Seitenstreifen Socks

During the last couple of months I have experimented a lot with intarsia in the round - mainly to knit socks. However, I had failed on producing a sock with one uninterrupted intarsia stripe from top to bottom: I had trouble with the CO as well as with the heel. So I was quite pleased when I managed to solve these problems and finished these socks.
These socks are knitted from the cuff down with a shadow wrap heel and ergonomically shaped toes. For the color effect intarsia in the round is used. The pattern is written for Magic Loop Method (i.e. for an even distribution of stitches between two sides of a circular needle) - but it can be done with dpns as well (e.g. by using stitch markers).
Just a quick heads up: If you've never knitted socks before, this is probably not the best pattern to start with, because the intarsia work can be quite fiddly.

As to the name, Seitenstreifen is the German word for a curb or emergency lane of a highway - literally it translates to side-strip.

A big thank you to nordling (Ravelry name) who test-knitted the pattern and - in the process - eliminated quite a few of my mistakes. Tack så mycket!

This work by Knitting and so on is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.






Materials

• a total of about 60 to 80 grams of fingering weight yarn - 60 grams of the main color (MC) and 20 grams of the contrast color (CC).
• 2.25 mm or 2 mm circular needles to knit the ribbing - mine was 80 cm long
• 2.5 mm circular needles to knit the rest of the sock - mine was 80 cm long
• a tapestry needle to weave in ends

Gauge

In stockinette stitch, 17 stitches and 20 rows gave 5 cm.

Techniques and Notation

• Intarsia in the round with yarn-overs before turning: as shown in this YouTube video by Julia farwell-clay. Basically you knit back and forth even though your stitches are arranged in the round - and you have to consider rounds in pairs - one RS row and one WS row. You start with your main color (MC) on the RS, then - as in normal intarsia you change (by twisting the yarns) - to contrast color (CC) and knit your CC part, After finishing this you turn your work, make a yarn-over and do the WS with CC, when you get to the MC part you change back as in normal (flat) intarsia to MC.
  Now with MC you work your way on the WS not only to the start of the round, but further to the point where you ended the CC part. Here you p2tog the last MC stitch with the yarn over in CC. Then you turn - again with a yarn over - and do the RS part to the beginning of the round. That's the two round finished.
  When - during the next pair of rounds - you reach the new yarn over on the RS, you have to do an ssk of the last stitch in CC with the yarn over in MC.
  In this pattern the following notation will be used: "MC [k7]; CC [k23]" means knit 7 sts in MC, change to CC and knit 23 sts in CC, i.e. the color is indicated before the knitting instructions - the instructions are in square brackets and a semicolon indicates a change of color.
• Shadow Wrap Short Rows: as shown in this YouTube video by Lee Meredith. A video by Miriam Felton that shows how to do a heel with shadow wraps can be found here on YouTube. However, the heel knitted here is knitted slightly different because here there are two rounds between the two parts of the heel, i.e. there won't be any triple stitches.
• Magic Loop Method: as shown in this YouTube video by KnitPicks.
• Kitchener Stitch: e.g. as shown in this YouTube video by Very Pink Knits 
• When the instructions differ for different sizes, the instructions for sizes 32 - 35 will be given first, then for sizes 36 - 39 as the first number in brackets and for sizes 40 - 43 as the second number in brackets

General Construction
The Socks are knitted from the cuff down, i.e. you start from the ribbing at the top and finish with the toes.
Even though it is a sock and knitted in the round, there is a change of direction after every row. That's because it is knitted in intarsia where one round is knitted from the outside of the sock and the next from the inside. This means that at one point in the round you change the color just as in normal (flat knitted) intarsia knit, i.e. where you twist your two strands of yarn (called color changing point or CCP in the pattern) and at another point you attach the colors while you're turning by knitting together the last stitch of the current round with a yarn-over you did in the round below (called turning point or TP in the pattern). The Color Change Point needs to be on the back of the sock.
The picture below shows how the stitches are distributed on the front and back needle. Here, the first number indicates the number of stitches for socks in sizes 32 - 35, the first number in brackets for sizes 36 - 39 and the second number in brackets for sizes 40 - 43. It also shows two other significant points of your rounds, i.e. the two half points, where you switch from one side of the needle to the next - called half_CC on the CC side and half_MC on the MC side.

Stitch Distribution and Abbreviations

The color changing point never moves, i.e. every stitch is knitted in the same color as the stitch in the row below.


Instructions

Left Sock

Ribbing

With 2.25mm needles CO 14 in CC and CO 42 (46, 50) in MC. To make the CO loose enough for socks, I usually CO with both needles. Your piece should look like in photo 1. Turn your work, do NOT JOIN in round, yet.
Set-up row: MC [* k2, p2 repeat from * until 2 sts left to CCP , k2]; CC [* p2, k2 repeat from * until 2 sts from end, p2] - now your piece should look like in photo 2.

Starting on the end with the CC stitches, divide your stitches into three parts as follows: 7-28-21 (7-30-23, 7-32-25)  (see photo 3). The first and third part will be the front of the sock, the second part the back. Join in round.

Round 1 (outside): CC [yo, * k2, p2 repeat from * until 2 sts left to CCP, k2], MC [ * p2, k2 repeat from * until 2 sts left to TP, p1, p2togtbl], turn work  - please note: with the p2togtbl you join the last stitch knitted with MC with the yo in CC you did at the beginning of the round.
Round 2 (inside): MC [yo,  * k2, p2 repeat from * until 2 sts left to CCP, k2], CC [ * p2, k2 repeat from * until 2 sts left to TP, p1, p2tog], turn work -  again, with the p2tog you join the last knitted stitch of your round - in CC - with the yarn over in MC you did at the beginning of the round
Repeat rounds 1 and 2 four more times.

Illustrations - Left Sock

Shaft

Change to 2.5mm needles
Round 1 (outside): CC [yo, k to CCP], MC [k to last st before TP, ssk], turn - just as for the ribbing, the ssk combines the last st of the current row, with the yo from the beginning of the row
Round 2 (inside): MC [yo, p to CCP], CC [p to last st before TP, p2tog], turn
Repeat rounds 1 and 2 14 more times (or until the shaft is as long as you want it to be).


