Zarathustra
socks by Caoua Coffee
materials:
260-280yards/240-260m main color sock yarn 120-140yards/110-130m contrast color sock yarn (sample: Opal uni 425m/100g, 75% merino 25% nylon) needles US1 / 2.25mm or size needed to obtain gauge tapestry needle, cable needle size: woman's medium (Us 7-8), leg: 8.5 inches circumference, 6.5 inches from CO edge to beginning of heel flap gauge: 32 sts / 50 rows = 4 inches in mosaic pattern
abbreviations:
WS = wrong side / private side
pattern:
cuff: with MC loosely cast on 72 sts and join to begin working in the round. work [k1, pl] ribbing for 15 rounds
Zarathustra socks - by Caoua Coffe
leg:
join CC and start working the leg chart. repeat each chart line 4 times to complete one round on your needles. e sure to alternate CC and MC every other round (i.e. 2 rounds of CC, then 2 rounds of M work rounds 1-32 of pattern chart once and then rounds 1-31 again. pattern chart:
Zarathustra socks - by Caoua Coffee
break CC yarn, leaving a tail long enough to weave in later. heel is worked in MC only, therefore change to MC and continue as follows: set-up for heel flap: knit 18sts, put the next 37sts on hold (they will be worked later for instep), turn your work the heel is worked back and forth over the 35 sts left on your needles. heel flap: WS: sl1 yf, \*[p1, sl1 yf] repeat from \* 17times, turn RS: knit across, turn work theses two rows 19 times all together (38 rows total) turn heel: WS: sl1 yf, p19, p2tog, pl, turn RS: sl1 yb, k6, ssk, k1, turn WS: sl1 yf, purl to 1 st before gap, p2tog, pl, turn RS: sl1 yb, knit to 1 st before gap, ssk, k1, turn repeat theses last 2 rows until all sts have been worked. now 21 heel sts remain.
gusset setup:
with MC pick up and knit 19 sts along side of heel flap, pick up one more st between flap and instep and ktbl this one. continue by knitting all the 37 held instep sts then pick up 1 st between instep and heel flap and ktbl it, pick up 19 more sts along side of heel flap and knit them. knit the 41 other sole sts. this is the new beginning of the round. (now you have 61 sole sts and 37 instep sts.) join CC and start alternating CC and MC every other round again. for each instep row, you work pattern sts 1 -18 twice, then stitch 1 once more (= 37 instep sts). gussetdecrease: CC round 1: instep: work in instep pattern as established sole: ssk, \*[sl yb, k1] repeat from \* to 3 sts before instep, sly b, k2tog CC round 2: work instep in pattern as established, k across all sole sts MC round 3: instep: work instep in pattern as established, sole: ssk, knit to 2 sts before instep, k2tog k across all sole sts MC round 4: work instep in pattern as established, k across all sole sts work these 4 rounds 6 times, then rounds 1 and 2 once more (26 rounds total), decreasing 2 sts every other round. now there are 37 instep sts and 35 sole sts. foot: continue instep as established while always working the 35 sole sts in sole pattern as follows: sole pattern: 1. sole round MC: k all sole sts 2. sole round MC: k all sole sts 3. sole round CC: [k1, sl yb] repeat to one st before instep, k1 4. sole round CC: k all sole sts oot is approx 2 inches shorter than desired length, end after having worked 1 round in M
Zarathustra socks - by Caoua Coffee
leaving a tail to weave in. with MC continue as follows ( toe setup and toe are MC only) toe set-up: now you have 70 sts (35 sole sts and 35 instep sts) toe: round 1 (plain round) k all sts round 2 (decrease round): [k1, ssk, k to 3 sts before end of instep, k2tog, k1], [k1, ssk, k to 3 sts before end of sole, k2tog, k1] repeat this 2 rounds until there are 34 sts left on your needles, then always work round 2 until there are 14 stsleft. (this results in a pointy toe. if you like a more rounded one, proceed as follows: round1, round2, 3x round1, round2, 2x round1, round2, 2x round1, [round2, round1]6x, 5xround2.)
finishing:
leaving a tail of at least 8 inches, break yarn and close the toe using Kitchener stitch. weave in the ends. then knit a second sock and enjoy!
about this pattern:
"Also sprach Zarathustra" (Thus spoke Zarathustra) is a symphonic poem by Richard Strauss best known for it's initial fanfare “Sunrise" that was use as the opening theme in Stanley Kubrick's "2001: a space odyssey” and in many other productions since. in quest for solutions to the “world-riddle", all is considered in this musical poem: religion and passions, nature and spirit, humanity and the universe. but in the end, there are no eternal answers, there's no good or evil, no black or white but just the perpetual recurrence of one and the same pattern. at close range, the contrasting colors in these socks are just separate areas of black and white stitches, but viewed from a distance they form an undulant pattern that flows in ripples from cuff to toe.
