So I made up another sock pattern for another friend who turned 30 in July

My plan last year was to try and make something for all my friends who’ve turned 30, rather than buy them something. The Skywalker mitts were for my old housemate Jessica and these socks were for my other housemate Jo.

Again, I’ve used some Kool Aid dyed yarn and the pooling of the colours is really lovely!

DISCLAIMER: I made these a while ago, forgetting to write the pattern down as I went so this is an estimated version of what I knitted – feel free to let me know if anything is wrong!

Using 3mm needles CO 62 sts, join in the round and split equally over 4 needles (16 and 15 sts on needles 1&2, 16 and 15sts on needles 3&4)
I felt the lace pattern shaping was too pretty to lose with a ribbed top so went straight into it.

Lace Pattern
This is the same lace fern pattern as I’d used for the scarf previously. As the pattern calls for multiples of 9 (+4) it took some working out to knit in the round. It’s basically 27sts+4 x 2

Round 1: knit
Round 2: Needles 1&2: K3, *yf, K2, sl1, k1, psso, k2tog, yf, k1; rep from * to last st, k1 Needles 3&4: repeat pattern as per needles 1&2
Round 3: knit
Round 4: Needles 1&2: K2, *yf, K2, sl1, k1, psso, k2tog, yf, k1; rep from * to last 2 sts, K2Needles 3&4: repeat pattern as per needles 1&2

Repeat these 4 rows until desired leg length ending on Round 4

Heel flap
With 31 sts on needles 1&2 continue lace pattern, except purl Row 1 and 3 instead of knit it
Continue for 2.5 inches

Heel
First row: K20, 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

Gusset
Pick up 15 sts along side of flap, knit in lace pattern (you’ll be on Round 1 of the pattern) across front stitches, pick up 15 sts along other side. Beginning of each round will now be in the middle of the sole of the foot.

Next round: Needle 1 – Knit across sole until last 3 sts, k2tog, Needles 2&3 – knit Round 2 of lace pattern, Needle 4 – 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 62sts on each needle (31sts on top, 31 on bottom)

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 30 sts – 15 on the top, 15 on the bottom
Bind off using kitchener stitch

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 and 2.5mm 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.

Toe Decrease
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 Kool Aid.

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 ease 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.(32st lace pattern on top, 32 sts for sole)

Continue foot until it is 2.5″ from the end of your toes (or longer if you have long toes!) 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 in total – 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 twice.
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 13sts in each chevron, rather than the 15 for the rest of the mitten.

Round 1: k21, pick up and knit 5 stitches across gap
Round 2: k4, kfb, k4, sl2, k1, p2sso, k4, kfb, kfb, k4, sl2, k1, p2sso
Round 3: knit
Round 4: k4, kfb, k4, sl2, k1, p2sso, k4, kfb, kfb, k4, sl2, k1, p2sso

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.

January 2012 – have amended the thumb notes so the maths makes sense!

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.