"The Little April Fish Sockr will always be a reminder for me of what can happen when the amount of work that must be done dramatically exceeds and the amount of time there is to do it. When I conceived this design. I had in mind the French April Fools' Day tradition - attaching a paper fish to someone's back unnoticed as ajoke. This spring. I fooled myself into thinking that it would be no problem to complete my dissertation while running a sock club. and of course still being mom and wife. Wrong! Though the dissertation got written and I defended on schedule (and passed!). the sock kits for April went out more than a wee bit late. The silver lining to this cloud was. without a doubt. the patience and good will. advice and support. encouragement and congratulations from the wee tiny sock knitters. I will always be grateful for this kindness. As any fol can see. all you brave little knitters are the best in the world!
materials
Sundara Sock 100% superwash merino yarn about 22 yards/20m limited edition colorway Tree sap waking up" Set of 5 US size 1 (2.25 mm) DPNs Tapestry needle for weaving in ends Sewing needle for sewing on beads (eyes) Brown or black sewing thread Two 2.5mm beads
pattern and photos @ 2Oll meg Bakewell for personal use only
abbreviations
EOR End of round K2tog Knit 2 together Kfb Knit into the front and back of the st P2togPurl 2 together SI Slip the st. purlwise unless otherwise indicated SSK Slipthe next 2 sts individually knitwise. then knit them together though the back loops. Tbl Through the back loop. TW Turn work. W&T Wrap and turn On a knit row: Bring the working yarn to the front, slip the next st purlwise. bring the yarn to the back again, turn work. slip the first st purlwise. On a purl row: Bring the working yarn to the back. slip the next st purlwise. bring the yarn to the front again. turn work. slip the first st purlwise. Yarn over
Begin Pattern
Cast on 48. Divide sts evenly among 4 DPNs and join for knitting in the round. Round l: Knit all sts. Round 2: (Kfb. k3. SSK. k2tog. k2. kfb. kl) four times. Round 3: (K4, SSK. k2tog. k4) four times. (40 sts) Round 4: (Kfb. k2. SSK. k2tog. kl. kfb. kl) four times. Round 5: (K3. SSK. k2tog. k3) four times. (32 sts) Round 6: (Kfb. kl. SSK. k2tog. kO. kfb. kl) four times. Round 7: (K2. SSK. k2tog. k2) four times. (24 sts) Round 8: Knit all sts. Round 9-18: Follow rounds 9-18 from Chart 1. or written instructions below. Note: For YO's before a purl st. bring the yarn to the front under the needle. then over the needle to the back. and finally back under the needle to the front for the purl st. For YO before knit st. bring the yarn to the front under the needle. then over the needle to theback fortheknit st. Round 9: \*YO. k2togtbl. pl. kltbl. pl. kltbl. repeat from \* to EOR. Round 10: \*YO. pl. k2togtbl. kltbl. pl, kltbl. repeat from \* to EOR. Round ll: \*YO. kltbl. pl. kK2togtbl. pl. kltbl. repeat from \* to EOR. Round 12: \*YO. pl. kltbl. pl. k2togtbl. kltbl. repeat from \* to EOR. Round 13: \*YO. kltbl. pl. kltbl. pl. kK2togtbl, repeat from \* to EOR. Round 14: \* K2togtbl. pl. kltbl. pl. kltbl. YO. repeat from \* to EOR. Round 15: \* K2togtbl. kltbl. pl. kltbl. YO. pl, repeat from \* to EOR. Round 16: \* K2togtbl., pl. kltbl. YO. kltbl. pl, repeat from \* to EOR. Round 17: \* K2togtbl. kltbl. YO. pl. kltbl. pl. repeat from \* to EOR. Round 18: \* K2togtbl. YO. kltbl. pl. kltbl, pl. repeat from \* to EOR. Set up for Round 19-23: Knit the first st of the next round through the back loop and slip it onto needle 4. (5/6/6/7 sts on needles 1/2/3/4) Slip 1 st from needle 2 to needle 1. one st from needle 3 to needle 2. and one st from needle 4 to needle 3. (6 sts on each needle again) Rounds 19-23: Repeat rounds 9-13 Round 24: Knit.
