Knit for Victory

My dear friend Jack bought me a yarn voucher for my birthday last year and I promised myself that I’d make him a pair of socks from the yarn I bought. I’ve known Jack since college and one thing he’s always seemed to have is holy socks so I feel his feet deserve to have a lovely pair of thick socks to keep him warm.

I chose a manly khaki colour and decided on a rib pattern. However, as I’ve knit them up they look exactly like the sweater my brother’s action man had when we were kids, hence the name. It’s also a friendly dig at Jack who is many things but definitely not an “Action Man”!

As I know Jack wears his socks out, I decided on a super enforced heel that keeps the rib pattern.

Using Sock weight wool of your choosing CO 72 sts and split across 4 needles (18 per needle) – this can be amended providing it’s a multiple of 6.

Cuff:

Knit 4, Purl 2 – repeat to end of round
Continue pattern until cuff is desired length

Heel Flap
With 36 sts
1st row: Sl1, K1, Sl1, K1, Sl1 purl wise (with yarn in front), P1 – repeat until last st, P tbl
2nd row:  Sl1, K1, P4, K2, P4 – repeat until last st, Ktbl
Repeat these rows 17 more times

Turning the heel
1st row: K22, ssk, k1, turn
2nd row: Sl1  purlwise, P8, p2tog, p1, turn
3rd row: Sl1, K until 1 st before gap, ssk, k1, turn
4th row: Sl1 purlwise, P until 1 st before gap, p2tog, p1, turn
Continue in this manner until all heel sts are worked.

Gusset
pick up 18sts along heel flap, continue rib pattern across top 36 sts, pick up 18sts along other side of heel flap
Next and every other round until back to 72sts: K heel sts until 3 sts away from front 36 sts, k2tog, knit 36 top sts in rib pattern, k1, ssk of other side
Round 2: Knit all heel sts, rib 36 top sts

Continue until 72sts in total (36 top of foot sts in rib, 36 bottom sts in stocking stitch)

Next round: Increase ribbing down each side of foot by purling 2 sts before top 36 and k4, p2 on first 6 sts after 36 sts – this creates a more attractive integrated ribbing on the top of the foot.

As these are for a man with fairly long toes, I did the first 3 decrease rounds over 9 rounds rather than 6.
First round (with sts split equally over the needles with split in the middle of the sock and at the exact edges) Needle 1 is left hand side of bottom of sock
Needle 1: knit to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1
Needle 2: k1, ssk, knit to end
Needle 3: knit to last 2 sts, k2tog, k1
Needle 4: k1, ssk, knit to end
Next 2 rounds: Knit all stitches
Repeat twice more
After this, continue decrease round every other round until 18 sts are left on the front of the sock and 18 sts left on the bottom.
Finish in Kitchener stitch

These were almost called Grandmother’s Footsteps as they’re bed socks for my Grandmother who is 88 and gets cold feet in bed but as I started to knit them up, the yarn started to resemble Raspberry Ripple Ice cream. I dyed the yarn (organic Australian merino from Briana Llae – gorgeous yarn http://www.bknitwear.com)

Using 3mm needles CO 64 sts, join in the round and split equally over 4 needles
K2,P2 rib for an inch
Lace Pattern
This is an 11st lace pattern worked over 16sts on each needle, for the first sock K3 at the beg of each needle and K2 at the end of each needle. For the 2nd sock K2 at the beg, and K3 at the end. This helped me reverse the pooling around the ankle (although that might have been luck!). It’s also an 8 round stitch repeat, for each of counting I’ve used this to base the length of each section.

Round 1: P2, k2tog, [k1, yf] twice, k1, sl1, k1, psso, p2
Round 2 and every alt row: P2, k7, p2
Round 3: P2, k2tog, yf, k3, sl1, k1, psso, p2
Round 5: P2, k1, yf, sl1, k1, psso, k1, k2tog, yf, k1, p2
Round  7: P2, k2, yf, sl1, k2tog, psso, yf, k2, p2
Round 8: as round 2

Repeat these 8 rounds 2 more times (you’ll have 3 ‘crosses’)

Heel flap
With 32 sts continue lace pattern, reversing stitches on the wrong side:  (P3, K2, P7, K2, P5, K2, P7, K2, P2)
Continue for 24 rows (3 x pattern repeat)

Heel
First row: K19, SSK, k1, turn
Next row: Sl1, P7, P2tog, P1, turn
Next row, K until 1 st from gap, SSK, K1, turn
Continue until all heel stitches are worked (20 sts on needle)

Gusset
Pick up 14 sts along side of flap, knit in lace pattern (you’ll be on Round 1 of the pattern) across front 32 stitches, pick up 14 sts along other side (80 sts in total – 32 for front of socks, 48 for bottom of foot). Beginning of each round will now be in the middle of the sole of the foot.

