My fancy-lacy-fun socks were started ages ago... and I found them in a forgotten project bag last month. As it happens so often, I fell in love with the stitch pattern all over again and finished them in no time... and even worked a second pair since.
I thought that you might like them too, so I wanted to share this little sock with you.
Mind you, it's not a complete pattern with multiple sizes. It's a recipe style thing - where you get the numbers for a European size 38 foot and some pointers on how to adapt the pattern for another size.
I hope that you like it!
I thought that you might like them too, so I wanted to share this little sock with you.
Mind you, it's not a complete pattern with multiple sizes. It's a recipe style thing - where you get the numbers for a European size 38 foot and some pointers on how to adapt the pattern for another size.
I hope that you like it!
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In my opinion this stitch pattern looks its best in one single colour (an easy to wear, light grey is my own preferrence as you can see).
But I had to let loose on colours for the toe and the heel construction - like this I can have seemingly sombre and wearable socks to go with my monochrome outfits, while the real craziness is hidden in my shoes (and open only for private viewings…). |
You can find the ShellSocks recipe/pattern for online viewing by clicking here
(I am sorry that there is no option to download the PDF at this time, just the possibility to read it via the blog. Free patterns get pirated and sold quite often it seems and I wouldn't like this to happen).
Make sure to check on the tips below before you start:
(I am sorry that there is no option to download the PDF at this time, just the possibility to read it via the blog. Free patterns get pirated and sold quite often it seems and I wouldn't like this to happen).
Make sure to check on the tips below before you start:
Some Tips for ShellSocks (or any sock knitting)
The STITCH PATTERN featured in this sock design is having yarn-overs before a purl stitch and before a knit stitch. Often you find that the yarn overs that are worked before the purl stitch end up to be much bigger in size than their sisters before the knit st and that results in an uneven lace fabric.
There are two ways to remedy that, depending on the look you like:
There are two ways to remedy that, depending on the look you like:
- if you like small yo holes on both sides, then work the yo before the knit stitch as usual (from front to back) and the yo before the purl stitch from back to front. This will result in a twisted yo, that needs to be worked tbl in the next rnd.
- if you like larger yo holes on both sides of the decreases (something I prefer for my socks, to make the lace design pop out more), then work both yo’s normally (from front to back), only give some extra slack to the ones before the knit stitch. You can achieve this by pulling the already worked yo a little bit forward with your index finger, while working the knit stitch.
As you probably know already, I always like to design simple stitch patterns that are easy to memorise and where one can quickly find back into the repeat, even after having left the project quite urgently in the middle of the row, repeat or stitch pattern.
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In this case it is really obvious to find when one needs to work the single patterned row of the stitch pattern: Just take a look at the stitches and if you see that there are 3 rows of knit sts on top of the yarn overs, it’s time for the next patterned rnd. If there are less than 3, than go on and continue to knit around.
And it's even easier to count repeats here: Just count each yarn-over-hole and you know how many repeats you worked already. |
In this pattern I use my favourite HEEL CONSTRUCTION that I like best in terms of fit and which is fairly quick to do: A gusseted short row heel, worked with german short rows.
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I like to redistribute all the newly increased gusset stitches towards the instep needles on both sides and then put all the insole stitches on one single needle before working the short-rows on the heel, so that especially the wrong side rows are worked much more comfortable, without having too many needles in your way.
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As a bonus you also get a guaranteed ladder-free heel in this way!
Afterwards, when you work the stripes on the heel flap and also on the toe section, don’t forget to twist the yarns to avoid holes at the colour-change (put the new colour over the old one from right to left once, before starting the round in the new colour). |
The Shell stitch pattern has double decreases that tend to pull upwards and that can warp the stocking stitch stripes at the heel. This is why we end on the patterned row, just before working the heel. That way, when resuming working all around in pattern at the leg again, we continue with knit rows over the heel section in the next rnds, to avoid distortion on the striped heel.
This tip can be handy in all sock patterns with similar lace pattern repeats: You might want to make sure that the knit rnds of a stitch pattern (one that has stocking stitch rows in between decrease/yarn over rows) will be positioned right above the heel section.
This tip can be handy in all sock patterns with similar lace pattern repeats: You might want to make sure that the knit rnds of a stitch pattern (one that has stocking stitch rows in between decrease/yarn over rows) will be positioned right above the heel section.
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And another GENERAL TIP which I am sure you all know already is this last one:
To work comfortably with the contrast yarn on the heel you can "store" your main coloured yarn inside the sock - like this it won't tangle with the other two skeins of yarn while you work the longer coloured heel sections. |
Finally if you need more tips on AUGMENTING SIZE for this recipe, you can check out the notes on the second pair I knitted for my mum in size 39 here on my ravelry project notes here.
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