Hannah sock pattern

I have written the pattern - finally!! Please inform me of any missing instructions & I will correct. Also, remember - this is my first time actually writing
a pattern for knitting, please bear with me. These instructions are for a anklet or sport-style short sock, knit from the top down - if you want a longer sock, simply knit in the lace pattern stitch until you reach the length desired. Most "normal" sox are 6" - 7" long from top of cuff to top of heel flap. I'm also including tips I found very helpful in learning how to knit sox. Those of you with previous experience may find me a bit long-winded, but to the beginner - I hope they help you like they did me - to truly understand the construction of a hand-knitted sock. A very good sock tutorial can be found on Knitty.com - here's the addy of the article: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEspring05/FEATsocks101.html

I used size 3 (US) double pointed needles and a sportweight yarn, I think. As I said before - it was something I bought off Ebay from an estate sale. It seemed slightly thicker than sock or fingering yarn. Gauge was 7 sts per inch/9 rows per inch (I knit a little on the tight side).

Cast on 48 stitches using preferred method. This sock fits a medium with foot (the lace pattern stretches nicely) - if you need a wider sock, cast on your increases in multiples of 6 sts to accomodate the lace pattern. Divide stitches in multiples of 6 onto 3 or 4 needles, your choice. I most often use 4 needles, so I had 12 stitches on each needle. Join, being careful not to twist sts, and work in fave rib pattern (mine is done in 1 X 1) for 3/4" (2 cm) or approx 8 rows. Use stitch marker to remind you where the end of the round is.


LACE PATTERN - multiple of 6 stitches
ROW 1 - *K1, P1, YO, SSK, P1, K1* repeat until all sts used
ROW 2 - *K1, P1, K2, P1, K1* repeat
ROW 3 - *K1, P1, K2tog, YO, P1, K1* repeat
ROW 4 - WORK THE SAME AS ROW 2

Start & work in pattern stitch for approx 1 1/2" (4 cm) or longer, depending on the length of sock you want. When desired length is reached, divide sts onto 3 needles - 1/2 the # of total sts on 1 needle, the other 1/2 split between 2 needles. On mine, it was 24 sts on 1st needle, 12 sts ea on needles 2 & 3.

Work heel flap in desired heel stitch. Traditionally, a heel stitch is:
ROW 1 - Slip 1st stitch, K1, *Sl1, K1* repeat
ROW 2 - Slip 1st st, purl across back of row
Repeat until heel flap is desired size, ending on WS row.

I used the Eye of Partridge heel stitch, tho - I think it's very pretty plus sturdy!

EYE OF PARTRIDGE HEEL STITCH
ROW 1 - Slip 1st st, K1, *Sl1, K1* repeat
ROW 2 - Slip 1st st, purl across back of row
ROW 3 - Slip 1st TWO sts, *K1, Sl1* repeat, end with K2
ROW 4 - WORKED SAME AS ROW 2
Repeat these 4 rows until heel flap is desired size, usually about 2 1/4" (5 1/2 cm) or a square shape, ending on WS row. If the person who wears sox has very high instep, you may want to make it a little longer.

TURN HEEL - this is easy, once you get used to it. Scared me @ first, but no more. A good tip I found online was that no matter how many sts your heel flap is, knit approx 2/3 of them on 1st row before doing the dec stitch. Then on 2nd row, purl about 1/3 of total # of heel flap sts before doing dec st. Hope that helps.
On 24 st heel flap: ROW 1 - Knit 1st 16 sts, K2tog, K1, turn work
ROW 2 - Purl 1st 8 sts on needle, P2tog, P1, turn work
ROW 3 - Knit all sts til you reach gap caused by dec on prev row, K2tog over gap (close it, in other words, by knitting st before & after gap together), K1, turn work
ROW 4 - Purl to gap, P2tog over gap, P1
Continue in this manner until all sts have been worked, end up with approx 10 sts. End on RS row.

PICK UP HEEL GUSSETT STITCHES - easy rule of thumb here: pick up 1/2 the # of rows that are in your heel flap. Ex: If heel flap is 28 rows long, pick up 14 sts down the side of the heel flap. I usually pick up an extra stitch down in that corner where the pattern stitch starts again, so I don't get a hole there (approx 38-39 sts on needle now). Continuing around needles, work the pattern stitches in the patt stitch all onto one needle (24 sts). Using spare needle, pick up 14-15 sts along opposite side of heel flap and knit 1st 12 sts onto needle (38-39 sts).

DECREASE ROUND
Needle 1: Knit to last three stitches, k2tog, k1
Needle 2: Knit in lace pattern stitch
Needle 3: K1, SSK, knit to end of needle

Alternate decrease rounds and even (lace pattern) rounds until you're back to the number of stitches you cast on originally.

