I’ve been working something out, albeit slowly. I have said that I don’t have a lot of sock-making experience and that’s true. But I have enough to know that plain stockinette socks never stay up properly for me. I almost always use a rib stitch all the way down (and around) the leg and down the top of the foot (for continuity). It works to keep the sock from getting slouchy and it works with variegated yarns as the ribbing doesn’t interfere with the yarn’s own patterning.
However, it does get a little boring. I could certainly get some solid sock yarn and probably will in time - but what I have on hand is self striping/patterning. How can I jazz that up a bit without making a visual mess?
I was inspired, in part, by Colleen’s and Rainy’s comments on Wednesday’s post. Colleen had said “To me, the idea is to get nice looking socks, not nice looking individual stitches…” and Rainy’s comment was “I’ve discovered that razor shell is quite possibly the greatest stitch pattern ever for busy yarn… Together these have been working away in the back of my head and last night the notion popped to the fore.
Why not make a pair of socks based on the razor shell pattern? They would look wonderful in any of the “patterned” yarns I have and they wouldn’t be just a boring old rib stitch. Oh wait, there aren’t any purls in the pattern - not any kind of ribbing at all. They’ll just be slouchy and falling down all the time. Poop…
Well, not necessarily :) I sat down last night with pen and paper to do a little figuring. Myria always gets nervous when I do this because she knows it means I might be up till three in the morning, if I really get my brain going. As it happened, I was too tired for that - but I did work out some basic numbers that I think are going to work.
Razor shell, done in flat knitting, is a multiple of 10 + 1 and goes like this:
Row 1: K1, *yo, k3, sl1-K2tog-psso, k3, yo, k1; repeat from *, end K1
Row 2: Purl
Very simple and very pretty. In the round, for a sock, it’s simply a multiple of 10 (that “+1” was there to balance the edges of a flat knitted piece. Knitting in the round, there aren’t any edges so you don’t need it!)
In the round, on a multiple of 10 stitches, it would go like this:
Round 1: *K1, yo, k3, sl1-k2tog-psso, k3, yo; repeat from * around.
Round 2: Knit
I know for the size needles I’ll be using (European size 1 - 2.5mm) I’ll need around 68 - 70 stitches for the circumference of my sock and somehow, I want to work a few purl stitches in there at regular intervals so that there’s at least a nod to ribbing. Okay, if I replace the initial K1 in round one of the pattern, with a k2, p1, k2 (or possibly k1, p1, k1, p1, k1) - that gives me a bit of ribbing between each repeat of the razor shell pattern. Working that in also gives me a pattern repeat of 14 sts. 14 x 5 = 70.
Bingo! Perfect.
I didn’t start anything last night, but I woke up at 6:45 this morning with my brain going “Sock! Sock! Sock!” at me so I got up, gathered my paraphernalia into the kitchen (so I wouldn’t risk waking Myria) and went to work. I paused briefly around 7:30 to make a cup of tea and grab something sweet and nutritionally null and went back to work.
K2, P1 ribbing
I’m sorry there isn’t more to show you than that, but there will be - trust me, there will be :) Even if it turns out to be a bust, I’ll show the results of the razor shell experiment. But I don’t think it’s going to be a bust - I think it’s going to work:)
Meilenweit Multieffekt sock yarn by Lana Grossa
This is the yarn I’m using - a gift from Myria’s sister back in May. It’s pretty nice and the blues are gorgeous! Thanks again Donna :)
I love starting a new project! But you all knew that, didn’t you?
Hope your weekends are fine and fun :)
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Can’t wait to see what it looks like. I’ve only made one toeup pair of socks at my class and would love to try another. Post a picture as soon as we can see the pattern. You are clever…
Cool! Thanks for sharing your processing on this…I am excited to see how it turns out!
Lois - I will take pictures as I go along so ou can see what’s happening. I like the toe-up concept myself, but I wanted to do these top down for the patten’s sake :)
Heh - not clever so much as obssessed!
Lisa - It’s just numbers :) Myria says that’s what my crafting is about - juggling the numbers and watching the patterns that form. I’m not sure she’s wrong either :)
Mistake rib is another way to get something visually interesting and fun to knit. Works well to keep the socks up, too!
Oooh, quoted! :)
I think the pattern should work out fine. One thing I noticed in my latest socks, just to throw it out there for you: I’m not sure if it was the k3, p1 rib, but p1 doesn’t seem to be “stretchy” enough for me. It didn’t really seem to pull the sock in as much as, say, k2, p2. Once you get about 2 inches on, I’d try it on to see if it sits tight enough at your ankle (which is where my socks always fall down).
ha, a glimpse into the workings of robbyn’s mind!! you give all new meaning to the term ‘process knitter’ and it’s lovely to be allowed to go along with you for the ride-
i’ve been looking at far too many new sock yarns that i feel i *need* so i really should try to work through some of what i already have to make room on the shelf for more, more, more- this may have to be the year everyone gets socks for christmas- ack, and i never manage to fit anyone but myself! (umm, of course if the gift socks don’t fit the recipient, they can always return them to me- there might be a method in this madness)- i’ve been reading about all the knitters who are knitting socks for a secret swap and admiring how they are working through the ‘fitting’ situation-
stay happy-
Christina - Thanks for the idea - noted and filed :)
Colleen - I know what you mean - I generally prefer K2, P2 rib myself. It does seem to work better and isn’t as dreadfully tedious as K1, P1…
However, I have an odd number of stitches for the ribbing in the body of the sock and changing it would throw off the stitch count. So I’ll try this as is and we’ll see what happens. Maybe I should consider going down to size 0 needles to do the ankle? Say an inch or two before starting the heel? Hmmm…
Barb - I love imagining you up to your ears in sock yarn! So what would you like for Christmas - more socks or more sock yarn? Heheh…
oh awesome, I can’t wait to see the socks!