Heel Flap
Slip all 6 sts from needle 2 onto needle 1. Heel flap will be worked back and forth in rows on needle l. Row l: (Sll, kl) to end. Row 2: Sl. p to end. Row 3: Sll, k2. (sl. kl) to last st. kl. Row 4: Repeat row 2. Rows 5-12: Repeat rows 1-4 two more times.
Heel turn
Row 1: Sll. k6. k2tog. Kl. tw Row 2: Sll. p3. p2tog. pl. tw Row 3: Sll. k3. k2tog. kl. tw Row 4-5: Repeat rows 2-3. Row 6: Repeat row 2. Row 7: Sl. k5. 6 sts remain on heel needle
Foot
Using heel flap needle (Needle 1). pick up and knit 6 sts along edge of heel flap. plus I additional st in the corner between the heel flap and the instep sts. (13 sts on needle 1). Knit across the next 12 sts (instep sts) using needle 2. (12 sts on needle 2) Using needle 3. pick up and knit 1 st in the corner between the instep and the heel flap. plus 6 sts along the edge of the heel flap. Knit 3 sts from needle 1 onto needle 3. You are now at the center of the bottom of the foot. new beginning of round. (10/12/10 sts on needles 1/2/3). Note: The gusset decreases alternate between ssk and k2tog to break the strong line of decrease sts that normally appears with gusset decreases.
Foot, continved
Round 1: Knit 2 last 2 sts of needle 1, k2tog. k12. k2tog. k to EOR. Round 2: Knit 2 last 2 sts of needle 1. ssk. kl2. ssk. k to EOR. Rounds 3-6: Repeat rounds 1-2 two more times. (20 sts remain after round 6) Round 7: K3. p4. k6. p4. k3. Round 8: Knit all sts. Round 9-12: Repeat rounds 7-8 two more times. Round 13-15: Knit to last 2 sts of needle 1. sk. k2tog. knit to last 2 sts of needle 2. ssk. k2tog. kto EOR.(8 sts affer round 15) Break yarn and pull through remaining 8 sts
Fin (make 2)
Note: The fins are worked flat. in garter st., with short rows using the wrap and turn technique. Some pattferns callfor the wraps to be picked up and knit together with the live sts. but there is no need to do that here, because the wraps are completely hidden by the garterst. Using backward loop method and leaving a 6-8" tail for sewing the fin to the fish. cast on 8 sts. Rows I-2: Knit all sts. Row 3: K5. w&t. k5. Rows 4-12: Repeat rows 1-3 three more times. Row 13: Knit all sts. Bind off all sts. Weave in the bind off tail
Finishing
Weave in yarn ends on sock. Using cast on tail and being careful not to sew through to the opposite side of the sock. sew fins to fish bodyjust above the gusset decreases, angled so that the fin covers the hee of the sock Just above the toe decreases. using sewing needle and thread. sew a bead to each side for the eyes. Gn hlow soma huhhlesl
Chart 1
Symbols
| t | t | 0 | A | 18 | t | knit tbl | ||
| t | 0 | t | 17 | 0 | yarnover | |||
| t | 0 | t | A | 16 | und | |||
| 0 | t | t | A | 15 | N | k2tog tbl | ||
| 0 | t | t | A | 14 | ||||
| A | t | t | 0 | 13 | ||||
| t | A | t | 0 | 12 | ||||
| t | A | t | 0 | 11 | ||||
| t | t | 0 | 10 | |||||
| t | t | 9 |
Random Space Filler: A few of my favorite French words!
Some of myhighschol French hasstayed withme altheseyears. even though rarel get achance tousei Here areafewof my favorite words. un pamplemousse rose - a pink grapefruit un hibou - an owl lananas - the pineapple (it's fun to say!) apprivoiser - to tame la grenouille at le parapluie - the frog and the umbrella Je ne puis pasjouer avec toi dit le renard. Je ne suis pas apprivoisé. Une chauve sourie - a bat (the flying kind. literally a bald mouse)"I can't play with you." said the fox. "I'm not tame." (Le Petit Prince. by la bourdonnement des mouches - the buzzing of flies Antoine de Saint-Exupery) l'abelle et le miel - bee and honey le soleil et la lune - the sun and the moon la licorme - unicorn la chenille et le papillon- the caterpillar and the butterfly