Work in 1/2 lace pattern and 1/2 stockinette stitch until sock measures approx 5 1/2" (14 cm) from heel flap for ladies size medium, 6 1/2" (13 1/2cm) for ladies size large. Now you're ready for the toe decreases, which will be all in stockinette stitch. Remember that center of the round is the center of the heel. Make sure your stitches are distributed as follows: 1/4 of the stitches on Needle 1 starting at the center of the round, 1/2 of the stitches on Needle 2 (these are the stitches for the top of the foot), and the remaining 1/4 on Needle 3.

WORK DECREASE ROUND
Needle 1: Knit to last 3 stitches, K2tog, K1.
Needle 2: K1, SSK, knit to last 3 stitches, K2tog, K1.
Needle 3: K1, SSK, knit to end of needle.
Work an even round.
Alternate decrease rounds and even rounds until 8 stitches remain.

Graft toe together using Kitchener stitch or do what I do & don't graft @ all! Thread length of yarn thru tapestry needle, run thru loops on "live" stitches, twice, draw tightly and end off, weaving in ends of yarn. More on non-grafting toes here: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter08/FEATgraft.php

You're done - now go & make the 2nd sock!!

My bad!!

Ooohhh - I didn't post anyhting yesterday!! And I was @ the computer most of the day. Just lazy, I guess. No - really, I didn't have much to blog about - not unless you wanna hear about my daily irritation from a 90+ woman I live with. But, hey - I gripe about that enough as it is!! LOL It's fine, tho - spent most of yesterday watering the grass, big job that!! Me turning on the hose, turning it off & moving the sprinkler, turning it back on, then back off & REsetting the sprinkler to a new, more perfect spot, turning the water back on, checking to see that all areas of the sod are getting wet ----- more work to it then you might think, especially when you have someone w/OCD working on it!! ;~)

I did spend a lot of time looking at & working on designs for my new sox. Not so much time knitting yesterday afternoon, tho I did knit a swatch to see if I liked a pattern I had worked out on graph paper (I didn't). Seems I like to use graph paper to chart designs, as long as they are knit & purl stitches only - no yarnovers, or k2tog's. But I don't like to read them, at all - I take the design I came up with & immediately translate it to text knitting instructions. Don't know that I'll ever get past that - I've been skipping over any pattern stitch that looked especially difficult & especially if it was charted. Hmmm - but then again, I never thought I'd knit sox, either. Who woulda thunk it??

I really want to design patterns that are all my own, tho - I might borrow a stitch pattern, but my goal will be to change it up somewhat so that it's unique. And I really wanna try to stay as simple as possible. To me - that is the whole joy of making sox, along with the fact that they are a very easy project to carry anywhere. If a pattern repeat isn't too long, it can be memorized, like the lace pattern on the Hannah sox - and patterns keep the sox from being off-the-wall B-O-R-I-N-G, in my opinion. Of course, making shorter legged sox helps with that, too.

I was telling someone about my blog yesterday @ church (yes - the Dragon Lady believes in God & attends worship & Bible study on a regular basis) and when I mentioned my goal was to post my patterns for free, they suggested I sell them instead. I thought about that for about half a minute, then decided no - I had started this blog with the intention of making new patterns for sox and posting them for free, and that's the way it will remain. However, first I need to actually POST a pattern!! LOL But that should happen later this week - I just want Hannah & Corbin to model their sox so I can take a nice pic to show with the patterns.

So - stay tuned, folks!! The best is yet to come!

Peace, dudes & dudettes!!

Newest Sock

Yup - the new sock is coming along nicely. I was gonna make it the first in my line of Dragon Sox, but have decided I don't want the Saphira to be the color this sock is. Altho, it is a beautiful sock!! Think I'll just name it Hannah after the person it's made for (she wondered why I hadn't named it that, anyway!! LOL). I'm almost done with the first one (doing the toe now) so here it is. Sorry for the image - cell phone camera, what can I say? But I'm @ work & it's all I have!! One of these days, I'll get it all figured out. But this is the Hannah sock - I'll post a pattern for it later. It's a short sock, which are SO quick to knit, but the pattern could be easily extended to a longer sock. The lace pattern draws the sock up a bit, so it looks a little narrow, eh? But I tried it on Hannah last nite (yes - the dreaded algebra homework has started already......) and it fits just fine. The lace part stretches out & looks even lovelier, if I do say so myself!! It should make for a well-fitting sock, too. The yarn is from a yarn cake I got on Ebay with a bunch of other yarn in a mixed lot. No idea what it's made of but the colors are pretty, aren't they? I may be wrong, but I figured if someone went to the trouble of winding it into a cake, it's probably some kinda decent yarn. Hopefully. Well, if her mom washes them in cold water she should be fine. Here's a close-up of the lace pattern - it's very simple, just a 4 row repeat, which I love. Much easier to remember.

My goal is to be able to knit a sock (eventually) totally from memory & not have to drag out my general sock instructions - which I carry in my purse, by the way. Well, it's back to work now.

Peace, kids.