Heel

When knitting a short row heel, I usually increase the back "half" by two or three stitches to get a heel that is slightly wider. That's what is done during the first 6 rounds of the heel and this means that all the increases are on the side that contains the back stitches.

Round 1 (outside): CC [yo, k to half_CC and change to other side of needles, mk1, k to CCP], MC [k up to half_MC, mk1 and afterwards change sides, k to 1 bef TP, ssk], turn
Round 2 (inside): MC [yo, p to CCP), CC [p to 1 bef TP, p2tog], turn
Repeat rows 1 and 2 once more.
There are now four more stitches on the back part of the sock than on the front.

Now the short-row heel (with shadow wraps) is knitted only with the stitches of the back part. And since the working yarn is currently on the front part, you need to knit to the beginning of the back part first.

First Part
Row 1 (outside): CC [yo, k to half_CC and change to other side of needles - now you can start with the short row heel (the complete round will be finished later (#)], CC [k to CCP]; MC [k to 1 bef half_MC. knit into the mother stitch of the next st (i.e. do a shadow wrap), turn]
Row 2 (inside): MC [slip shadow wrap st, p to CCP); CC [p to 1 bef half_CC, purl into the mother stitch (i.e. do a shadow wrap), turn]
Row 3 (outside): CC [slip shadow wrap, k to CCP]; MC [k to 1 bef last shadow wrap, knit into the mother stitch of the next st, turn]
Row 4 (inside): MC [slip shadow wrap, p to CCP]; CC [p to 1 bef last shadow wrap, purl into the mother stitch of next st, turn]
Repeat rows 3 and 4 seven more times. Now all of your CC stitches have been shadow wrapped. The last bit will be knitted only in MC

Row 5 (outside): MC [slip shadow wrap, k to 1 bef last shadow wrap knit into the mother stitch of the next st, turn]
Row 6 (inside): MC [slip shadow wrap, p to 1 bef last shadow wrap, purl into the mother stitch of next st, turn]
Repeat rows 5 and 6 once (twice, three times) more

Picking Up the Shadow Wraps
While you knit the next two rounds make sure to knit/purl all double stitches that result from shadow wraps as one stitch.
Round 1 (outside): MC [k to last st before TP, ssk], turn - just as for the ribbing, the ssk combines the last st of the current row, with the yo from the beginning of the row
Round 2 (inside): MC [yo, p to CCP], CC [p to last st before TP, p2tog], turn - please note the last 7 sts (i.e. the stitch on the front part of the needles) are completing the round that was started with row 1 of the first part of the heel (#)

Second part
Row 1 (outside): CC [yo, k to half_CC and change to other side of needles - now you can start with the short row heel (the complete round will be finished later], CC [k to CCP]; MC [k12 (k13, k14) half_MC. knit into the mother stitch of the next st (i.e. do a shadow wrap), turn]
Row 2 (inside): MC [slip shadow wrap, p10, purl into the mother stitch of the next st (i.e. do a shadow wrap), turn]
Row 3 (outside): MC [slip shadow wrap, k to last shadow wrap and knit it, knit into the mother stitch of the next st (i.e. do a shadow wrap), turn]
Row 4 (inside): MC [slip shadow wrap, p to last shadow wrap and purl it, purl into mother of next st turn]
Repeat rows 3 and 4 or until the last stitch on the inside row is the stitch next to CCP.

Row 5 (outside): MC [slip shadow wrap, k to last shadow wrap and knit it, knit into the mother stitch of the next st (i.e. do a shadow wrap), turn]
Row 6 (inside): MC [slip shadow wrap, p to last shadow wrap and purl it]; CC [purl into mother of next st turn]
Row 7 (outside): CC [slip shadow wrap]; MC [k to last shadow wrap and knit it, knit into the mother stitch of the next st (i.e. do a shadow wrap), turn]
Row 8 (inside): MC [slip shadow wrap, p to CCP]; CC [purl to last shadow wrap and purl it, purl into mother of next st turn]
Row 9 (outside): CC [slip shadow wrap, k to CCP]; MC [k to last shadow wrap and knit it, knit into the mother stitch of the next st (i.e. do a shadow wrap), turn]
Row 10 (inside): MC [p to CCP]; CC [purl to last shadow wrap and purl it, purl into mother of next st turn]
Repeat rows 9 and 10 until the last shadow wrap is the stitch next to  half_MC (outside) and half_CC (inside).

Picking Up the Shadow Wraps
While knitting the next two rounds make sure to knit/purl all double stitches that result from shadow wraps as one stitch.
Round 1 (outside): CC [k to CCP]; MC [k to last st before TP, ssk], turn - just as for the ribbing, the ssk combines the last st of the current row, with the yo from the beginning of the row
Round 2 (inside): MC [yo, p to CCP], CC [p to last st before TP, p2tog], turn - please note the last 7 sts are completing the round that was started with row 1 of the second part of the heel

Now the increases that were made when beginning to knit the heel need to be decreased again.
Round 1 (outside): CC [yo, k to half_CC and change to other side of needles, ssk, k to CCP], MC [k up to 2 sts bef half_MC, k2tog and afterwards change sides, k to 1 bef TP, ssk], turn
Round 2 (inside): MC [yo, p to CCP], CC [p to 1 bef TP, p2tog], turn
Repeat rows 1 and 2 once more.
Now you're back to the original stitch number.

Foot

Round 1 (outside): CC [yo, k to CCP], MC [k to last st before TP, ssk], turn - just as for the ribbing, the ssk combines the last st of the current row, with the yo from the beginning of the row
Round 2 (inside): MC [yo, p to CCP], CC [p to last st before TP, p2tog], turn
Repeat rounds 1 and 2 until the foot (measured from the tip of the heel) measures 5 cm less than the desired length.

Toes

The picture below shows in which row the decreases are made on which side of the sock. For the first sock, it shows the front view - the back view is its mirror image. (For the second sock, it shows the back view).
That means that you knit the standard rounds (as in the foot part) with decreases around half_CC and half_MC when indicated.

Toe Decreases

Here are these 19 rounds spelled out - to mark the difference of normal rounds, the toe decreases are printed in boldface.

