Alegria Rib & Garter Stitch Socks

We decided to walk down to Dinis Cottage. A lovely walk on a lane way to the cottage with a small slipway. We had hoped to have a coffee and cake in the cafe, but unfortunately the cafe was closed, as they hadn’t yet opened for the summer season even though it was the end of May.

We walked along the narrow path at the end of the path reached the Meeting of the Waters with a pretty view of Old Weir Bridge.

And stopped to photograph the Alegria Rib & Garter Stitch Socks at the Meeting of the Waters with the Old Weir Bridge in the background.

It was fun walking along a narrow winding path, stepping over tree routes, circumnavigating rocks then reaching a board walk over the swampy sections to reach the Old Weir Bridge. We walked down to the waters edge and took a few more photos with the water gushing past. A boat came through full of tourists and I overheard the man steering telling the passengers that Old Weir Bridge had been rebuilt and only finished 2 weeks before, so it wasn’t so old anymore.

What did I do when I was knitting these socks?

Basically, I wanted stocking stitch on the gusset, sole and toe with the textural rib and garter stitch patterning on the leg and instep.

I estimated how many rounds I normally knit for the cuff and leg, how many rounds are knit to create the gusset shaping and how many rounds are knit to create the foot section. I needed to know this before I decided how many rounds of garter stitch and how many rounds of 1×1 rib I was going to have in each pattern repeat.

I needed to know this as I knew I wanted to finish the foot section with a garter stitch section before I started the toe shaping.

I’ve written down how I knit these socks from the notes I made in my knitting notebook when I was designing them and knitting them for myself.

Yarn

The Manos del Uruguay Alegria is an absolutely gorgeous hand dyed sock yarn. The yarn feels wonderfully soft. Manos del Uruguay Alegria is a relatively new addition to the Knitting Squirrel’s Yarn Shop and is available in a choice of 10 colourways. I chose to knit a very luxurious feeling pair of socks using this yarn but a shawl or cowl knit using this sock yarn would be amazing.

1 x 100g skein of Manos del Uruguay Alegria

Needles

3.25 mm double pointed needle (dpn) for casting on
2.75 mm (set of 5) dpns for knitting socks
tapestry needle for finishing

Tension

I knit my socks to fit a UK shoe size 5/6 using a tension of 30 sts/42 rounds = 10×10 cm (4″x4″) which works out at 7.5 sts/10.5 rounds = 2.5×2.5cm (1″x1″) when knitting stocking stitch (stockinette stitch) in the round. The circumference of my foot is 21.5cm (8.5″). You don’t want your socks to be too loose when you’ve finished knitting them, so I like a little bit of negative ease. At this point I’m going to talk in inches… sometimes it is just easier… so, 8.5 (foot circumference) x 7.5 (tension) = 63.75 stitches. I like my socks to have about 5% negative ease. So, 63.75 ÷ 100 x 95 = 60.56 stitches. I round this down to 60 stitches for knitting my socks.

Abbreviations

double pointed needle(s) – dpn(s); stitch(es) – st(s); knit – k; purl – p; knit two stitches together – k2tog; yarn over – yo; slip slip knit – ssk; purl two stitches together – p2tog;

Cuff

Cast on 60 sts using 3.25 mm dpn using the long tail cast on or a different stretchy cast on.
Join into the round as you knit the first round using 2.75 mm dpns, 15 sts on each needle.
Knit 16 rounds using k1, p1 ribbing.

Leg

Garter Stitch and Rib Patterning for the Leg

Rounds 1, 3, 5 and 7: knit
Rounds 2, 4 and 6: purl
Rounds 8 – 16: k1, p1 rib
Repeat rounds 1 – 16: 3 more times
Then repeat rounds 1 – 6

I finished the leg at the Centre Back then knit across the stitches on needle 1 using needle 4. There are 30 stitches on needle 4 which are used for knitting the heel flap.

Heel

Heel Flap

After finishing the leg you’ll be working the heel flap over half of the total number of stitches, working in rows rather than rounds.

Row 1: *sl 1, p1; rep from * to end.
Row 2: sl 1, knit to end.
Repeat rows 1 and 2 fifteen times more. A total of 32 rows.

Dutch or Square Heel Turn

Set up: p20, p2tog, turn
Row 1: sl 1, k10, ssk, turn
Row 2: sl 1, p10, p2tog, turn
Repeat rows 1 and 2 until 12 stitches are left, ending with row 1.

