On any given day of the week, you might hear me saying the following:
- I love wool.
- I love garter stitch.
- I love colorwork.
If I had to choose a favorite, I would be at a loss. I equally enjoy all three of those things. When it came time to design my new pattern, I was able to combine all three loves and the result is balanced, simple, and wearable (another three things I love in knitting).
The pattern is Graveyard Socks, and the idea came about when I read about the Socks Revived Contest on the Exercise Before Knitting blog. This is my entry for the contest.
Knit from the cuff down, and combining elements of colorwork, plain stockinette stitch and a reinforced garter stitch heel, the socks are a good balance of “I need to pay attention to the chart right now” and “All I want to do is watch TV while I knit”.
The decidedly macabre motif was scribbled on graph paper, then transferred to my charting software while Jerry was watching over my shoulder. It came time to save the file, and I mumbled something about needed a name for the socks. Jerry, who is 7, noticed the similarity of the chart to a graveyard, and the name of the socks was born.
The heels are knit using garter stitch short rows, and two strands of the yarn are held together for extra reinforcement. If you’re worried about garter stitch ridges digging into the bottom of your feet, I urge you to try this technique. The stretchy nature of garter stitch makes for a very comfortable heel.
The toes are French (or at least that’s what Nancy Bush says). There are three lines of decreases, rather than the usual two, and the stitches are gathered at the end instead of woven. It was the first time I tried this toe shaping, and I really liked it!
My foot model, as usual, was Lisa (here and here, her new education technology blog). I can’t thank her enough for helping me with the photo shoot. I had her climbing under the picnic table (not easy!) and taking directions like: “Try to look more dead.” (see first photo) Thank you, Lisa!
Graveyard Socks – $6
Yarn: Nature Spun Sport
Needles: Size 1 (2.25 mm)
Gauge: 8 sts = 1″ (2.5 cm)
For more specific information please visit the Graveyard Socks page, or the Ravelry page for Graveyard Socks.
You can find more pictures in the Graveyard Socks Flickr Set.
As always, thank you for supporting my designs!!
very cool! love the colors together.
It was fun. Maggie makes a great photography assistant and kept me well entertained underneath the picnic table and in the back of the truck.
As a testimonial, the garter heel is super comfy. I could have walked off in them…if my name were Cindy, I might have been tempted! : )
Fantastic socks!! I like how they are just a bit more interesting than plain socks, for when you want something simple, but not *too* simple.
Cute cute socks! I’m going to be attempting my first pair of socks soon…if that goes well, I’ll make sure to get this pattern.
Good luck with the contest!
Nice socks!
What an awesome pair of socks. My mom is a sock fanatic and wore these really goofy witch socks for Halloween last year. Think I’d love to whip up a pair of these for her this year. I’m on Rav, too, look me up!
Very cool; I love the colors!