Round 1 (outside): CC [yo, k to CCP], MC [k to last st before TP, ssk], turn
Round 2 (inside): MC [yo, p to CCP], CC [p to 2 sts before half_CC, p2tog, p2togtbl, p to last st before TP, p2tog], turn
Round 3 (outside): CC [yo, k to CCP], MC [k to last st before TP, ssk], turn
Round 4 (inside): MC [yo, p to CCP], CC [p to 2 sts before half_CC, p2tog, p2togtbl, p to last st before TP, p2tog], turn

Round 5 (outside): CC [yo, k to CCP], MC [k to last st before TP, ssk], turn
Round 6 (inside): MC [yo, p to CCP], CC [p to 2 sts before half_CC, p2tog, p2togtbl, p to last st before TP, p2tog], turn

Round 7 (outside): CC [yo, k to 2 sts before half_CC, ssk, k2tog, k to CCP], MC [k to last st before TP, ssk], turn
Round 8 (inside): MC [yo, p to 2 sts before half_MC, p2tog, p2togtbl, p to CCP], CC [p to 2 sts before half_CC, p2tog, p2togtbl, p to last st before TP, p2tog], turn
Round 9 (outside): CC [yo, k to 2 sts before half_CC, ssk, k2tog, k to CCP], MC [k to last st before TP, ssk], turn
Round 10 (inside): MC [yo, p to CCP], CC [p to 2 sts before half_CC, p2tog, p2togtbl], turn
Round 11 (outside): CC/MC [k2tog]; MC [k to 1 bef CCP], MC/CC [ssk], turn

Now all CC sts have been decreased. The last rounds are MC only, this means all following rounds are all knitted from the outside and in MC - the points where you switch from one part of the needle to the other will be called half and end.

Round 12: k2tog, k to 2 bef half, ssk, k2tog, k to 2 bef end, ssk
Round 13: k2tog, k to 2 bef end, ssk
Round 14: k2tog, k to 2 bef end, ssk
Round 15: k2tog, k to 2 bef half, ssk, k2tog, k to 2 bef end, ssk
Round 16: k2tog, k to 2 bef end, ssk
Round 17: k2tog, k to 2 bef half, ssk, k2tog, k to 2 bef end, ssk
Round 18: k2tog, k to 2 bef half, ssk, k2tog, k to 2 bef end, ssk
Round 19: k2tog, k to 2 bef half, ssk, k2tog, k to 2 bef end, ssk

Now you have 8 (10, 12) sts on each needle.
Cut yarn and graft toes in kitchener stitch.

Weave in ends and block.

Right Sock
The right sock is a mirror image of the left one. Here's what you should do differently:

• CO in opposite sequence, i.e. CO 40 (46, 50) in MC and then CO 14 in CC.
• Basically, for the whole of the right sock, the colors are reversed, i.e. everytime the pattern for the left sock says MC it's CC for the right sock and vice versa.
• When knitting the heel, the last CC shadow wrap of the 1st part of the heel will appear on an outside row (as opposed to an inside row for the left socks), this means also that the first shadow wrap of the 2nd part of the heel will appear on an outside row.
• When knitting the toe a similar effect occurs: I.e. the first two rows of the toe read as follows:
  Round 1 (outside): MC [yo, k to CCP], CC [k to last st before TP, ssk], turn
  Round 2 (inside): CC [yo, p to CCP], MC [p to 2 sts before half_CC, p2tog, p2togtbl, p to last st before TP, p2tog], turn
  and Rows 10 and 11 (the last rows with CC) read as follows:
  Round 10 (inside): CC [yo, p2tog, p2togtbl], MC [p to 1 bef TP, p2tog], turn
  Round 11 (outside): MC [yo, k to 1 bef CCP], MC/CC [ssk], CC [k2tog (last st in CC together with yo], turn
  The schematic "Toe Decreases" shows the back view of the 2nd sock - the front part is its mirror image.

This blogpost was featured at Sum of their Stories' Handmade Monday Link Party No. 59. Thank you!

Sum of their Stories

Battenberg Socks with Ergonomically Shaped Toes

I'm still in the middle of sockmania - meaning that currently, I don't have many other knitting ideas, but as long as I'm knitting anything, I'm fine. This time I wanted to try out a different toe shape. I.e. a different sock for the left and the right foot. And to make it a bit more interesting, I included a little intarsia pattern as well.

The chart and the exact description is given for socks knitted with 60 stitches in the round (i.e. for sizes 36 to 39). But there will be instructions on how to change it for smaller and bigger sizes as well.

As to the name: The line-up of the rectangles reminded me a little of the pattern in a Battenberg cake.

Once again, this is NOT a complete knitting pattern, but a rough sketch how to knit these socks.


This work by Knitting and so on is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.




Materials

• about 50 to 60 grams of fingering weight yarn - about 50 grams of the main color (MC, light violet in the photos) and 10 grams of the contrast color (CC, white in the photos)
• 2.5 mm knitting needles - I used long circulars with the magic loop method which is useful if you want to divide your stitches into two halves
• a stitch marker to mark where the intarsia pattern starts
• scrap yarn for the afterthought heel
• a tapestry needle to weave in ends

Techniques

• Toe up sock knitting: as explained on dummies.com or in this video by Girly Knits. This includes starting with Judy's Magic Cast On, a technique that gives you live stitches on both sides of your needle - it is generally used for toe-up socks (e.g. in this pattern), but it can be used for other purposes as well. Here's a written description (from Knitty) and here's a YouTube-video by Cat Bordhi and another YouTube-video by Very Pink Knits.
• Cutting a sock template of your feet: To make the finished piece fit your feet, it is useful to measure your feet and to cut out a card template. Here's a blogpost at knitbettersocks.blogspot.com that explains the idea.  If you want to knit a pair for someone else and cannot get a template, here are standard shoe size templates.  
• Afterthought heel: Here's a tutorial in three videos by Knit Purl Hunter. Alternatively, you can do any kind of short row heel.
• Intarsia in the round:  as shown in this YouTube video by Julia farwell-clay.
  I used the method from this video. Basically you knit back and forth even though your stitches are arranged in the round - and you have to consider rounds in pairs - one RS row and one WS row. You start with your main color (MC) on the RS, then - as in normal intarsia you change (by twisting the yarns) - to contrast color (CC) and knit your CC part, After finishing this you turn your work, make a yarn-over and do the WS with CC, when you get to the MC part you change back as in normal (flat) intarsia to MC.
  Now with MC you work your way on the WS not only to the start of the round, but further to the point where you ended the CC part. Here you p2tog the last MC stitch with the yarn over in CC. Then you turn - again with a yarn over - and do the RS part to the beginning of the round. That's the two round finished.
  When - during the next pair of rounds - you reach the new yarn over on the RS, you have to do an ssk of the last stitch in CC with the yarn over in MC.