Next round: Knit across sole until last 3 sts, k2tog, knit Round 2 of lace pattern across 32sts, k1, ssk knit to end.
Round 2: knit all sole stitches and continue in lace pattern on top of sock.
Continue with these decreases until there are 16 sts on each needle.

Continue foot until it is the right length and start decreases

Next row (starting at the bottom of the foot needle 1):
Needle 1: Knit until 3 sts from end of needle. k2tog, Needle 2: K1, ssk, k until last 3 sts end of Needle 3 – k2tog and K1, Needle 4: k1, ssk, k to end of needle.
Knit across all stitches on the next 2 rounds then repeat decrease as above.
From then on decrease every other round until there are 32 sts – 16 on the top, 16 on the bottom
Bind off using kitchener stitch

These mittens were inspired by the Jaywalker socks by Grumperina, the first socks I ever knitted. When trying to decide what to call them I asked my OH (explaining about the sock pattern) and being a Star Wars fan he came up with Skywalker!
I love the Chevron and the way they stay up on your feet so I thought I’d experiment with some fingerless mittens. Rather than use some self striping yarn I thought I’d also experiment switching colours in the round. This pattern helps to ‘hide’ the small shift from each round. I found twisting the different colours at the round helped to reduce any gaps. The thumb gusset increases are slightly different to conventional ones, in order to keep the decrease pattern running up the thumb (see picture below).

I used 3 colours of Rowan 4 Ply soft (Blue – A, Rose – B, Pink – C) and 3mm DPNs

Abbreviations:
kfb: knit front and back of stitch
p2sso: pass 2 slip stitches over

Cast on 60 stitches with A and split 15 on each needle
Round 1: Knit all stitches
Round 2: [kfb, k5, sl2, k1, p2sso, k5, kfb] across each needle
Repeat these 2 rounds once more
Change to B and repeat the 2 rounds above 2
Change to C and continue in pattern

Continue switching colours B and C every 4 rounds until you’re happy with the length – the ones above have 5 colour repeats

Thumb Gusset
At the next colour repeat (knit round)

Round 1: (first needle) K5, kfb, k3, kfb, K5, knit all stitches on remaining needles
Round 2: (first needle) kfb,  k6, sl2, k1, psso, k6, kfb. (remaining needles) kfb, k5, sl2, k1, p2sso, k5, kfb
Round 3: (first needle) K5, kfb, k5, kfb, K5, knit all stitches on remaining needles
Round 4: (first needle) kfb, k7, sl2, k1, p2sso, k7, kfb. (remaining needles) kfb, k5, sl2, k1, psso, k5, kfb

Continue with the above decreases until there are 31 stitches on the 1st needle (continuing to switch colour every 4 rounds).

Next round: knit 5, put 21 stitches onto some waste yarn, CO 5 sts, rejoin to remaining 5 sts on 1st needle, knit round all stitches (60 sts)
Round 2: [kfb, k5, sl2, k1, psso, k5, kfb] across each needle
Continue in pattern, with colour changes until almost desired length. For last 4 rounds, return to original colour and cast off.

Rejoining thumb
Place stitches across 3 needles, there will now be 2 chevrons on the thumb, one along the front and one on the ‘back’ (closest to the fingers) so will need some ‘tweaking’ to ensure the pattern continues correctly, there will also only be 14 sts in each chevron, rather than the 15 for the rest of the mitten.

Round 1: k21, pick up and knit 7 stitches across gap
Round 2: k4, kfb, k4, sl2, k1, p2sso, k4, kfb, k4, sl2, k1, psso
Round 3: knit
Round 4: k4, kfb, k4, sl2, k1, p2sso, k4, kfb, k4, sl2, k1, psso

Continue until desired length, knitting the last 4 rounds in the original colour, cast off.

Sew in all ends and block to ensure the chevrons stay pointy. Although, as you can see from the picture, this works better at the wrist than at the fingers which tend to curl with movement.

I’ve finally made the leap into yarn dyeing with Kool Aid. It smells to high heaven but it’s pretty effective to dye with.

This pattern is with my first attempt – it’s Pink Lemonade, Grape, Cherry, Lemonade and Mandarin – I’m not 100% sure about the colourway but the lace pattern (from The Harmony Guide stitch book) shows it off rather well.

Using 3mm needles and sock weight yarn, Cast on 58 sts (the pattern is in multiple of 9 + 4)

Row 1 (wrong side): purl

Row 2: K2, *yf, K2, sl1, k1, psso, k2tog, yf, k1; rep from * to last st, k1

Row 3: purl

Row 4: K2, *yf, K2, sl1, k1, psso, k2tog, yf, k1; rep from * to last 2 sts, K2

Repeat these 4 rows

Simple but effective

I made three pairs of socks in the three sizes below, using the tiniest amount of yarn possible, including some leftover from a pair his mum had made herself so now they have matching socks!

Using 4ply sock yarn and 2.5 mm needles
Cuff:
CO 28 (32,36)sts, join in the round
k1, p1 for 4(6,6) rows
knit until desired leg length (about 5cm)

Heel flap:
K14 (16,18)sts, turn and purl to the end
Row 1: Sl1, k1 until last st – ktbl
Row 2: Sl1 purlwise, p to end
Row 3: Sl2, k1, sl1, knit 1 to last st – ktbl
Row 4: Sl1 purlwise, p to end
Continue until 14 (16,18) rows altogether (including first 2)

Heel shaping:
Knit 9 (11,13)sts, turn
Purl 3(5,7),p2tog,p1, turn
Knit to one st before the gap, ssk, k1, turn
Continue until all sts knitted.
Pick up and knit 14 (16,18) sts along right gusset, pm, knit 14 (16,18) sts across top of sock, pm, pick up and knit 14 (16,18) sts along right gusset and remaining heel sts.
Next round: k to last 3 sts before marker, k2tog, k1, knit until next marker, k1,ssk until end of round.
2nd round: knit every st
Repeat these 2 rounds until 14 (16,18) sts remain on the foot. 28 (32,36) sts in total
Continue until foot desired length (only a few more rounds!)

Toe decrease:
Ensure sts are evenly spread across the needles and in the centre of the sock.
1st round:
Needle 1 (left side,top of sock): k to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1.
Needle 2 (right side, bottom of sock): k1, ssk, knit to end of needle
Needle 3 (left side, bottom of sock): knit to last 3, k2tog, k1
Needle 4 (right side, top of sock): k1, ssk, knit to end of needle
Next 2 rounds: knit all stitches.
Repeat these three rounds until 12 (14,16) sts remaining – move so there are 6 sts on front needle and 6 on back needle – use kitchener stitch to finish.

I am officially a very rubbish blogger!
I’ve been really busy creating loads of mitten patterns recently that I must get the patterns up here so I can link them on Ravelry!

First off  are my Michigan Mitts. I bought the yarn in Michigan, I knitted them in Michigan (all over, from Royal Oak to Leland and many places in between) and them being mitt shaped (naturally) they look a lot like Michigan too.
I used Spud and Chloe Fine in Anemone (a word which always makes me think of Finding Nemo!) spud and chloe gorgeous yarn to knit with and lovely, lovely colours.

Using 3mm DPNs, cast on 48 stitches and joined in the round (for the rib repeat, use multiple of 4).
For every round: rib repeat of [K2,K1 tbl, P1], do however many rounds until you’ve got a cuff you’re happy with (mine is about 2 inches)

Thumb gusset:
Next round [K2,K1tbl, P1] once, kfb, K2, kfb continue round in rib repeat
Next 2 rounds [K2,K1 tbl, P1] once, knit next six stiches, continue rib repeat
Repeat these three rounds 4 more times (14sts in thumb gusset)
Next round [K2,K1tbl, P1] once, kfb, K2, kfb continue round in rib repeat (16 thumb gusset sts)
Next round K2,K1tbl, P1, thread 16 thumb stitches onto spare yarn and tie in loose knot, then join* knitting in rib repeat and continue in round

*I am not a fan of the way stitches ‘cast on’ here look so avoid them, it means the top of the mitt is slightly more narrow than the hand part but in my opinion this improves the aesthetic.

Continue to knit remaining 44 stitches in rib repeat until the desired length (mine are up to my knuckles) and cast off in rib.

Rejoining the thumb:
Divide thumb stitches across three needles, rejoin yarn and knit all stitches, pick up 5 stitches across inner thumb*
*I tend to pick up one extra stitch than I need at this point then decrease it on next row as this helps with the shaping, left with 20 stitches
Knit until 3-4 rounds from desired height
Next round K2, K1 tbl, P1 to end
Repeat for 2-3 rounds
cast off in rib

Make other glove
Repeat all of the above, however, instead of making thumb gusset on first needle after the round join, make it in the last needle to reverse the shaping,

Wear, enjoy, love

So Rob’s landed safely in Zurich and I’ve finally got time to write something in this here blog… the fact he’s away for a whole week hasn’t sunk in yet. There are loads of things I could be doing to pass the time but generally I think its going to be a whole lot of knitting/crocheting and felting (I might even get round to hennaing my hair again, at least you can still knit while you wait with henna)