Gusset

Continue knitting, without turning, as you will now be knitting in rounds again.

Pick up and knit 18 stitches along the edge of the heel flap. (Needle 1)
Knit across the 30 instep stitches. (Needles 2 and 3)
Pick up and knit 18 stitches along the edge of the heel flap. Then knit across the first 6 stitches of the heel. (Needle 4)

This is the starting point for the following rounds.

Before you start the next round, slip the next 6 heel stitches onto needle 1. Needles 1 and 4 should have 24 stitches on each. Needles 2 and 3 should have 15 stitches on each.

Next Round: K6, k18 tbl, (p1, k1) repeat across the 30 stitches of the instep, k18 tbl, k6
Start shaping on the next round.

Gusset Shaping

Continuing with the rib patterning along with the gusset shaping. Starting on Round 9 of the rib pattern

Rounds 9, 11, 13 and 15: Needle 1: k to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1; Needles 2 and 3: (p1, k1) repeat across the 30 stitches of the instep; Needle 4: k1, ssk, k to end of needle.
Rounds 10, 12, 14 and 16: Needle 1: k; Needles 2 and 3: (p1, k1) repeat across the 30 stitches of the instep; Needle 4: k

Changing to the garter stitch section along with the gusset shaping.

Rounds 1, 3, 5 and 7: Needle 1: k to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1; Needles 2 and 3: knit 30 instep stitches; Needle 4: k1, ssk, k to end of needle.
Rounds 2, 4 and 6: Needle 1: k; Needles 2 and 3: purl 30 instep stitches; Needle 4: k

Continuing with the rib patterning along with the gusset shaping.

Rounds 8: Needle 1: k; Needles 2 and 3: (p1, k1) repeat across the 30 stitches of the instep; Needle 4: k
Round 9: Needle 1: k to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1; Needles 2 and 3: (p1, k1) repeat across the 30 stitches of the instep; Needle 4: k1, ssk, k to end of needle.

Please Note:

Garter Stitch and Rib Pattern For the Foot

Rounds 1, 3, 5 and 7: knit
Rounds 2, 4 and 6: needles 1 and 4: knit; needles 2 and 3: purl (instep stitches)
Rounds 8 – 16: needles 1 and 4: knit; needles 2 and 3: p1, k1 rib (instep stitches)

The foot will be knit following the above Garter Stitch and Rib Pattern. All the Round numbers below relate to these round numbers.

Foot

Rounds 10 – 16: Needle 1: k; Needles 2 and 3: (p1, k1) repeat across the 30 stitches of the instep; Needle 4: k

Rounds 1, 3, 5 and 7: Needle 1: k to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1; Needles 2 and 3: knit 30 instep stitches; Needle 4: k1, ssk, k to end of needle.
Rounds 2, 4 and 6: Needle 1 and 4: knit; Needles 2 and 3: purl 30 instep stitches;

Next Repeat of Pattern (*)

Rounds 8 – 16: Needle 1 and 4: knit; Needles 2 and 3: (p1, k1) repeat across the 30 stitches of the instep;

Rounds 1, 3, 5 and 7: Needle 1: k to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1; Needles 2 and 3: knit 30 instep stitches; Needle 4: k1, ssk, k to end of needle.
Rounds 2, 4 and 6: Needle 1 and 4: knit; Needles 2 and 3: purl 30 instep stitches;

Repeat the Section above marked by the (*) twice more.

Classic Toe

Round 1: Needles 1 and 3: k to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1; Needles 2 and 4: k1, ssk, k to end of needle.
Round 2: k
Repeat rounds 1 and 2 until there are 7 sts on each needle. (28 stitches).
Then repeat round 1 until there are 4 sts on each needle. (16 stitches).

Making sure that the toe stitches align with the heel, slip the stitches from needle 4 onto needle 1 and the stitches from needle 3 onto needle 2. 8 stitches on each needle.

Graft the toe stitches using Kitchener Stitch.

Finishing

Weave in all loose ends. Wash and block these socks. It helps to create a smoother looking sock. I love the textural quality of this lovely design. The sock is very comfortable to wear.

The Manos del Uruguay Alegria is an absolutely gorgeous hand dyed sock yarn. The yarn feels wonderfully soft. I love the abstract movement of the colours on the finished sock.

Alegria Rib & Garter Stitch Socks