Instructions

Toe

Do a magic CO of 10 sts - while knitting the first round, put a marker at the half and the end of the round.

Knit the to according to the chart below. The chart shows on half of one of each foot, the second half is the mirror of the first half. The numbers in the middle indicate the row number.

Toe increases - click to enlarge

If you knit according to this chart, you'll end up with 60 stitches (good for socks in sizes 36 to 39). For socks in smaller sizes (e.g. 32 to 35) you'll need to end up with 56 stitches. Here I'd suggest you start with a magic CO of 9 stitches and leave out one increase on the outer side (e.g. in row 14). That way you have 2 fewer stitches on each half which means a total of four fewer stitches.
Similarly, for socks in bigger sizes (e.g. 40 to 43), I'd suggest a magic CO of 11 stitches and one increase more on the outer side, e.g. in row 16. 

Foot

Once you've finished the toe, you can start with the intarsia pattern. It consists of rectangles that are 4 stitches wide and 4 stitches high - stacked in a Battenberg pattern.

Pattern for left foot

For the left sock, place a stitch marker to mark the start the intarsia pattern on the outer side 4 stitches away from the edge of the outer half on the front.

Rounds 1 and 2
- RS, MC: k to stitch marker, change to CC
- RS, CC: k 4 sts, turn work
- WS, CC: yo, p4, change to MC
- WS, MC: p to the beginning of the round, and - without turning, go on purling to 1 sts before the yo in CC, p2tog (i.e. you purl together the last stitch in MC and the yo in CC - connecting the two), turn work
- RS, MC: yo, k to beginning of round
Rounds 3 and 4 = Rounds 1 and 2

Rounds 5 and 6
- RS, MC: k to stitch marker, k4, change to CC
- RS, CC: k 4 sts, turn work
- WS, CC: yo, p4, change to MC
- WS, MC: p to the beginning of the round, and - without turning, go on purling to 1 sts before the yo in CC, p2tog (i.e. you purl together the last stitch in MC and the yo in CC - connecting the two), turn work
- RS, MC: yo, k to beginning of round
Rounds 7 and 8 = Rounds 5 and 6


Pattern for right foot

For the right sock. place the intarsia block mirrored to the first sock, and for that you need to place the stitch marker 12 stitches away from the outer edge of the front of the sock (i.e. 4 sts away from edge plus 8 stitch width or intarsia pattern. The pattern is also mirrored to the other sock.

Rounds 1 and 2
- RS, MC: k to stitch marker, k4, change to CC
- RS, CC: k 4 sts, turn work
- WS, CC: yo, p4, change to MC
- WS, MC: p to the beginning of the round, and - without turning, go on purling to 1 sts before the yo in CC, p2tog (i.e. you purl together the last stitch in MC and the yo in CC - connecting the two), turn work
- RS, MC: yo, k to beginning of round
Rounds 3 and 4 = Rounds 1 and 2

Rounds 5 and 6
- RS, MC: k to stitch marker, change to CC
- RS, CC: k 4 sts, turn work
- WS, CC: yo, p4, change to MC
- WS, MC: p to the beginning of the round, and - without turning, go on purling to 1 sts before the yo in CC, p2tog (i.e. you purl together the last stitch in MC and the yo in CC - connecting the two), turn work
- RS, MC: yo, k to beginning of round
Rounds 7 and 8 = Rounds 5 and 6

The chart below shows the color pattern for both socks.

Intarsia pattern - click to enlarge

Repeat rounds 1 to 8 until the sock is as long as you'd like it to be - don't forget to insert scrap yarn for an afterthought heel when the foot part of your sock is long enough.

Finish a sock with a few rounds of k2-p2-ribbing.

Insert an afterthought heel.

Weave in ends.

Hermes - Another Sock Idea

Here's another pair of socks I knitted for a sock KAL in the Facebook-Group "Die drei vom Blog - Knit Along" (two others can be found here: Iceberg Socks and Alignment Socks). These socks are knitted toe-up with a new intarsia in the round pattern.
The name "Hermes" (i.e. Greek god of trade, thieves, etc. who was said to wear winged sandals) was suggested by madlycreativeme on Instagram when I first posted a photo of the finished pair. Thank you!

As with my Iceberg Socks, this blogpost is rather a short sketch or recipe than a complete pattern. It is assumed that you know how to knit socks to fit your feet.


This work by Knitting and so on is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.



Materials

• about 60 grams of fingering weight yarn - about 50 grams of the main color (MC, red in the pictures) and the rest of the contrast color (CC, orange in the pictures) 
• 2.5 mm needles - I used 80 cm circulars and the magic loop method
• scrap yarn for the afterthought heel
• a tapestry needle to weave in ends

Techniques

• Toe up sock knitting: as explained on dummies.com or in this video by Girly Knits 
• Cutting a sock template of your feet: To make the finished piece fit your feet, it is useful to measure your feet and to cut out a card template. Here's a blogpost at knitbettersocks.blogspot.com that explains the idea.  If you want to knit a pair for someone else and cannot get a template, here are standard shoe size templates.  
• Afterthought heel: Here's a tutorial in three videos by Knit Purl Hunter. Alternatively, you can do any kind of short row heel.
• Intarsia in the round:  as shown in this YouTube video by Julia farwell-clay.
  I used the method from this video. Basically you knit back and forth even though your stitches are arranged in the round - and you have to consider rounds in pairs - one RS row and one WS row. You start with your main color (MC) on the RS, then - as in normal intarsia you change (by twisting the yarns) - to contrast color (CC) and knit your CC part, After finishing this you turn your work, make a yarn-over and do the WS with CC, when you get to the MC part you change back as in normal (flat) intarsia to MC.
  Now with MC you work your way on the WS not only to the start of the round, but further to the point where you ended the CC part. Here you p2tog the last MC stitch with the yarn over in CC. Then you turn - again with a yarn over - and do the RS part to the beginning of the round. That's the two round finished.
  When - during the next pair of rounds - you reach the new yarn over on the RS, you have to do an ssk of the last stitch in CC with the yarn over in MC.

