The Sad Little Sock

After finishing the Shenandoah socks, I was pretty psyched about making a series of socks based on their construction. I really love the way they come together, and the possibilities seemed pretty endless. I had even come across another serendipitous color combination that would use up some Lorna’s Laces that I had sitting around from another project. After finishing the first sock in record time, I cast on for the second, completed the toe…

And that was it. Two weeks passed, the poor second sock languishing on the needles. I had solved this problem before, by knitting two socks at once on two circulars. But I’ve learned (the hard way mostly) that frogging happens more often than knitting when I’m making up a pattern as I go. And frogging two socks at once is both annoying and heartbreaking. So, these socks were knit the old fashioned way, one at a time. And of course, the poor second sock got pushed aside for something new and exciting (which itself is on the verge of being bumped…)

I grabbed the finished sock and the “half-finished” (or so I kept telling myself) sock last night to take some pictures of them. That’s when it hit me, like a full speed truck full of yarn. The reason the first sock went so fast and the second has gone absolutely nowhere. I put the first sock on and realized… I had knit a sock that I had no interest in wearing. I mean, I totally loved the design while I was making it; that two week break seems to have cracked the spell they had over me. I can’t see myself wearing this sock. And I remembered that I don’t really like Lorna’s Laces, which is why my Reptilian Lace second sock didn’t get finished either. (How did I forget that?) It’s a pleasure to knit with, but I don’t like how it feels on my feet. (I think I’m the only one who feels this way, but *shrug.*) BUT, everyone has different tastes, so if you like Lorna’s Laces, lace, and unique sock construction, read on! (Man, I didn’t take very good pictures either… Poor sock, you deserve better.)

  

Grand Teton Socks

Download the PDF: Grand Tetons Socks

• Finished Size: Women’s 9 (foot length 9.5″)
• Needles: Two Size 0 (2 mm) circular needles
• Yarn: MC: KnitPicks Risata Marionberry (1 ball); CC: Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock Baltic Sea (1 skein)
• Yardage: MC: 196 yards; CC: 45 yards
• Extras: Tapestry needle, stitch markers, scrap yarn or stitch holder
• Gauge: Stockinette Stitch: 8 sts x 11 rows= 1″, Ripple Lace (1 repeat): 15 sts= 1 5/8″; 10 rows= 7/8″

Special Stitches:

SSLK: Slip the last stitch knitwise, pick up the two loops of the next slipped stitch on the instep, slip the two loops purlwise, insert right needle into the front loops of the two loops and slipped stitch and knit all 3 together. (A modified Slip, Slip, Knit.)

SSLP: Slip the last stitch knitwise, pick up the two loops of the next slipped stitch on the instep, slip the two loops knitwise, return the two loops and slipped stitch to left needle, and purl all 3 together. (A modified Slip, Slip, Purl.)

W&T: Wrap and turn. On knit row, bring yarn forward between the needles, slip next stitch purlwise, bring yarn to back, slip the stitch back to the left needle and turn work. On purl row, bring yarn to the back, slip the next stitch purlwise, bring yarn to the front, slip the stitch back to the left needle, and turn work.

kf&b: Knit front and back. Knit into the front of the stitch, then into the back of the stitch. More details here.

Toe

Using Judy’s Magic Cast On, CO 12 sts to each needle in MC. 24 sts

The starting needle (Needle 1) is the top/instep. The second needle (Needle 2) is the bottom/sole.

Round 1: Knit.

Round 2: K1, M1, knit to last st on Needle 1, M1, K1, K1, M1, knit to last st on Needle 2, M1, K1. 4 sts increased.

Repeat Round 1 and 2 until there are 64 sts total, 32 sts on each needle.

Instep

Round 1: K16, M1, k16, knit 3 sts from Needle 2 to Needle 1, knit until 3 sts before the end of Needle 2, move last 3 sts to Needle 1. 39 sts on Needle 1. 26 sts on Needle 2.

Place sole sts on scrap yarn or stitch holder.

Work Instep Ripple Lace until instep measures 7” from tip of toe, approx 6 ½ repeats, ending on an even row (Row 6). You can either cut the MC yarn, or just twist the two yarns together on the WS before each RS row to carry the MC yarn upwards (see Shenandoah Socks for more details). Make sure that the last MC and CC slipped sts are snug; they can become loose waiting until the next MC or CC row, but don’t pull them too tight.

Instep Ripple Lace

Row 1(MC): Sl 1, knit to end.

