This is the 4th Friday of the month, so it’s Flash Pattern Friday, meaning that we give a normally paid pattern away for free for the weekend! Starting today, Friday, 7/26, you can get the Tempera Socks pattern for free on Ravelry with the code FLASH. This offer runs through Sunday, 7/28!
These vibrant socks use three colors of Uni Merino, a super fine 75% superwash merino wool and 25% nylon blend. This yarn comes in over 50 colors in a 100g put up, and its counterpart Uni Merino Mini is available in the same shades, but in smaller 25g skeins, making this yarn an ideal choice for colorwork projects! This family of yarn also includes Uni Merino Neons and Uni Merino Mini Neons, each with 5 brilliant hues to choose from. For this weekend only (7/26-7/28), take 20% off of any of these yarns – no code needed!
The Tempera Socks are knit from the cuff down in the round and feature a heel flap and gusset. There is also a fun zig-zaggy lace motif adorning the front side of these socks, along with some criss-crossed colorwork at the cuff. Altogether, this is a punchy project that will keep you excited the whole way through!
Which colors of Uni Merino do you think you’ll try out for the Tempera Socks? We can’t wait to see all of the variations that are made! That’s all for today, happy stitching! Ashley Jane
This is part 7 in a 12 part series highlighting designs from our 12 Days of Winter, Series 2 Edition.
Socks! Though I’m a pretty dedicated sweater knitter, I also love to knit socks. When I first started knitting about a decade ago, I was obsessed. Cuff down, toe up, afterthought heel, gusset – I loved it all.
Framework Socks (pattern link) in Bella Cash are knit from the cuff down in two colors of this machine washable cashmere (ooohhhh) blend. A slip stitch pattern creates the interesting texture on the leg and foot, but that’s not what I’m focusing on today.
I’m here to talk about the toe finishing on a top-down sock. The best way to join remaining stitches at the toe of a sock is by grafting, AKA Kitchener stitch. This is a technique that basically creates a row of knit stitches that is formed while joining two sets of live stitches. It is far superior to a seam because – who wants an uncomfortable seam on their toe?
I will be showing you how to graft with a contrast colored yarn so you can more easily see what’s going on.
The first thing to do is to cut your yarn after the last row of your pattern, leaving a tail about 3-4 times the width of the toe. Thread this tail through a tapestry needle. Place half your stitches on one dpn (front), and the other half on a second dpn (back).
Preliminary Step 1: Insert your needle purlwise through the first stitch on the front dpn.
Pull the yarn through the stitch, leaving it on the dpn.
Preliminary Step 2: Insert your needle knitwise through the first stitch on the back dpn.
Pull the yarn through the stitch, leaving it on the dpn. Set-up is complete. Now for the repeating action of grafting!
Step 1: Insert your needle knitwise through the first stitch on the front dpn and let this stitch slide off the dpn.
Step 2: Insert your needle purlwise through the next stitch on the front dpn but do not slide off the dpn.
Pull the yarn through.
Step 3: Insert your needle purlwise through the first stitch on the back dpn and let this stitch slide off the dpn.
Step 4: Insert your needle knitwise through the next stitch on the back dpn but do not slide off the dpn.
Pull the yarn through.
Repeat steps 1 through 4. When I’m grafting, I always have this running through my head: “Knit, Purl, Purl Knit.” It helps to keep me on track. If you’re grafting for the first time, I definitely recommend having a quiet space in which to practice. Once you get the hang of it, it’s easy enough to visually know where you are in the process. But in the beginning, it does require a bit of concentration.
Heres what my practice toe looks like after a few more passes. You can see how the contrast yarn is forming a row of Vs, just like a row of stockinette stitch.
I didn’t tighten up my yarn enough while grafting, so the stitches look sloppy. But its okay! I can just take the tip of my tapestry needle and snug up the loose stitches, traveling the slack off to the side.
The final two steps when there is just one stitch remaining on each needle is: knitwise through the front stitch, purlwise through the back stitch. Pull the remaining yarn tail through. The end!
And actually, if you’re making a practice toe, you should definitely wear it on your face as a mask.
Remember, you can find the Series 2 12 Days of Winter Kit Patterns on Ravelry.