You swatch. I am in awe. I try to swatch but then my ferret frenzy kicks in and I have to stop and just start the project, thinking “Ohsureit’sFINEcloseenoughforgovernment work.” Sometimes with really frustrating results. I wish I were a patient knitter.
Can’t wait to see how this test comes out - am very interested! Good idea!
Rainy - LOL! Well, sometimes I swatch. Other times I do exactly what you described - jumping in with both feet. It’s kind of a toss-up and depends on whether I’m feeling adventuresome or scientific :)
Stasia - Well tune in Monday - I should have some pictures by then. Have you gotten your Alpaca yet? What do you think of it?
(Oops, lost my first attempt at posting a response—Now I’m trying again) Awesome idea for the self-striping yarn! I had to Google to get an idea what razor shell is; I’m still learning a lot about traditional patterns. What I saw online looks very pretty.
You might want to check out the Wyvern sock pattern at Marnie’s blog, if you like close-fitting socks; it has ribbing on the back of the legs and even along the bottom of the foot for a close fit, and it has shells on the front. Very pretty. I’m thinking of trying it in self-striping yarn myself, just out of curiosity.
I’m also looking at two of the Heartland Knits patterns—the Diamond Patch sock pattern or Fanning the Flame sock pattern. I think both would be fabulous in self-striping. (Maybe that’s what the patterns use; I don’t know. Haven’t ordered them. Yet.)
Good luck with your experimenting! I’m still trying to knit a sock that FITS my wide calf muscles; I’m not sure I’m experienced enough to alter a pattern. So far, all I’ve found is a sock pattern generator online that has an error at the heel and some socks at AmpleKnitters.com that look too big. So I’m still shopping—
Best - Carolyn B.
Hi Carolyn :) - Thanks for the interesting links, I hadn’t seen either the diamond patch or the fanning the flame patterns - they look like a lot of fun and perfect patterns for ss/p (self striping/patterning) yarn. I have also seen the Wyvern Socks. They’re based on a Barbara Walker pattern called Dragon Scales - one of my favorite stitch patterns of all times so I will definitely be trying them out at some point.
If you look at the pictures of the Heartstrings patterns, you can see that the yarn colors follow the angles and curves of the stitch patterns (as they hopefully do with the razor shell :). They don’t do this with the Wyvern socks which makes me worry that the stitch pattern and the ss/p yarn would fight with each other. I would probably make this one in a solid color.
The Lorna’s Laces colorway I am using for my razor shell sock is “child’s play” and it seems to be striping in a nice predictable pattern, except for some color pooling at the ball and heel of the foot. It’s about 2-3 rows per stripe at the gauge/size I am working, so the razor shell is working beautifully.
I can’t wait to see your swatch!
Good to know about the Wyvern socks—no, I hadn’t noticed that. Thanks! ;o)
- Carolyn B.
Rainy - Good to hear you’re getting the results you want! I’m pleased do far with how things are turning out with mine. Show you Monday :)
Carolyn - But it’s still a gorgeous pattern and such a cool idea for socks! Just think - what couldn’t you do wearing dragon scales!
I too like a very form-fitted sock which can be hard to do in stockinette. I will generally do a couple of rib repeats on either side of the foot to snug it up but the top and bottom in st st.
Toni - Now that’s an interesting idea. And it doesn’t bother your feet when your shoes are on?
Most of my concern has to do with the leg - the ankle, specifically. I hate it to be baggy, so I generally do ribbing all down the leg, through the ankle part until I get to the heel. That seems to work for that area. To be honest, my feet are big enough so that the socks are usually snug enough on the foot :)
Hi Robbyn, I agree completely about the confusion that results when a busy yarn is used with a busy pattern. That said, I tried Kim Salazar’s Pine Tree sock (from the Wise Needle website) in a variegated Froehlich Blauband sock yarn. The Pine Tree pattern that she uses (and that I extended down over the top of the foot) seemed to organize the variation a little and looks very much like the razor shell to me. It was very interesting and saved the yarn for me, since i found it a bit too busy easy in stockinette. I had to frog it (didn’t fit well) but am going to be using it again in the same pattern. So I am eager to see the results of your sock project.
Rob - Okay, I went and looked at the Pine Tree socks and I can definitely see a similarity in the pattern . I’m sure it did work well with your Blauband. I may have to give that stitch pattern a try myself :)
