Inspired by the movie, The Odd Life of Timothy Green, these socks will captivate your senses the same way Timothy captivates his new parents' hearts when he is "born" as a young boy out of the mud of their garden patch. An added bonus activity while knitting these socks would include renting the DVD and settling in to cast on the toes. Socks are knit toe-up, with contrasting yarn for toes, heels, and cuffs. If you don't have a darker green, you can do what I did, and wind off some of your sage green yarn and microwavedye it. It's easier than you think! Check out this site: http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-DyeYarn-with-Food-Coloring/ #intro
Experience Level: You should be familiar with sock construction, as you will be knitting your own preferred heel and toe design. (Pattern will be subsequently updated with heel and toe instructions.) Can be knit on double points, two circulars, or one circular, and 2-at-a-time, (which is how I knit them). Yarns: Fingering/Sock weight, merino super-wash with a little nylon for durability Cascade Yarns Heritage Solids - Sage, 80 grams (350 yards) total, of which 20 grams (90 yards) is dyed dark green with Wilton's food coloring, first dyed with Leaf Green and then with Black to darken further. See heel notes, below, with more info about yardage for various heels. Remnant - White, 2 grams (10 yards) Needle & Sizing: The pattern is knit with US 1.5, 2.5 mm, 40" circular lace tip needle, on 64 stitches. This results in socks that fit a US Women's Medium, (approx. size 9) foot circumference. The leaf pattern varies in # of active stitches per round, but the gauge and sizing stays consistent with a plain vanilla (stockinette) sock knit on 64 stitches. To adjust size, I recommend that you either use a needle size and yarn that fits you with 64 stitches, or that you increase or decrease the number of edge stitches you need to get socks that fit nicely. Since patterning is only on the front of the sock, you can use the chart and knit vine leaves into your preferred pattern and needle size. Heels & Toes: Yardages reflect socks knit with contrasting color toes, short-row heels, and cuffs. These look best with a contrasting short-row heel, but if you prefer a flap or another heel method in the main color, then note that you will need more light green main color yarn and less dark green contrasting color yarn. IMPORTANT! This pattern will be updated shortly to include written and charted directions for the last pattern repeat, so that the socks end nicely at the cuff without a half-leaf and random vine leading into the cuff. Please stop knitting two rows before the last pattern repeat, (so stop after knitting Row 22 for the right foot and Row 10 for the left foot), and wait for updated directions. You can consider this a Mystery KAL for that part!
Legend
Highlighted Stitches are easier to watch being knit than they are to describe in words, so I recommend viewing the videos I made for these stitches by going to Www.YouTube.com and typing into the search box Patty Joy Tutorials and the abbreviated name of the stitch.
| K | knit | |
| K2Tog | knit 2 together (knit right loop) Insert right-hand needle into the back and to the front of the right | |
| 半 | KRL | loop of stitch just below next stitch, and place it onto the left-hand needle, then knit it. (This is the increase stitch.) Now knit the first stitch on the left-hand needle. You have increased one knit stitch. |
| 小 | S2KP | (slip 2 knit pass) Slip 2 stitches together, knitwise, (so slip your right needle through the front of both stitches as if you were going to knit them together, but don't knit them!... Slip them off the left needle, and they will now be twisted together, backwards, on the right needle), knit 1 stitch, pass the 2 twisted, slipped stitches over the stitch you just knit. You have created a double decrease, with the center stitch lying neatly over the two decreased stitches. |
| SSK | (slip, slip, knit) Slip one stitch as if to knit, slip a second stitch as if to knit, move slipped stitches back to left needle and knit them together through the back loop. | |
