KNITTED SLEEPING SOCKS
These socks are for the 8.5" sole, so for the 9.5" add six extra stitches [each side,
so 12 in all] when casting on and remember to work these between the toe and heel
stitches when doing the shaping the remainder of the instructions need not be altered.
Materials required:
2oz '"Greenock" Sun Wool. [should give 6 st/1"]
A few yards of Rabbit Wool. [angora - not essential, but
makes them prettier]
1 pair long Bone Knitting Needles, No 9 [US #5, 3.75mm]
Abbreviations: k., knit plain; p., purl; m., make; sl., slip;
st., stitch ; tog., together. Directions in brackets are worked the number of
times stated immediately after the brackets.
Begin at the sole, casting on 80 sts. [92 for 9.5"] and k. 4 Begin at the sole, casting
on 80 sts. [92 for 9.5"] and k. 4 rows. Next row : k. 2 heel sts., k. into front and back
of next st. to increase one, k. 34 [40], k. into front and back of next st., k. 3
toe sts., k. into front and back of next st., k. 34 [40], k. into front and back of next st.,
k. 3 heel sts. [use markers after 1st and 3rd increases, and before 2nd and 4th, or
it's very confusing]
*, K. one row plain, then repeat the increase row. Note that each time the
increase row is repeated one more heel st. is worked and two more toe sts. than on
the last increase row. The second increase row will therefore have 3 heel sts. at the
beginning, 5 toe sts. and 4 heel sts. at the end of the row. Repeat from * until there
are 112 [124] sts., then k. 11 rows plain. Next row : K. 65 [71], k. 2 tog., turn. *,
Sl. 1, k. 18, k. 2 tog., turn. Repeat from * until 38 [44?] side sts. remain at each
end of needles. Brioche knitting.-- The instep tab and the leg is now continued
in this type of knitting.
**, Sl. 1, (m. 1 by bringing the wool to the front of the needle, sl. 1, k. 2 tog.) 6
times, k. 2 tog., turn. Repeat from ** until 17 sts. remain at each end of needle.
Next row : Repeat the sts. in brackets until the end of needle is reached. Next
row : *, m. 1, sl. 1, k. 2 tog., repeat from * to end. Repeat this row 100 times or
length required. Remember that two rows of Brioche knitting appear as one row when
counting the plain knitted loops up the work. Next row : *, P. 1, k. 2 tog., repeat
from * to end.
Join on rabbit wool and work 2 rows of single rib. Cast off. Sew up the sole and
leg seam and turn over the top to the required. Work the second sock in the same
way.
MY SUGGESTIONS:
All my slipped stitches in this section are slipped purlwise. I prefer to graft the bottom
seam, so I cast on with scrap yarn. That leaves the stitches wrong for invisibly
grafting garter stitch, so knit half the first row with the scrap yarn, before joining in the
'real' yarn, leaving enough for the grafting.
The original toe is square. I think it looks nicer with the corners
rounded. I adjusted it:
After the 11 plain rows, k 61 [67], k 2 tog, k 1, turn. * Sl 1, k 11, k 2 tog, k 1, turn
Repeat from * with k 12 instead of k 11. Keep repeating the row, adding one k
stitch each row until you reach k 17.
The next row is then Sl 1, k 18, k 2 tog, turn as in the original pattern, and you
continue from there.
In the original pattern, the two sides of the brioche section of the
instep tab are not symmetric. This annoys me 8-). If it bothers you:
Adjust the toe by using one stitch fewer from the start - this
will leave you 17 stitches for the tab.
First (WS) row: sl 1 with yarn forward, yarn back, (k 2 tog,
yarn forward, sl 1) 5 times, k 2 tog, p 2 tog, turn.
Second (RS) row: sl 1 with yarn in back, (yf, sl 1, k2 tog) 5
times, yf, sl 1, (sl 1, k 1, pass slipped stitch over).
Repeat these two rows until end of instep tab. Continue with
original pattern.
I think this pattern would make nice baby booties, adjusting the
number of stitches and rows accordingly, but I don't have any tiny
feet around to measure, so you're on your own with this.
I used UK 4-ply, normally knit at 7 sts/1" on 3.25mm, US #4 - it made
a loose fabric. That's OK for bed socks and baby bootees but you
could make nice slipper socks for kiddies by adjusting the number of
stitches for the size, then using a thicker yarn for the garter stitch
parts, and a thinner one for the brioche parts, so it would look like
socks in slippers.
If you would prefer stockinette to garter stitch for the 'foot' part,
you'd need to reduce the number of rows. I'd suggest starting with 3
stockinette rows, then doing (2 increase rows, one plain) until you
have the required number of stitches, then 8 or 9 stockinette rows
before starting the instep tab. I haven't tried it myself, though.
Jenny Kosarew jkos@escher.demon.co.uk
from Reading, England
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