Row 2(MC): Sl 1 , knit to end.

Row 3, 5, 7, 9(CC): Sl 1, [k2tog twice, *yo, k1* three times, yo, sl 1 k1 psso twice, k1] three times.

Row 4, 6, 8, 10(CC): Sl 1, purl to end.

When instep reaches 7” from toe, place instep sts on scrap yarn or stitch holder and return sole sts to needle.

Sole

Row 1 (RS): With the left needle, pick up the two loops of the first slipped stitch on the instep and move them (correctly mounted) to the right hand needle. Knit the two picked up loops together with the first stitch on the needle. Knit to 1 st before the end of the needle, SSKK (see special stitches.)

Row 2 (WS): Sl 1, purl to last st, SSLP

Row 3: Sl 1, knit to last st, SSLK

Repeat Rows 2 and 3 until all slipped sts have been used, ending after a RS row (do not use sts on the stitch holder or scrap yarn.)

Mini Heel Flap and Short Rows

Mini Heel Flap

Row 1: Sl 1, purl to the end.

Row 2: Sl 1, knit to the end.

Repeat Rows 1 and 2 four more times (a total of 10 rows.)

Short Rows

Sl 1, purl to last st, W&T.

Knit to last st, W&T.

Purl to 1 st before end, W&T.

Knit to 1 st before end, W&T.

Purl to 2 sts before end, W&T.

Knit to 2 sts before end, W&T.

Continue working 1 fewer stitch each row until there are 10 sts between the wraps, ending after a knit row. I use Misocrafty’s Short Row Heel Tutorial to eliminate holes, but feel free to use your favorite method of picking up wraps in the next section.

Purl to the first wrap. Pick up the wrap with and leave on right needle. Purl the wrapped stitch and pass the picked up wrap over, as in a psso. Wrap the next stitch again, turn.

Knit to the first knit wrap, pick up the wrap and leave on right needle. Knit the wrapped stitch and pass the picked up wrap over, as in a psso. Wrap the next stitch again, turn.

Purl to the first purl wrap. Pick up the two wraps and leave on right needle. Purl wrapped stitch and pass wraps over, as in a psso. Wrap the next stitch again, turn.

Knit to the next knit wrap. Pick up the two wraps and leave on right needle. Knit wrapped stitch and pass the two wraps over, as in a psso. Wrap the next stitch again, turn.

Continue working wraps until all sts have been worked, ending on a RS row.

Pick Up Stitches

Pick up and knit through the back loops 5 sts along the heel flap, one in each slipped stitch on the edge. Pick up and knit through the back loop 1 stitch in the corner. Place marker.

Return instep stitches to needle. Knit 19, k2tog, knit to end of instep.

Place marker, pick up and knit through the back loops 1 stitch in the corner and 5 sts along the flap. K 13. Place marker for beginning of round (center of the heel.) 38 sts on sole.

Row 1: Knit to 3 stitches before the first marker, k2tog, k1. Knit to the second marker, k1, ssk, knit to the end of the round. 2 sts deceased.

Row 2: Knit.

Repeat Rows 1 and 2 until 66 sts remain. (I had intended to do some 1×1 ribbing here during the decreases, just for fun, but I forgot by the time I got to this point. I still think it would look nice, though.)

Next Row: K1, k2tog, k3, k2tog, k3, k2tog, k1, knit across instep, k1, ssk, k3, ssk, k3, ssk, k1. 60 sts.

Leg

Join CC and work Leg Ripple Lace until desired length. Shown 2 ½ repeats, starting on Row 7.

Leg Ripple Lace

Row 1(MC): Knit

Row 2(MC): Purl

Row 3, 5, 7, 9(CC): [k2tog twice, *yo, k1* three times, yo, sl 1 k1 psso twice, k1] around.

Row 4, 6, 8, 10(CC): Knit

Ripple Bind Off

In MC, knit 1 round.

Next Row: K5, in next stitch kf&b twice, kf (5 sts increased),*Knit 11, in next stitch kf&b twice kf*4 times, k6. 85 sts.

Bind off loosely knitwise. Make second sock. 🙂

Please Note: I post my patterns as soon as I’ve completed them because I’m excited to share them with you. They have not been fully tested. But they are free. I’ve made every effort to make sure that the instructions are clear and error-free. There may be typos or pattern mistakes and if you find them or have any questions, please let me know by posting a comment or emailing me, dailyskein at gmail.com.

 

 

This work by Cailyn Meyer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.