| / | P P2Tog | You have decreased one stitch. purl purl 2 together |
| PIP PPI | (purl increase, purl) Find the purl loop immediately below the purl stitch on the left needle, (the previous row's purl), and insert right needle point downward into the front of this stitch. With original purl still on left needle point, put left needle tip into lifted purl stitch on right needle, from left to right, and purl through the lifted stitch. Now purl the original stitch still sitting on left needle tip. You have increased from one purl stitch to two purl stitches. (purl, purl increase) Purl one stitch. Find the purl loop two loops below the purl you just knit on the right needle, and insert the left needle point upward into that purl stitch. Insert right needle tip purlwise into lifted stitch on left needle tip and purl it. | |
| YO | You have increased from one purl stitch to two purl stitches. (yarn over) Note that a yarn over that is followed by a purl stitch will wrap all the Way around the needle and come back to the front again, which uses more yarn. | |
| NS | Snug these yarn-overs very tight to prevent a loose stitch on the next row. no stitch |
Cast on toes: Using your preferred needle(s) and toe pattern, cast on toes with dark green and knit/increase toes until you have 64 stitches. (Magic Loop: 32 stitches on front and back of each sock). Chart-reading tip: While most patterns are easier to knit with a chart, the stitch count on the front needle fluctuates between 32 and 36 stitches. For this reason, you may find using the written directions easier. If you use the chart, perhaps glance at the written directions to check the number of purl stitches that each row begins and ends with, to keep things straight and to knit faster. Avoid Laddering Tip: Note that you must snug your needle-turning stitches tighter with this pattern than you do when the purls are (traditionally) on the inside of the sock, to avoid laddering. Outside purls seem to need an extra yank and holding the first three stitches snug. Begin pattern: Join light green and knit one round. To shadow pattern, right sock begins with Row 1 and left sock begins with Row 13. Knit in pattern until you are ready to knit short-row heel, (around or slightly after 3rd full chart repeat). Do not cut light green yarn, but rather join dark green at beginning of row on back of sock. Knit short-row heel, until you come to the last row, when you will pick up light green yarn and knit across last row of heel, then continue around to front-of-sock patterning again. Mystery KAL: ? Read "Important Note" on first page for directions regarding where to stop knitting, and wait just a wee bit for me to publish the final chart and written directions for the last leaf repeat and the cuff. Row 1: P12, K3, P4, K5, P8 (32) Row 2: P10, P2Tog, KRL, K2, P4, K2, YO, K1, YO, K2, P8 (34) Row 3: P11, K1, P1, K2, P4, K7, P8 (34) Row 4: P9, P2Tog, K1, Purl Inc, K2, P4, K3, YO, K1, YO, K3, P8 (36) Row 5: P10, K1, P2, K2, P4, K9, P8 (36) Row 6: P8, P2Tog, K1, Purl Inc, P1, K2, P4, SSK, K5, K2tog, P8 (34) Row 7: P9, K1, P3, K2, P4, K7, P8 (34) Row 8: P7, P2Tog, K1, Purl Inc, P2, K2, P4, SSK, K3, K2Tog, P8 (32) Row 9: P8, K1, P4, K2, P4, K5, P8 (32) Row 10: P8, YO, K1, YO, P4, K2, P4, SSK, K1, K2Tog, P8 (32) Row 11: P8, K3, P4, K2, P4, K3, P8 (32) Row 12: P8, (K1, YO) twice, K1, P4, K1, KRL, P2Tog, P2, S2KP, P8 (32) Row 13: P8, K5, P4, K3, P12 (32) Row 14: P8, K2, YO, K1, YO, K2, P4, K1, KRL, K1, P2Tog, P10 (34) Row 15: P8, K7, P4, K2, P1, K1, P11 (34) Row 16: P8, K3, YO, K1, YO, K3, P4, K2, Purl Inc, K1, P2Tog, P9 (36) Row 17: P8, K9, P4, K2, P2, K1, P10 (36) Row 18: P8, SSK, K5, K2Tog, P4, K2, P1, Purl Inc, K1, P2Tog, P8 (34) Row 19: P8, K7, P4, K2, P3, K1, P 9 (34) Row 20: P8, SSK, K3, K2Tog, P4, K2, P2, Purl Inc, K1, P2Tog, P7 (32) Row 21: P8, K5, P4, K2, P4, K1, P8 (32) Row 22: P8, SSK, K1, K2Tog, P4, K2, P4, YO, K1, YO, P8 (32) Row 23: P8, K3, P4, K2, P4, K3, P8 (32) Row 24: P8, S2KP, P2, P2Tog, K1, KRL, P4, (K1, YO) twice, K1, P8 (32) Blocking hint: Use your fingers to gently press down the purl stitches around the leaves to help make the leaves "pop" more.
