From: jp To: Multiple recipients of list subject: question about yarn prices, sock pattern SOCK PATTERN -- TWO-STRANDED WILDFOOTE SOCKS I knit these socks about a month ago. They turned out pretty well, so I thought I'd go ahead and post the pattern. Wildfoote is an interesting yarn -- it feels smooth and non-elastic, almost like cotton. The socks don't feel as thick as I expected and they're very comfortable. They were a nice treat after the 70-stitch socks I had just finished! Trying some different needles may help eliminate the yarn splitting problem some of y'all have mentioned. Feel free to e-mail with advice or questions. Flattery will also be gratefully accepted. TWO-STRANDED WILDFOOTE SOCKS This pattern was inspired by Michele Bernstein, who gave me the yarn, and by Joan Hamer, whose Two-Stranded WoolEase socks are legendary. These socks are made using two strands of yarn throughout. They're not quite as fast to make as Joan's Socks, but they go pretty quickly. I made these up to use as a simple travel and meeting project. Two socks take about two 50g skeins of yarn (Wildfoote Luxury Sock Yarn, from Brown Sheep Co., 75% washable wool, 25% nylon), with a little bit left over. If your feet are longer than about 10", you may want to make the leg a little shorter. The sock leg is about 8" in circumference, which is typical for women's socks. Gauge: About 5 stitches/inch, using two strands of Wildfoote. Anything between about 4.75 st/in and 5.25 st/in should work OK. 5.25 st/in or more will make the socks tighter, while 4.75 st/in or fewer will make them looser. This sock pattern will work with any yarn that gives you the same gauge. I used #5 dpn's, but I'm a fairly loose knitter. I chose these needles because they felt comfortable with the yarn, and they didn't give me problems with yarn splitting. My row gauge was about 7.5-8 rows/inch, but that doesn't really matter much. The leg: Cast on 40 stitches. Join, and work in K2 P2 rib for 10 rounds. Or, you can do your favorite ribbing for as long as you want. Switch to stockinette stitch (K each round) and work 40 rounds, or until the socks are about 6.5" long. If your feet are longer than about 10", you may want to make the legs at bit shorter, or buy extra yarn just in case. Divide for the heel. The heel is done on 20 stitches. I used the last ten stitches of round 50 and the first 10 stitches of round 51 for my heel, but any 20 stitches will be fine. Put the other 20 stitches on a holder or leave them on 2 needles. Heel: Work back and forth in stockinette stitch (P 1 row, K 1 row) for 20 rows, ending on a knit row. Slip the first stitch of each row to make it easier to pick up stitches later. Turn the heel: 1: P to the middle of the row, p 1, p2tog, p1, turn. (In other words, p 11, p2tog, p1, turn). 2: sl 1, k3, SSK, k1, turn. 3: sl 1, p4, p2tog (across the gap), p1, turn. 4: sl 1, k5, SSK (across the gap), k1, turn. Continue with the purl and knit rows, each time decreasing across the gap, until you're knitting the entire heel. You'll have about 12 stitches left. You should have finished on a knit row. Gusset: Pick up 10 stitches on the side of the heel, one for every other row of the heel. If you want, you can pick up an extra stitch at the corner of the instep; I pick up a stitch in the stitch below the first stitch of the heel. Knit across the reserved instep stitches, then pick up 10 stitches on the other side of the heel (plus the extra instep stitch, if desired). Knit one round to get things settled down, using this opportunity to count your stitches and re-arrange them on the needles. Re-arrange the stitches on your needles so that the round starts in the middle of the heel. Needle one should have half the heel stitches plus all the stitches picked up from the side of the heel (about 17 stitches). Needle 2 (and 3, if you're using 5 needles) will have the instep stitches (20 stitches). Needle 3 (or 4) will have the stitches picked up from the side of the heel, and the last 6 stitches of the round (about 17 stitches). Decrease the gusset as follows: 1: On needle 1, knit to the last two stitches, k2tog. Knit the instep. On the last needle, SSK, then knit to the end of the round. 2: K around. Repeat these two rounds until you're back down to 40 stitches total. You should have 10 stitches each on the first and last needles and 20 on the instep needle(s). Foot: Knit in stockinette stitch (K every round) until the foot measures about 1.75" less than the total length of your foot (probably about 45-55 rounds since the heel pick-up). If you have re-arranged the needles to do the foot, re-arrange them again so that you have 10 stitches each on the first and last needles, and 20 on the instep needle(s). Toe: 1: On needle 1, knit to the last three stitches, k2tog, k1. On the instep needle(s), K1, SSK, knit to the last three stitches, k2tog, k1. On the last needle, K1, SSK, knit to the end of the round. 2: K around. Repeat these two rounds until you have 20 stitches left. Then, decrease every round (in other words, follow the round 1 instructions) until only 8 stitches are left. Break off the yarn, run it once or twice through the eight remaining stitches, and pull it snug. Or, you can graft the 8 stitches, if you'd prefer. Finish off the yarn ends and make a matching sock. --jp jpa@agora.rdrop.com --- This pattern downloaded from Wool Works: the online knitting compendium http://www.woolworks.org/