Instructions

Knit your toe in MC and then divide the stitches into two equal parts - 1st half = back and 2nd half = front - and place a marker between the two halves. Start to knit the intarsia pattern (consisting of intarsia blocks that are 8 stitches wide an 2 rows high) as follows:

Rounds 1 and 2:
- RS, MC: k to 4 sts before half marker, change to C
- RS, CC: k8, turn work
- WS, CC: yo, p8, chang to MC
- WS, MC: p to beginning of round, go on purling to 1 st bef yo in CC, p2tog (i.e. you purl together the last stitch in MC and the yo in CC - connecting the two), turn work
- RS: MC: yo, k to beginning of round
Round 3 (RS, MC):  k to start of intarsia block and twist MC and CC yarn to avoid hole, continue to k in MC to 1 sts bef end of intarsia block, ssk (i.e. connect last sts in CC with the yo in MC), k to end

Rounds 4 and 5:
- RS, MC: k to beginning of last intarsia block, k1, change to C
- RS, CC: k8, turn work
- WS, CC: yo, p8, chang to MC
- WS, MC: p to beginning of round, go on purling to 1 st bef yo in CC, p2tog (i.e. you purl together the last stitch in MC and the yo in CC - connecting the two), turn work
- RS: MC: yo, k to beginning of round
Round 6 (RS, MC):  k to start of intarsia block and twist MC and CC yarn to avoid hole, continue to k in MC to 1 sts bef end of intarsia block, ssk (i.e. connect last sts in CC with the yo in MC), k to end

Repeat rounds 4 to 6 until the sock is as long as you'd like it to be - don't forget to insert scrap yarn for an afterthought heel when the foot part of your sock is long enough.

Finish a sock with a few rounds of k1-p1-ribbing.

Insert an afterthought heel.

For the second sock. begin the first intarsia block 4 sts from the end of the front part and start the following intarsia blocks one stitch earlier (as opposed to one stitch later for the first sock).

Alignment Socks

Have you ever bought a few beautiful mini-skeins at a yarn festival ... and afterwards kept them for quite a while because you didn't actually know what to do with them because there was not enough yarn for a complete project, but they were too beautiful to use up for a scrap project? Well, in 2015 I bought 5 lovely little skeins dyed by Frau Wo aus Po at Wollefestival in Cologne. Each skein weighed about 25 grams - not enough for a pair of fingerless gloves or let alone socks.
Then - while participating in a sock knitting KAL - I learned how to do intarsia in the round (see this blogpost to see my first intarsia sock) and I knew that this was a way to incorporate one of these mini-skeins into bigger project without resorting to stripes.

The Alignment Socks are knitted toe-up with a short row heel. The pattern is written in a way that you can adapt it to your foot size - even in a way that you don't have to knit a swatch.


This work by Knitting and so on is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.






Materials

• about 50 to 60 grams of fingering weight yarn in main color (MC) - the yarn I used is Schoppel Wolle Admiral cat print (colorway 2156) ... you will need a bit more yarn if you prefer your sock cuffs longer
• about 10 grams of fingering weight yarn in contrast color (CC)
• 2.5 mm needles - I used long circulars and the magic loop methods, but dpns work as well
• stitch markers
• a tapestry needle to weave in ends

Techniques

• Judy's Magic Cast-On is a technique that gives you live stitches on both sides of your needle - it is generally used for toe-up socks (e.g. in this pattern), but it can be used for other purposes as well. Here's a written description (from Knitty) and here's a YouTube-video by Cat Bordhi and another YouTube-video by Very Pink Knits.
• Intarsia in the round: When I searched on the internet, I found two methods to do intersia in the rounds - for these socks I used the second method, but I think that the first one is ingenious and will even give you better edges between the colors. I will definitely try it out on another project
• with crossing yarns at both ends: as shown in this YouTube video by Sheep to Shawl Knitting Studio & Store Vermont
• with yarn-overs before turning: as shown in this YouTube video by Julia farwell-clay.
  I used the method from this video. Basically you knit back and forth even though your stitches are arranged in the round - and you have to consider rounds in pairs - one RS row and one WS row. You start with your main color (MC) on the RS, then - as in normal intarsia you change (by twisting the yarns) - to contrast color (CC) and knit your CC part, After finishing this you turn your work, make a yarn-over and do the WS with CC, when you get to the MC part you change back as in normal (flat) intarsia to MC.
  Now with MC you work your way on the WS not only to the start of the round, but further to the point where you ended the CC part. Here you p2tog the last MC stitch with the yarn over in CC. Then you turn - again with a yarn over - and do the RS part to the beginning of the round. That's the two round finished.
  When - during the next pair of rounds - you reach the new yarn over on the RS, you have to do an ssk of the last stitch in CC with the yarn over in MC.
• Cutting a sock template of your feet: To make the finished piece fit your feet, it is useful to measure your feet and to cut out a card template. Here's a blogpost at knitbettersocks.blogspot.com that explains the idea.  If you want to knit a pair for someone else and cannot get a template, here are standard shoe size templates.  
• Shadow Wrap Short Rows: as shown in this YouTube video by Lee Meredith. A video by Miriam Felton that shows how to do a heel with shadow wraps can be found here on YouTube. However, the heel knitted here is knitted slightly different because here there are two rounds between the two parts of the heel, i.e. there won't be any triple stitches.

Placement of the Intarsia Rectangles

It's always a good idea to place something according to the Rule of Thirds. That's why I wanted to place the CC rectangles around a line that is one third from the side of the sock (see picture below).
Here's a short table that shows the place and size of the intarsia rectangles for stitch numbers between 56 and 64. Please note, that the shoe size is only a rough guide - I looked it up in a table that was freely available on the internet.

