I have been trying to decide what to knit next and after looking though some of the half finished projects, I have and the list of things I have yet to do, I have decided that it might be a good idea to use up some of the leftover yarns I have in my stash. I am one of those people who save ever little scrap of left over yarn because there is always some off chance that I might possibly someday eventually find a use for it although I never do. Instead, the little balls and wads of yarn get thrown into a plastic bed roller and with time turn into a huge tangled mess of yarn that just takes up valuable real estate that I could be using to store new additions to my stash.
With the goal of using up this pile of extra remnants in mind, I decided to knit some socks for my son. In Denmark, babies are routinely set outside in their prams to sleep during the day. As long as they are properly dressed for the cold, they can sleep outside year-round. While cold toes are not a huge concern for me this time of year when the sun and good weather are a large part of our daily lives, this fall when I start back to work and have to rely on a daycare worker to pack him in to keep him warm, I would like to be able to have the peace of mind that the knowledge that I have given her to tools to do so can give. After looking through my stash, I found some leftover cashmere/wool blend that I could use to make my own little sock pattern that would A.: be super soft and warm enough to keep his little toes warm in the dead of the cold Danish winter, B.: be distinct enough NOT to be mixed up with other kids socks or booties in the daycare by incredibly busy daycare employees and C.: well… were just cool to look at. So here is what I came up with:
D-man’s Argyle Socks
Size:
1 –2 year
Yarn and amount of needed:
A DK weight wool yarn. Type in pattern is Absolute 70% superwash wool/ 30% cashmere blend i bought at Lyngaard Garnbutik for my Not So Baby Yoda project. A few other yarn suggestions could be:
- Rowan 4 ply Soft
- Cascade 220 Superwash
- RYC Cashsoft 4 ply
- Lion Brand Wool-Ease
- It’s really up to you :-)
Color A: > 25 grams Color B: > 25 grams
Gage:
5 x 5 stitches per inch
Needles:
4.00 mm (US 5) circular needles or to obtain gage
3.75 mm (US 4) circular needles or needles one size smaller than those used to obtain gage
(if you are a DPN fan, of course you should use those, but keep in mind that the directions below are for circular needles)
So let’s start the fun:
Ribbing:
In Color A, cast on 36 on 3.75 mm needles (or those one size smaller than those used for the body of the socks) and join to knit in the round. If you are using dpn, do this over 4 active needles so there will be 9 stitches on 4 needles. If you are going this on round needles, cast on so the stitches are evenly divided so that you have 18 on each needle.
Knit a single rib (k1, p1) in the round until you have a 1 cm length of ribbing.
Sock Body:
Switch to 4.00 mm needles (or those used to obtain gage) and knit one row in Color B.
From this point onward, you will be knitting an argyle pattern. Follow the chart below, starting at the bottom for a total of 10 rows:
(Color A is blue, B is green in the chart)
Turning the Heel:
Ultimately you can do this any way you want to, as long as you make the heel of the sock over 18 stitches. If you prefer to do it as an afterthought heel, you can do that by either placing the stitches on a piece of waste yarn or a stitch holder. There is a good resource at woolworks.org for different styles and methods for heels. I like a really pointy heel, so below are the directions for the sock pictured above:
Row 1: On the RS, knit 17 stitches. Keep the last stitch on the left needle and turn the work.
Row 2: Sl st, purl to last stitch. Turn work.
Row 3. sl st, knit to last stitch. Turn work.
Repeat rows 2-3 until you have 6 active stitches (this should be after you have knitted 12 rows on the heel.
Row 13: k5, K2tog, M1B. Turn work.
Row 14: Sl st, p6, ssp, M1F. Turn work
Row 15: Sl st, k7 K2tog, M1B. Turn work.
Row 16: Sl st, p8, ssp, M1F. Turn work.
Row 17: Sl st, k9 K2tog, M1B. Turn work.
Row 18: Sl st, p10, ssp, M1F. Turn work.
Row 19: Sl st, k11 K2tog, M1B. Turn work.
Row 20: Sl st, p12, ssp, M1F. Turn work.
Row 21: Sl st, k13 K2tog, M1B. Turn work.
Row 22: Sl st, p14, ssp, M1F. Turn work.
Row 23: Sl st, k15 K2tog, M1B. Turn work.
Row 24: Sl st, p16, ssp, M1F. Turn work.
Row 25: Sl st, k17 K2tog, M1B. Turn work.
Row 26: p 18 – end of heel
Continuing body:
Now that you have turned the heel, you should have 36 active stitches evenly divided on your needles. Knit the chart above again one more time, starting at the bottom. Once you’ve completed the chart, repeat the first row of the chart (marked with a 1) for a total of 11 rows.
(half way through the body – It’s beginning to look a lot like argyle…)
Now knit one row of Color B.
Toe and Shaping:
Switch to Color A.
Row 1: K1, SSK, knit to last 3 st, K2tog, K1
Row 2: Knit all.
Repeat rows 1-2 until you have 16 active stitches (8 on each circular needle).
Use Kitchener Stitch to close toe.
And that’s it! Easy and extra warm. Enjoy!
I don’t usually write down what I am doing when I am working without a pattern, so if you have any corrections, please include them in a comment and I will incorporate them in the pattern
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