You may remember back in March I had fun with undyed yarn and Kool-Aid, and ended up with a beautiful (if I say so myself!) skein of blue and cream sock yarn. It was originally intended to be the background colour in a sock design for submission to an online publisher. I knitted up the sample sock and submitted my design, but unfortunately the publisher decided not to go ahead with the pattern collection after all. I was left with a part-finished pair of socks (one sock is not much help really) and a draft version of the pattern.
After a bit of thought and putting the sock into and out of a drawer, I decided I loved the yarn more than I loved the pattern and decided to re-purpose it rather than make the second sock. In a move very rare indeed for me, I frogged the sock.
However, that also created a problem as I had only dyed up one 50g skein which isn't enough for a pair of socks for myself. I toyed with striping it with something else, and then my problem was solved by my five-year-old asking for another pair of knitted socks. I can easily get socks for him out of one skein, and since he has admired this colourway frequently since I dyed it, I decided to use it to make his socks.
And here they are!
After a bit of thought and putting the sock into and out of a drawer, I decided I loved the yarn more than I loved the pattern and decided to re-purpose it rather than make the second sock. In a move very rare indeed for me, I frogged the sock.
However, that also created a problem as I had only dyed up one 50g skein which isn't enough for a pair of socks for myself. I toyed with striping it with something else, and then my problem was solved by my five-year-old asking for another pair of knitted socks. I can easily get socks for him out of one skein, and since he has admired this colourway frequently since I dyed it, I decided to use it to make his socks.
And here they are!
They are just basic "plain vanilla" top-down socks, but here is the pattern anyway.
To fit a child with UK size 10 feet - approximately 7" foot length, and 6.5" foot circumference - 4-5 years old or thereabouts
You will need about 165 yards of fingering weight/4-ply weight yarn, and 2.5mm needles for working in the round. You will also need 2 stitch markers and a darning needle.
The pattern uses common knitting abbreviations.
K - knit
P - purl
Sl - slip
K2tog - knit two stitches together
P2tog - purl two stitches together
SSK - slip slip knit (slip two stitches one-by-one knitwise, return to left needle and knit together through back loop)
Socks are identical - make two! Once markers are placed, slip them each time you come to them. The start of round marker does not move when you switch to working flat for the heel or when you then switch back to the round for the foot.
Cuff
Cast on 48 sts and join in the round, taking care not to twist. Place marker for start of round.
Rib round: *(K1, P1), repeat from * to end.
Work Rib round 10 times in total.
Leg
Working in stocking stitch (i.e. knit all stitches), work 30 rounds.
Heel flap
The flap is worked back and forth in rows across 24 stitches.
Row 1: Sl1, K23
Row 2: *(Sl1, P1), repeat from * to end.
Work rows 1 and 2 eleven more times (12 in total).
You will now turn the heel, still working back and forth in rows.
Row 1: K16, K2tog, turn
Row 2: P9, P2tog, turn
Row 3: K9, K2tog, turn
Row 4: P9, P2tog, turn
Repeat rows 3 and 4 until all the live stitches either side of the centre group of stitches have been worked.
You will now return to working in the round.
Knit across heel stitches, pick up and knit 12 stitches from side of heel flap, place "side" marker, knit across instep stitches to "start of round" marker, pick up and knit 12 stitches from side of heel flap, knit all the way back around to the "start of round" marker. You will now have 24 stitches straight across the instep and 34 stitches around the heel.
Gusset
Round 1: K1, K2tog, K to 3 stitches before side marker, SSK, K1, K across instep stitches to start of round marker.
Round 2: K all round.
Repeat rounds 1 and 2 until there are 24 stitches across the instep and 24 stitches around the heel.
Foot
Work straight in stocking stitch without further shaping for 32 rounds. (If you need the foot longer, add extra rounds here)
Toe
Round 1: K1, SSK, K to 3 sts before side marker, K2tog, K1, K1, SSK, K to 3 sts before start of round marker, K2tog, K1.
Round 2: K all round.
Repeat rounds 1 and 2 until there are 12 stitches remaining on instep and heel stitches.
Using Kitchener stitch, graft toe closed.
And the name? Well, I knitted each of these socks in less than 4 hours. In theory, I could knit the entire pair in a full working day, with a break for lunch. In reality, I wouldn't recommend anybody knit for a solid 8 hours in one go unless they want to end up with very sore hands, wrists and shoulders, but it just goes to show that knitting projects can be quick and still achieve a finished article.
To fit a child with UK size 10 feet - approximately 7" foot length, and 6.5" foot circumference - 4-5 years old or thereabouts
You will need about 165 yards of fingering weight/4-ply weight yarn, and 2.5mm needles for working in the round. You will also need 2 stitch markers and a darning needle.
The pattern uses common knitting abbreviations.
K - knit
P - purl
Sl - slip
K2tog - knit two stitches together
P2tog - purl two stitches together
SSK - slip slip knit (slip two stitches one-by-one knitwise, return to left needle and knit together through back loop)
Socks are identical - make two! Once markers are placed, slip them each time you come to them. The start of round marker does not move when you switch to working flat for the heel or when you then switch back to the round for the foot.
Cuff
Cast on 48 sts and join in the round, taking care not to twist. Place marker for start of round.
Rib round: *(K1, P1), repeat from * to end.
Work Rib round 10 times in total.
Leg
Working in stocking stitch (i.e. knit all stitches), work 30 rounds.
Heel flap
The flap is worked back and forth in rows across 24 stitches.
Row 1: Sl1, K23
Row 2: *(Sl1, P1), repeat from * to end.
Work rows 1 and 2 eleven more times (12 in total).
You will now turn the heel, still working back and forth in rows.
Row 1: K16, K2tog, turn
Row 2: P9, P2tog, turn
Row 3: K9, K2tog, turn
Row 4: P9, P2tog, turn
Repeat rows 3 and 4 until all the live stitches either side of the centre group of stitches have been worked.
You will now return to working in the round.
Knit across heel stitches, pick up and knit 12 stitches from side of heel flap, place "side" marker, knit across instep stitches to "start of round" marker, pick up and knit 12 stitches from side of heel flap, knit all the way back around to the "start of round" marker. You will now have 24 stitches straight across the instep and 34 stitches around the heel.
Gusset
Round 1: K1, K2tog, K to 3 stitches before side marker, SSK, K1, K across instep stitches to start of round marker.
Round 2: K all round.
Repeat rounds 1 and 2 until there are 24 stitches across the instep and 24 stitches around the heel.
Foot
Work straight in stocking stitch without further shaping for 32 rounds. (If you need the foot longer, add extra rounds here)
Toe
Round 1: K1, SSK, K to 3 sts before side marker, K2tog, K1, K1, SSK, K to 3 sts before start of round marker, K2tog, K1.
Round 2: K all round.
Repeat rounds 1 and 2 until there are 12 stitches remaining on instep and heel stitches.
Using Kitchener stitch, graft toe closed.
And the name? Well, I knitted each of these socks in less than 4 hours. In theory, I could knit the entire pair in a full working day, with a break for lunch. In reality, I wouldn't recommend anybody knit for a solid 8 hours in one go unless they want to end up with very sore hands, wrists and shoulders, but it just goes to show that knitting projects can be quick and still achieve a finished article.
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