (5 cm) less than desired total foot length. Shape toe as foll:
Rnd 1:
On Needle 1, knit to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1; on Needle 2, k1, ssk, knit to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1; on Needle 3, k1, ssk, knit to end—4 sts dec’d.
Rnd 2:
Knit.
Repeat Rnds 1 and 2 until 16 sts rem. Arrange sts on 2 needles with 8 sts each for top and bottom of toe.
Cut yarn, leaving a 12" (30.5 cm) tail. Thread tail on a tapestry needle and use the Kitchener st (see Glossary,
page 123
) to graft sts tog. Weave in loose ends. Block lightly.
from the Winter 2000 issue of
Interweave Knits
Candace Eisner Strick
Candace Eisner Strick drew on her love of traditional Austrian textural patterns to create these bold socks. She combined the stitch motifs
Doppelviereck mit Drahdi
(“double squares with cables”) and
Ketterl
(“little chains”) to form the seemingly complex sculptural work on the legs. The pattern is easier to master than it appears, as it uses a simple twisted-stitch technique rather than the cable needle knitters might expect. The cuffs are begun by knitting I-cord to encircle the calf, from which stitches are picked up to knit the leg.
Download the charts for this project here.
INISHED
S
IZE
About 8½" (21.5 cm) foot circumference and 9" (23 cm) foot length. To fit a woman.
Note:
To make the socks larger or smaller, use needles one or two sizes larger or smaller and lengthen or shorten the foot as necessary.
ARN
Sportweight yarn (CYCA #2 Fine).
Shown here:
Gems Opal (100% merino; 225 yd [205 m]/100 g): #30 off-white, 2 skeins.
EEDLES
Size 2 (2.75 mm): set of 4 double-pointed (dpn). Adjust needle size if necessary to obtain the correct gauge.
OTIONS
Small amount of waste yarn; markers (m); tapestry needle.
AUGE
12 stitches and 19 rounds = 2" (5 cm) in stockinette stitch worked in the round.
S
TITCH
G
UIDE
K1tbl
Knit 1 through back loop.
P1tbl
Purl 1 through back loop.
Right Traveler (worked over 2 sts)
Work to the purl st before the k1tbl symbol and sl the next 2 sts kwise (a purl st and a knit st). Insert the tip of the left needle into the back of the second st on right needle, pull the right needle out of these 2 sts, letting the first st fall free in front of work. Immediately pick up the free st with the right needle and place it back on the left needle—the 2 sts have exchanged places—work them as k1, p1.
Left Traveler (worked over 2 sts)
Work to the k1tbl symbol and sl the next 2 sts pwise (a knit st and a purl st). Insert the tip of the left needle into the front of the second st on right needle, pull the right needle out of these 2 sts, letting the first st fall free in back of work. Immediately pick up the free st with the right needle and place it on the left needle—the 2 sts have exchanged places—work them as p1, k1tbl.
Right Cross (worked over 2 sts)
Sl 2 kwise, complete as for right traveler, working the 2 exchanged sts as k2.
Left Cross (worked over 2 sts)
Sl 2 pwise, complete as for left traveler, working the 2 exchanged sts as [k1tbl] 2 times.
Band Pattern (worked over 9 sts)
Set-up row:
K1tbl, [k1tbl, p1] 3 times, [k1tbl] 2 times.
Row 1:
[K1tbl] 2 times, p1, k1tbl, work next 2 sts as foll: sl 2 kwise, insert tip of left needle into back of second st on right needle, pull right needle out of these 2 sts so that the first st falls free in front of work, pick up free st with right needle and place on left needle (the 2 sts have exchanged places), k2, p1, [k1tbl] 2 times.
Row 2:
[K1tbl] 2 times, p1, work next 2 sts as foll: sl 2 kwise, insert tip of left needle into the back of second st on right needle, pull right needle out of these 2 sts so that first st falls free in front of work, pick up free st with right needle and place on left needle (the 2 sts have exchanged places), k1, p1, k1tbl, p1, [k1tbl] 2 times.
Repeat Rows 1 and 2 for pattern.
OTES
- Überlieferte Strickmuster aus dem Steirischen Ennstal
(Traditional Knitting Patterns from the Enns Valley of Styria) by Maria Erlbacher is available from Schoolhouse Press. - The twisted knit stitches travel over the purl stitches on every round. This is accomplished by slipping 2 stitches and having them exchange places.
- In this pattern, right travelers are slipped as if to knit, which puts a twist into the stitch; they are then knitted through the fronts to keep this twist, making right-slanting stitches. The left travelers are slipped as if to purl; they are then knitted through the backs, making them left-slanting stitches. The resulting stitches are mirror images of each other and perfectly balanced.