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Cosy Toes - Socks

Green Rainbow Socks

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The Green Rainbow Socks are the fifth post in the Rainbow Socks Collection Series which started with ‘What is the Perfect basic Sock Pattern’.

The inspiration for this series came to me soon after I’d noticed how scruffy my hand knit socks were looking. I needed new hand knit socks to replenish the drawer. Like most sock knitters I have a particular sock pattern in my head, that I knit frequently, but I began wondering if another heel/toe combination would fit my foot more snugly.

The Green Rainbow socks have an eye of partridge heel flap which is turned, followed by gusset shaping, a paired decrease toe and the cuff is a knit 1 purl 1 rib.

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Yellow Rainbow Socks

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The Yellow Rainbow Socks are the fourth post in the Rainbow Sock Collection Series that began with ‘What is the Perfect Basic Sock Pattern?’

During early summer when I discovered I needed some new hand knit socks I thought of just casting on for a new pair using one of the basic patterns that I knit regularly. But then I began thinking about which of the socks I have made that felt most comfortable when I was wearing them. This lead to a scribbled out table in my journal in which I started writing different heel and toe combinations. When I had reached 7 I decided on a rainbow theme. What can I say, I really love a nice colour theme!

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Orange Rainbow Socks

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The Orange Rainbow Socks are the third post in the Rainbow Socks Collection Series following on from ‘What is the Perfect Basic Sock Pattern?‘. The collection came about after my search during the summer for the perfect basic sock pattern.

Do you love the colour orange?

Every so often it is good to stretch yourself and try using one of your less favourite colours. Orange isn’t one of my favourite colours Although, having said that, these socks are wonderfully autumnal!

So, what do you do to make using a colour that isn’t a favourite easier to work with?

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Red Rainbow Socks

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The Red Rainbow Socks is the second post in the Rainbow Sock Collection Series. It follows the first post ‘What is the Perfect Basic Sock Pattern?‘.

The Rainbow Sock Collection Series came about after  my search during the summer for the perfect basic sock pattern. I wanted a sock that fitted my foot snugly and was comfortable to wear.

I chose Lang Jawoll Magic in Red Stripes and knew that I wanted the self striping yarn to repeat evenly from cuff to toe so that there was no break in the pattern when the heel was being knit.

It was also important to me that the finished sock would look elegant.

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What is the Perfect Basic Sock Pattern?

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Have you ever wondered what is the most comfortable basic hand knit sock?

I have.

It is a question that has often caught my imagination as I pondered it. I suspect the answer to this question may be different for each of us. Okay, I know for some of you, this may sound obsessive. But honestly, sock knitting is a little addictive to those of us who have caught the sock knitting bug.

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I offer no excuses. I love knitting socks. I’ve knit socks for my family as Christmas presents as well as knitting socks for myself. I’ve been knitting socks for a long time.[Read More]

Circle Socks

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Circle Socks pattern designed by Anne Campbell is a really cute free sock pattern. Love the finished socks. Although, it took me a long time to actually finish the pair.

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I am embarrassed to admit that I started these beautiful socks at least a year ago. I knit the first sock. I admired the lovely texture and tried it on. Then it went into a box labelled, Circle Socks, WIP (Work in Progress), where it languished unfinished on top of the bookcase in my Studio, as I got swept away on a different wave of motivation, inspired by a new pattern or yarn.[Read More]

Heather Socks featuring Strong Heel

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I first read about the Strong Heel in a discussion a few years ago on the Socknitters Group on Yahoo. As I love to try different ways of knitting heels, I thought it would be fun to try this one. The Strong Heel is named after the lady who designed the heel Gerdine Crawford-Strong. The heel technique was first published in Knitter’s Magazine, Fall 2003, Issue 72. This issue seems impossible to find.

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Later I read the pattern Uzu by Mary the Hobbit published in the online magazine Knitty. On reading this I was a little disappointed to find it was a toe up pattern and I wanted cuff down instructions for this heel. Continuing my search, I found the clearly written instructions Easier Socks with the Strong Heel by Aaron Clark. These instructions were written for Fibre Camp Boston where he taught a class.[Read More]

How to Knit Your First Sock – Part 4

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The final part of the How to Knit Your Sock series looks at knitting the foot, shaping the toe, grafting the toe, finishing and blocking your new socks.

This series on knitting a sock in four step by step articles is aimed at someone who is knitting their first sock.

Finished Step by Step sock

  • Part 1: you covered the anatomy of a sock, knitting the cuff and the leg section.
  • Part 2: you learn how to knit a strengthened heel flap which gives comfort and helps lengthen the lifespan of your hand knit sock and finally, turn your sock heel.
  • Part 3: shows how to set up for the gusset and gusset shaping.

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Funky Slouch Socks

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Sometimes, it is just fun, to knit something that comes into your mind while you are browsing through your sock yarn stash. I chose to use the richly coloured Kaffe Fasset sock yarn made by Regia but any self striping yarn would work perfectly.

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I wanted a project that would be fun to knit and a bit  unusual. I’ve been wondering about how to knit a pair of slouch socks for a while. Funky Slouch Socks are the result.[Read More]

Purple-Blue Striped Socks

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The ground here is covered in a thick layer of snow, piles of snow cover the pavements, and our neighbours have been digging their cars out of their driveways. The snow started falling last Friday, and we spent part of Saturday night with no electricity or central heating, with candles lighting the lounge. It made me think of the lovely sunny day a few weeks ago, when Neil photographed the Purple Blue Striped Socks at the Beach.

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The easiest way to add interest to a basic sock pattern is to knit 2 row stripes. I love the way two different self patterning sock yarns can work together, particularly when they are from the same analogous colour scheme. I used two texturally different yarns to create the contrast between the stripes.[Read More]