As you may have guessed, it’s not a recent picture. However, he’s still got that youthful spirit and twinkle in his eye. He still has a wicked sense of humor. And he’s astonished (in a good way!) that his little tomboy grew up to be such a prolific knitter. What’s better, he appreciates my knitting.
We all know there’s nothing like crafting for someone who truly cherishes what we’ve made. Dad’s great about that. When I made him his first pair, he proclaimed they were “like butter” and that he never knew socks could feel that good. Obviously, this is someone knitworthy.
When we got our first shipment of Allegro, a no-wool sock yarn, I knew this is what I’d be using for his 2017 birthday. It’s so smooth! I chose color 803 Slate Minstrel.
Knitting in the grass in summertime. Bliss.
Although there’s no wool content, Allegro has a bounce to it that makes it perfect for socks. They stay up and keep their shape nicely. Allegro would also be great for any projects where wool allergies are a concern, or for those who simply want to avoid animal products.
Ready to close the second toe!
As you can see, there was plenty in one ball to make a pair, and the striping matched pretty much perfectly. There’s enough left over that I could have extended the cuffs or made a larger size with no worries.
No, these are not my father’s legs.
My go-to pattern is Back to Basic Socks, a free pattern on our website for a cuff-down heel flap sock. It goes fairly quickly and stands up well to wear. It’s also a great starting point for those who want to customize by adding, say, an eye-of-partridge heel or patterning along the leg. For Dad’s socks, though, I kept it basic. Ribbed leg, plain heel, nice and simple. I knew he’d appreciate them just as they were.
Also not a recent picture of my Dad.
Dad’s birthday was at the end of January. Alas, I don’t have a picture of my dad with the socks, so please enjoy this picture of a previous birthday. Once again this year, he was delighted by his hand-knitted socks. And I am once again picking out yarn for his next pair.
We wish you joyful knitting for an appreciative audience.
Ho ho ho! Have you been very good? A little bit good? Well, Knitting Santa says you’ve been good enough, so we offer this holiday sock/stocking pattern as a gift!
812 Yule Time, with its classic red, white, and green color scheme, is used in the popular free Elfkin set for sizes 6 months to 6 years at right. We’re also partial to color 806 Emerald, which has a lovely blue spruce feel to it that fits right in under the tree.
These socks are worsted weight, knitted on US size 6(4mm) double-pointed needles. As you can see, they’re small enough to fit as socks great for sliding across the floor to see what Santa left you. They also include a small crochet loop so you’re free to hang them as stockings if you wish. We use size 6 needles for a tight fabric so no little gifts fall through the holes.
Knitted toe-up with a Turkish heel, one ball of Tapestry and one ball of Uptown Worsted 302 White Glow for the heels and toes ought to do it for small sizes. If your feet are longer than 9″, consider grabbing an extra ball of Tapestry. This handy guide to foot sizes from the Craft Yarn Council may be helpful in estimating, although I wear a US women’s size 8 1/2 or 9 with 9 1/2″ long feet and these socks fit me just fine.
We hope you have a great weekend of crafting and good times.
Infusion Handpaints is a 50/50 blend of acrylic and superwash merino wool, a good combination of softness and durability.
I picked some bright colors today to chase away the winter blahs. Wouldn’t these be great for a machine washable children’s garment? Of course, if you want something more grownup you could try the Painted Wings Shawlette shown at right, a nice single skein project.
This stitch pattern on the sock swatch uses the same yarn-crossing principle as the smocked stitch on our Jubilation Kettle Dye sample a couple of weeks ago, but it’s even easier. It goes like so, over a multiple of four:
Round 1: Knit.
Round 2: *K2, with yarn in front slip 2 purlwise* over round.
Round 3: Knit.
Round 4: *With yarn in front slip 2 purlwise, k2* over round.
It’s good “on the go” knitting since it’s so easy to memorize. This sample is 56 stitches on a US Size 2 needle, so the rest of the sock should go pretty quickly. The Infusion Handpaints page has a couple of socks patterns using size 3 needles and a 48 stitch leg for even more instant gratification.
We’re fans of this yarn here in the office, and we have good things in the works for it – stay tuned for more details!
