The last few weeks have been a rolling tidal wave of sickness after sickness here. The lack of productivity is an issue to my overachiever brain. However, I did manage to make socks for my cold toes in the plummeting temperatures.
Normally, socks wouldn’t take 2 months to make, but I am adamant these are taken over by the magic of the fae. The yarn would not meet gauge, no matter what I did or how many times I tried. Add that to the distractions of work and knitting sweaters for my kids, instead of following the pattern I was intending when I bought the yarn, I went unconventional to modern concepts: World War spiral socks. These were the socks made by women during wartime to send to the deployed troops. They do not have heels, which allow for flexible sizing – and cushion the blow of struggling with gauge, apparently.
Now, I love a good historical pattern. I could not find a specific one for these, as they are almost all formulaic, as is expected in many vintage patterns. I personally based my calculations only on a picture I found, and sort of counted my way through. To get around the gauge issue, I just measured my foot and then did the math using the gauge I ended up with at the end.
The pattern, if you would want to make a similar (toe-up!) version is as follows:
TOE CAP:
CO 12 on each needle. (I use Judy’s magic cast on, on a 40″ circular needle). Knit around row once. Then, follow the pattern
ROW 1: k1, m1l, k until 2 left on needle, m1r, k1. Repeat for 2nd needle.
ROW 2: Knit around entire row.
Repeat these 2 rows until you get the number of stitches needed according to your previous calculations. Keep in mind, it needs to be a multiple of 6. (Example: My foot is 8.5″ around at the ball, and I did 60 stitches for the yarn I used, because my gauge was 7 stitches per inch.)
I personally switch to DPNs around here, because they’re easier for me to deal with moving forward. When you have reached your desired number of stitches, knit around for 13 rows.
BODY: The following pattern is in groups of 6. For experienced knitters, you’re doing 3×3 ribbing, that shifts over one stitch every pattern change.
Rows 1-6: k3, p3
Rows 7-12: p1, k3, p2
Rows 13-18: p2, k3, p1
Rows 19-24: p3, k3
Rows 25-30: k1, p3, k2
Rows 31-36: k2, p3, k1
Repeat this as many times as you need for the length of a sock. (I chose 3 repeats for a crew length.)
CUFF:
When the body has reached the length you would like, continue to the next pattern repeat. Continue this for 13 rows (for instance, if you end on k2, p3, k1, your cuff ribbing will be k3, p3.)
Cast off using a stretchy cast off option.
These socks work incredibly well for family knits. The same socks that fit me as loose house socks have already been worn by my kids as leggings, and tighter socks. The fit range of one pair is unmatched by socks with heels. I personally will be making more of these for the kids, too. They are a very good mindless knit that do not require attention of length measurements. The perfect pattern to load up a drawer of comfy house socks for winter. I hope you enjoy them!