Shoe size	Total no. of sts	No. of front sts	Width of intarsia block	Start of intarsia block (1st sock)	Start of intarsia block (2nd sock)
32-35	56	28	9 sts	after 14th st on front	after 5 th stitch on front
36-38	60	30	10 sts	after 15th st on front	after 5 th st on front
40-43	64	32	11 sts	after 16th st on front	after 5 th st on front

Here's how you calculate the placement in general: For both socks, the width of the intarsia block is 3rd of the width of the front part (or on sixth of the total number of stitches). For the first sock, the intarsia block starts right in the middle of the front half of your sock. For the second sock, the intarsia block ends right in the middle, i.e. you need to start after one sixth of the number of the front stitches (or one twelvth of the total number of stitches). See picture below.

Placement of CC intarsia blocks - click to enlarge

Instructions

Toe

With the magic CO cast on 2x12 stitches

To get a rounded toe, my usual toe is:

• 4 x increases in every row
• 2 x increases in every 2nd row
• 2 x increases in every 3rd row
• then increases every 4th row ... until wide enough

This means:

Round 1: Knit all - while placing stitch markers after 12 sts and at the end of the round - alternatively divide the stitches on your needles in such a way that you know exacly where one half of your stitches are.

Round 2 (increase round): * k1, kfb, k to one before marker, kfb, k1, slip marker repeat from *

Rounds 3 to 5 = increase rounds

Round 6 (neutral round): k all 

Round 7 = increase round
Round 8 = neutral round
Round 9 = increase round
Rounds 10 to 11 = neutral round
Round 12 = increase round
Rounds 13 to 14 = neutral round
Round 15 = increase round
Rounds 16 to 18 = neutral round
Round 19 = increase round
Repeat rounds 16 to 19 until the sock is wide enough.

Remove the marker that marks the middle of the round, but leave the one that marks the beginning of the round.

Foot

The foot is knitted party in the round (when knitting plain rounds in MC), and partly back and forth (when knitting intarsia).

Round 1 and 2:
- outside, MC: k to starting of intarsia block; change to CC
- outside CC: knit width of intarsia block sts, turn work
- inside CC: yo, purl width of intarsia block , change to MC
- inside MC: p to beginning of round, without turning, go one purling to 1 st bef yo in CC, p2tog (i.e. you purl together the last stitch in MC and the yo in CC - connecting the two), turn work
- outside MC: yo, k to beginning of round

Round 3 and 4:
- outside, MC: k to starting of intarsia block; change to CC
- outside CC: knit one st less than width of intarsia block  (or 1 st bef yo in MC), ssk, (i.e. you have connected the last st in CC with the yo in MC); turn work
- inside CC: yo, purl width of intarsia block, change to MC
- inside MC: p to beginning of round, without turning, go on purling to 1 st bef yo in CC, p2tog (i.e. you purl together the last stitch in MC and the yo in CC - connecting the two), turn work
- outside MC: yo, k to beginning of round

Rounds 5 to 8 are all knitted on the outside in MC only

Round 5:
- outside MC: k to start of intarsia block and twist MC and CC yarn to avoid hole, continue to k in MC to 1 sts bef end of intarsia block, ssk (i.e. connect last sts in CC with the yo in MC), k to end
Rounds 6 to 8: in MC k all

Rounds 9 to 12 = Rounds 1 to 4

Repeat rounds 5 to 12 to desired length just before the heel. If you made a template as suggested above, your sock should reach to the ankle bone line. Start with the heel.


Heel

Divide your stitches into two equal parts - front and back or instep and sole. The short rows will worked back and forth - only be worked over the sole part, i.e. the half without the intarsia rectangles. The heel is knitted in MC only.

First Part
Row 1 (outside): k to 1 bef last, knit into the mother stitch of the last st (shadow wrap), turn
Row 2 (inside): slip shadow wrap st, p to 1 bef last, purl into the mother stitch, turn
Row 3 (outside): slip shadow wrap, k to 1 bef last shadow wrap,  knit into the mother stitch of the last st (shadow wrap), turn
Row 4 (inside): slip shadow wrap, p to 1 bef last shadow wrap, purl into the mother stitch, turn
Repeat rows 3 and 4 until the row length is reduced to one third, i.e. 1/3 shadow wrap stitches on one side, 1/3 normal stitches and 1/3 shadow wrap stitches on the other side

Knit two rounds - making sure to knit the double stitches that result from the shadow wraps as one stitch.

Second Part
Row 1 (outside): k two thirds of the sts of the back of the sock, k into the mother stitch of the last st (shadow wrap), turn
Row 2 (inside): slip shadow wrap st, p to one third of back of sock, purl into the mother stitch, turn
Row 3 (outside): slip shadow wrap, k up to and including last shadow wrap stitch,  knit into the mother stitch of the last st (shadow wrap), turn
Row 4 (inside): slip shadow wrap, p up to and including last shadow wrap stitch, purl into the mother stitch, turn
Repeat rows 3 and 4 until the row length is the complete back of the sock.

Knit two rounds - making sure to knit the double stitches that result from the shadow wraps as one stitch.

On the front of the sock, you can see that you have knitted 4 complete rounds in MC. That means that when continuing the cuff, you have to start with an intarsia block again.

Cuff
Knit rounds 1 to 8 of intarsia pattern of the foot until desired length.
Finish with 12 rows of k2-p2-ribbing and bind off loosely in pattern. Weave in ends.

When knitting the second sock, make sure to start the intarsia block mirrored to the first sock - as described in the table above.

Iceberg Socks - Intarsia in the Round

When I entered the sock KAL in the Facebook-Group "Die drei vom Blog - Knit Along" I thought long and hard about what to knit. As a rule I prefer not to use patterns, but to knit something I made up myself. Plus I wanted to do something new. I.e. I wanted to try out a new technique. So I decided on trying out intarsia in the round.

Here's the first project I finished in this technique. The edges between the two colors are not quite as neat as they might be, but since it's a first try, I'm quite happy with it.

As with some of my other sock patterns, this is NOT A COMPLETE PATTERN with stitch counts and everything, but only a sketch. It is assumed that you know how to knit socks to fit your feet.


This work by Knitting and so on is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.




