This sock has been designed for the Solid Socks group August/September 2013 Mystery KAL and will be knit, starting from the top, over a period of 4 weeks. I had two very different sources of inspiration for this sock: the first is the weather; since warm weather often makes it a bit more of a challenge to knit during the summer months (apologies to my fellow knitters in the southern hemisphere, I know that it will be winter there for you!), I definitely wanted to design a pattern with lace in it for this KAL. The second source of inspiration is very different: it is Fur Elise by Beethoven. As we were packing up for our house move, my daughter found some old sheet music of mine in a cupboard. She decided then and there to teach herself Fur Elise. The first time I heard those easy-to-recognise first notes of the piece, memories of my childhood piano lessons came flooding back. Playing that piece of music made me feel so... musical, and I loved the sense of anticipation as the crescendos built up. I find KALs a bit like that - every week the sock builds up and the anticipation grows with it. I hope you enjoy this KAL, and that it helps you to feel..knitterly.
SIZE
Ladies Small Medium & Large [to fit a foot diameter of approximately 15cm/7" (2ocm/8", 25cm/ 9")]. A note on the sizing: the words “small", “medium" and “large" refer to the width of the sock around the foot. There is quite a bit of elasticity in the pattern, so ifin doubt about width, I'd suggest that you choose the smaller size. With this design, the length of the foot is also important - I'm afraid I've tried everything I can do to design for small feet, but the shortest foot that this design willfit needs to measure no less than 17.5cm/7.5" from the tip of your longest toe to the back of the heel. You will need to know your total foot lengthfurther along in the pattern - make a note ofit (in either centimeters orinches) here:
MATERIALS
400 - 450m (370-415 yds) fingering weight/sock yarn. The socks in the photos were knit with 1oo% merino Classic Sock Yarn by the Sunrise Fiber Company, sponsor of this round of the Mystery KALs, in the colourway French Blue. Tapestry needle for grafting toe Stitch markers (optional)
RECOMMENDED NEEDLES:
One or two circular 2.25mm/US 1 needles, per your preference. Note 1: no matter what your choice in needle, always use the size that gives you the gauge listed below -- every knitter's gauge is unique, and can be different with different techniques. Note 2: I have written this pattern for knitting with one or two circular needles, however it can easily be adjusted to using five double-pointed needles (DPN's) - just divide the stitches of Needle1 evenly over DPNs 1 & 2, and the stitches of Needle 2 over DPNs 3 & 4. GAUGE: 8 sts = 2.5cm/1 inch in stockinette st
ABBREVIATIONS&CHARTSYMBOLS
K = Knit P = Purl LHN = Left Hand Needle RHN = Right Hand Need
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K3Tog = K 3 Together = Insert the tip of the RHN as if to knit through the front legs of the next three sts on the LHN, wrap yarn and knit, slipping allthree sts off the needle at once - two sts decreased. P2Tog = Purl 2 Together = Insert the tip of the RHN as if to purl through the front legs of the next 2 sts on the LHN, wrap yarn and purl, slipping both sts off the needle at once - one st decreased.
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increase, resulting in a net decrease in the number of stitches. When knitting from a chart, you need to ignore this stitch.
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| T |
Issk = Slip, Slip Knit = Slip one stitch knitwise onto the right hand needle, slip a second stitch purlwise onto the right hand needle, then insert the left hand needle through the front of both stitches just slipped, wrap yarn and knit them together.
IT2R = Twist Right - K2Tog but do not drop the sts from the LHN. Insert the tip of the RHN into the first st on the LHN (that is, the st closest to the tip of the N) and K. Drop both sts from the LHN. This causes the sts to cross over one another, making them “lean"towards the right.
IT2L = Twist Left -=Slip two sts as if to knit one at a time to the RHN, then transfer both slipped sts back to the LHN. K the second st (that is second closest to the tip) TBL but do not dropthe st. K both sts together TBL and then drop them from the LHN. This causes the sts to cross over one another, making them “lean" towards the left. KiTBL = Knit one through the back loop = Insert the tip of the RHN into the back loop of the st on the LHN, wrap and knit. This causes the stitch to twist, making it stand out against the fabric. When knitting flat or working a wrong side row, this st should be worked by inserting the tip of the RHN into the back loop of the st on the LHN, wrapping and purling. Turn = Turn the knitted fabric around so that the other side is facing you and start working st st in the other direction. You do this at the end of every row when working a flat piece, but when turning a heel using short rows, this turn occurs before you reach the end of a row. N1, N2 = Needle 1, Needle 2
NOTES BEFORE YOU START
Charts for each clue can be found at the end of the clue.
CLUE 1: - PIANISSIMO - PP
Cast on 64 (72, 8o) sts using a loose cast-on (either the long-tail or German Twisted cast-ons are my favourites) and divide the stitches evenly across both needles => 32 (36, 40) sts per needle. Join all stitches in the round and work the size-appropriate RIBBING Charts across the sts of N1, then repeat across the sts on N2. Repeat the chart for at least another i1 rounds.
End of Clue 1.
CLUE 1 RIBBING Chart for Sizes Small & Medium:
Work yellow coloured sts for size MEDIUM only.
CLUE 1 RIBBING Chart for Size Large:
| 40 | 68 | 38 3736 3534333231 30 29 282726252423 22212019 | 18 17 | 161514131211 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 6 5 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 1 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
CLUE 2: - SFORZANDO, sfz
Work the first row of the size-appropriate LEG Chart once across the sts on Ni and then again across the sts on N2. Working the remaining rows ofthe chart as set, and then repeat the full chart as many times as necessary until the leg measures 2ocm/8" from the cast-on edge. Note: You can customize the length of your sock by knitting fewer or more repeats ofthe Leg Chart - just makesurethat: a) you dothe same number of repeats on sock # 2 (you'd be surprised by how many times I'veforgotten to write down this information!) and b) that you end after a row 6 of the chart for all sizes
End of Clue 2
CLUE 2 LEG CHARTS
Small/Medium:
Work yellow sts for size MEDIUM only. Large:
