Butterfly Socks
This is a standard cuff-down heel-flap/gusset sock, If you already know how to knit one, just follow your own sock recipe and splice in the charts for the butterflies, etc.
Gauge: 7 stitches/inch
Yarn: I used Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in two colors: Charcoal (very dark brown), and Huron (muted blues and greens). I had quite a bit of the Huron left at the end, and almost none of the Charcoal. I wear a size 8 US shoe, and have thin ankles; if you are going to knit a longer sock, either in the foot or the leg, or one that's bigger around, you'll need two skeins of your main color (or use a yarn with more generous yardage!) To make exactly the same socks as mine, follow the italics. Cast on 64 stitches. Join, being careful not to twist stitches, and knit whatever kind of ribbing you like for however long you like. I used KIPl ribbing, and did 6 rounds of it. Work Chart One four times (16 stitches times 4 equals 64), then continue in your main color until you think it's time for the butterflies to start. I did I4 rounds. Work Chart Two 4 times.
CHART ONE
CHART TWO
Divide the stitches in half, and work the Heel-flap Chart on 32 of the stitches, slipping the first stitch of each row. It is unfortunate that the butterfly has an odd number of stitches and the heel-flap has an even one; you have to put the butterfly one stitch off center. If it really bugs you, reverse it on the second sock, so that your two socks are a pleasant mirror-image pair. Ignore the other 32 stitches for now while you knit back-and-forth on the heelflap.
End the heel flap on a wrong-side row. Time to turn the heel! Row I [RS]: KI7, ssk, kl, turn work. Row 2 [Ws]: Sll, p3, p2tog, pl, turn work. Row 3 [RS]: Sll, k4, ssk, kl, turn work. Row 4 [WS]: Sll, p5, p2tog, pl, turn work. Row 5 [RS]: Sll, k6, ssk, kl, turn work. Row 6 [WS]: Sll, p7, p2tog, pl, turn work. Row 7 [RS]: Sll, k8, ssk, kl, turn work. Row 8 [Ws]: Sll, p9, p2tog, pl, turn work. Row 9 [RS]: Sll, kl0, ssk, kl, turn work. Row I0 [WWs]: Sll, pl l, p2tog, pl, turn work. Row II [RS]: Sll, kl2, ssk, kl, turn work. Row I2 [WS]: Sll, pl3, p2tog, pl, turn work. Row I3 [RS]: Sll, kl4, ssk, kl, turn work. Row I4 [WWS]: Sll, pl5, p2tog, pl, turn work. Now you're on to the gusset. You're about to start knitting in rounds again. T( get the first round set up: Knit across the heel-flap stitches Pick up and knit 13 slipped stitches at the edge of the heel-flap Pick up and knit one stitch between the heel-flap and the stitches that you left waiting (these will be the instep of your sock and I'm going to call them the instepstitches) Knit the 32 instep stitches Pick up and knit another stitch between the instep stitches and the heel-flap Pick up and knit another I3 stitches along the other edge of the heel-flap. Total stitches: 92 Now work in rounds, decreasing every other time you get to the point where the picked-up stitches at the edge of the heel-flap meet the instep stitches. This means that Round Two goes: K44, k2tog, K32, ssk, K12 Round 3 (and all following odd-numbered rows until you've decreased away the gusset stitches): just knit. Round Four: K43, k2tog, K32, ssk, Kl1 continue without any fuss until your sock is 2.5 inches shorter than your foot. than usual amount of contrast yarn at the toe is there so that you can get two contrast-colored toe, you can omit the 6 rounds between the Chart and the toe-shaping, in which case start Chart Three 2 inches from the end of your toes rather than 2.5 inches, and have a more petite and subtle colored toe on your My toe-shaping: decreases every other round 6 times, then every round until I'm down to I2 stitches, then Kitchener the end together.
CHART THREE