Materials

• about 60 grams of fingering weight yarn in two colors in equal amounts - I used one yarn in a solid color (dark blue) and another with a color gradient (light blue to off-white)
• 2.5 mm needles - I used 80 cm circulars and the magic loop method
• scrap yarn for the afterthought heel
• a tapestry needle to weave in ends

Techniques

• Toe up sock knitting: as explained on dummies.com or in this video by Girly Knits 
• Afterthought heel: Here's a tutorial in three videos by Knit Purl Hunter. Alternatively, you can do any kind of short row heel.
• Intarsia in the round: When I searched on the internet, I found two methods to do intersia in the rounds - for these socks I used the second method, but I think that the first one is ingenious and will even give you better edges between the colors. I will definitely try it out on another project
• with crossing yarns at both ends: as shown in this YouTube video by Sheep to Shawl Knitting Studio & Store Vermont
• with yarn-overs before turning: as shown in this YouTube video by Julia farwell-clay.
  I used the method from this video. Basically you knit back and forth even though your stitches are arranged in the round - and you have to consider rounds in pairs - one RS row and one WS row. You start with your main color (MC) on the RS, then - as in normal intarsia you change (by twisting the yarns) - to contrast color (CC) and knit your CC part, After finishing this you turn your work, make a yarn-over and do the WS with CC, when you get to the MC part you change back as in normal (flat) intarsia to MC.
  Now with MC you work your way on the WS not only to the start of the round, but further to the point where you ended the CC part. Here you p2tog the last MC stitch with the yarn over in CC. Then you turn - again with a yarn over - and do the RS part to the beginning of the round. That's the two round finished.
  When - during the next pair of rounds - you reach the new yarn over on the RS, you have to do an ssk of the last stitch in CC with the yarn over in MC.

Instructions
Knit your toe and then divide the stitches into two equal parts - front and back - and place a marker between the two halves. Start to knit the intarsia pattern. The chart below shows only the stitches that are knitted in the contrast color xxx . It also shows only the lower right quarter of the stitches. The pattern is mirrored at the stitch marker. This means e.g. in row 1 that after knitting 1 stitch in CC before the stitch marker and 1 stitch in CC after it - or in row 15 that you knit 6 stitches in CC before the marker and 6 stitches in CC after the marker.
Furthermore after knitting it once, it is repeated in opposite order (i.e. you start with row 26 end with row 1 - also mirrored around the marker).

Chart - click to enlarge

I inserted the scrap yarn for the afterthought heel just after finishing the second half of the intarsia pattern. If you need your socks shorter, leave out some of the upper rows (e.g. rows 24 and 23), but I'd suggest to knit rows 25 and 26 to have two full rows of the contrast color.

I used the colors as follows:

• Sock 1: start with C1 as main color, then include C2 as contrast color for the first half of intarsia pattern - for the second half of intarsia pattern, switch the colors, i.e. C2 becomes main color and C1 the contrast color. Finish the sock in C2 and also knit the afterthought heel in C2.
• Sock 2: completely reversed to sock 1: start with C2 as main color, then add C1 as contrast color for the first half of intarsia pattern - for the second half of intarsia pattern, switch the colors, i.e. C1 becomes main color and C2 the contrast color. Finish sock in C1 and also knit the afterthought heel in C1.

U-Turn Slippers

I'm back to knitting slippers again. As usual, I tend to prefer constructions that are a bit out of the ordinary (such as the Undecided Slippers I published last year).
These slippers are knitted in a U-Turn shape around the tip of your foot. They are constructed in one piece, i.e. there are only two ends to weave in per slipper. The pattern comes out best when using variegated yarn, e.g. colorful sock yarn.

This work by Knitting and so on is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Materials

• 3.25mm circular needles (even though everything is knitted back and forth)
• about 40 grams of fingering weight yarn
• a third needle for the three-needle-BO
• tapestry needle  to weave in ends
• 3 stitch markers 
• a safety pin to secure your stitch while turning the piece right sides out

Techniques & Notation

• Judy's Magic Cast-On is a technique that gives you live stitches on both sides of your needle - it is generally used for toe-up socks (e.g. in this pattern), but it can be used for other purposes as well. Here's a written description (from Knitty) and here's a YouTube-video by Cat Bordhi and another YouTube-video by Very Pink Knits.
• Picking up stitches from the side: Without your working yarn, insert the needle into the front leg of the edge stitch from back to front. A photo how this looks like, is shown in a post regarding the short wave mitts. Here’s a Knitty-article that explains picking up stitches in detail (also the difference between "picking up" and "picking up and knit"): http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter04/FEATwin04TT.html
• Three-Needle Bind-Off: https://youtu.be/Ph93jWSzTa0
• Knitting a flat circle - or in case of this pattern a semicircle: The technique for knitting a flat circle has been described a few times on this blog, e.g. in the "Zoom Out Mitts"-Post. Basically it consists of doing 8 increases (evenly spaced out in one round) every other row, and varying the starting point for the first increase to avoid an octagon pattern. 
  In this pattern only a semicircle is knitted. This means that there will be only 4 increases on every RS row - and they will be started at a random stitch within the first quarter of the half circle.
  In this pattern you will be asked to increase (or decrease) by 2 from one point in your knitting to another. This means that you can randomly distribute the increases (or decreases) between the two given points (stitch markers)
  As an increase I used kfb and as decrease I used ssk, but you can use other stitches as well, e.g. a make 1 knit stitch (mk1) as increasing stitch or a k2tog as a decrease stitch.

Gauge and What You Need to Measure

• I had a gauge of about 5 sts to 2 cm in width and 5 garter stitch ridges (10 rows) to 2 cm.  With this gauge and with a CO of 2x18 sts, the cast on of the tip will be 8 cm long, The tip will grow by 1/4 of the circumference you measured. You can adjust the length of this part by casting on more or fewer stitches.
• The pattern is written in a way that you can adapt it to the width and length of your feet. As an example I will give the numbers I had for my feet (in purple).
• Before you start, measure around the widest point of your feet (i.e. the circumference) and the length of your feet.

Construction

The slippers is constructed in two parts - the tip and the heel. Both are knitted flat.
It is started at the sole of the tip by doing a magic cast on. Then you knit around that CO in a U-shape making semicircle increases at the tip until the straight egde is half as wide as the circumference of your feet. Then you basically knit the same rows you just knitted backwards, i.e. doing semicircle decreases until the two sides meet and join them with a three-needle bind-off.
To start the heel part, stitches are picked up and knit from the straight edge of the tip part. Then you knit back and forth until you start decreases for a round heel. After some decreases, you only work one side part until the two sides meet. Another three-needle BO closes the heel.
The picture on the right shows a slipper as seen from both the top and the side.


Instructions

Tip
CO 2x18 stitches with the magic CO (i.e. there are 18 stitches on each needle)

Now turn your needles around in a way that you're looking at the garter stitch bumps.
All rows of the tip will be knitted in a U-shape, i.e. you knit the stitches on the first needle turn the piece upside down (this point will be called turning-point ("TP") and knit the stitches on the other needle. Then you turn your knitting to the WS and knit back.

Row 1 (WS): k16, pm, k2, TP, k2, pm, k16
Row 2 (RS): sl1, k to m, increase by 2 sts between m and TP, TP, increase by 2 sts between TP and m, k to end
Row 3 (WS): sl1, k all
Repeat rows 2 and 3 until the straight edge is wide enough to fit half way around your feet. Your piece should look similar to the one depicted in photo 1.
Repeat row 3 once more.

(For the slippers in the pictures, I did a total of 9 increase rows.)

Now you basically knit the same backwards, i.e. for each increase row you knitted before, you will now knit a decrease row. Spelled out this means:
Row 5 (WS): sl1, k all
Row 6 (RS): sl1, k to m, decrease by 2 sts between m and TP, TP, decrease by 2 sts between TP and m, k to end
Repeat rows 5 and 6 until there are only 2 sts left between each marker and the TP.
Row 7: sl1, k to TP

Do a three needle BO, keep the last stitch and turn the tip rights sides out, i.e. that the rigde from the three needle BO is on the inside (see photo 2).

Heel

Starting from only leftover stitch, pick up and knit stitches along the rim of the tip - one stitch per garter stitch ridge (see photo 4).

Count the stitches and devide the number by 4 (this number will be called X). In row 1, you will place two markers, one X stitches away from the beginning of the row and another X stitches away from the end of the row. The piece should look similar to the one in photo 4.  (I had a total of 43 stitch, 1 leftover, 42 picked up. so I distributed them as follows: 11-21-11 where the 21 stitches made up the sole and both 11 stitches the sides).

Row 1 (inside) : sl1, k X-1 sts, place marker, p to last X sts, place marker, k to end

Row 2 (outside): sl1, kfb, k to last 2 sts bef end, kfb, k1

Row 3 (inside): sl1, k to marker, p to marker, k to end

Repeat rows 2 and 3 three times more.

Row 4 (outside) = sl1, k to end

Row 5 (inside) = Row 3

Then repeat rows 4 and 5 until the length of the slippers are  4 cm short of the total length of your feet.

Now start with the heel decreases:

Row 6 (outside): sl1, k to marker, ssk, k to 2 sts before marker, k2tog, k to end

Row 7 (inside): sl1, k to marker, p to marker, k to end

Repeat rows 6 and 7 four more times.

From now on only one of the side parts (in garter stitch) is worked, the stitches between the markers will be decreased row-by-row and the second garter stitch bit will not be worked until it is joined with the opposite side at the end.

Row 8: sl1, k to 1 bef marker, ssk, replace marker, turn, sl1, k to end

Repeat row 8 until there are only 2 stitches between the two markers.

Then knit the following last ridge: sl1, k to 1 bef marker, remove marker, and do a central double decrease as follow: ssk, slip the last stitch back onto the lefthand needle and slip the next stitch over the former ssk. Leave this stitch on the lefthand needle. Then turn, and k to end.

Distribute the remaining stitches evenly on two needles. Your piece should now look similar to photo 5. Finish with a three-needle bind off on the inside of the slipper (see photo 6).

Turn the heel back right sides out.

Weave in ends.
Make two.

This post was features at Oombawkadesign's 194th Wednesday Link & Share Link Party. Thank you!

Another Sock Idea - Socks with a Butterfly Pattern

Happy new year to all of you!

Over the holidays I stayed at home a lot - and knitted socks. So here's another idea for knitted socks, however this exact pattern only works with a stitch count that is a multiple of 12. These socks are knitted top down with a heel flap.

This work by Knitting and so on is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

As in my last blogpost with a sock idea, this is NOT a complete knitting pattern, but just a sketch or rather a stitch pattern (over 12 stitches and 12 rows) that can be used for socks. So this only works for socks with a number of stitches that is a multiple of 12.
For socks there are many general instructions and tutorials around, I have linked to some in the Techniques section of this post.


Materials

• about 60 grams of fingering weight yarn - or yarn where a multiple of 12 stitches is big enough to fit around your ankles
• 3mm knitting needles (I used dpns, but a circular needle works as well with the magic loop method) - or needles where the multiple of 12 stitches fits around your ankles
• slightly bigger needles for a looser CO
• a darning needle to weave in ends

Techniques

• Knitting a sock top down with a flap/gusset heel on dummies.com or in this 6-Part Series of YouTube videos by VeryPink Knits.
• Cabling or crossed stitches (C2F and C2B) without a needle is shown in this YouTube video by Purl Avenue or this YouTube video by MamasStitchery
• Kitchener stitch to finish the toe is shown in this YouTube video by The Crafts Channel

"Instructions"

With the bigger needles CO 60 stitches and join in round.
With smaller needles start knitting.

Knit 12 rounds of p2k2 ribbing.

Then start with the butterfly pattern (see also chart below):
Round 1: k all
Round 2: * k1, C2B, C2F, k7 repeat from *
Round 3: k all
Round 4: * k1, C2F, C2B, k7 repeat from *
Rounds 5, 6, 7: k all
Round 8: * k7, C2B, C2F, k1 repeat from *
Round 9: k all
Round 10: * k7, C2F, C2B, k1 repeat from *
Round 11, 12: k all

Repeat three times then start heel flap over 30 stitches. Turn the heel. Then knit the gusset while continuing the butterfly pattern in front.

When foot is long enough, do toe decreases and graft leftover stitches with kitchener stitch.

Make two.

This post was featured at the Linky Ladies Community Link Party No. 86. Thank you!