We were up bright and early and had arrived in the Gap of Dunloe just after 7am to photograph the Halloween Hoolie socks. We wanted to photograph them before the tourists and jaunting cars arrived for the day. It could become pretty busy there throughout the day.

We found the perfect spot and parked about half way up near an old tumble down cottage. It was cold and the ground was damp with early morning dew. Neil fetched the waterproof picnic blanket from the car so that I could sit on it to change into the Halloween Hoolie socks.

We were aiming to get the rusty roofs in the background for the photos of these socks. I really love rust. It is just so natural and wonderfully photogenic.

The socks are knit using Fine Fish Yarns hand dyed Merino/Nylon/Silver Stellina in the Halloween Hoolie colour. This is one of her older colours that I had in my stash for a long time.

I love these socks in dark moody tones with the hint of sparkle.

Yarn

• One 100g skein of hand dyed sock yarn.

Needles

• 3.25 mm Clover Bamboo double pointed needle (dpn) for casting on
• 2.75 mm (set of 5) Clover Bamboo 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.

Different Sizes

This sock is knit to my foot size, for information about knitting other sock sizes see my Basic Sock Pattern in six different sizes posts:

• Basic Sock Pattern to Fit Shoe Sizes – UK 2 to 6, EU 35 to 39 and US 4 to 8
• Basic Sock Pattern to Fit Shoe Sizes – UK 7 to 12, EU 40 to 46 and US 9 to 13

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 61 sts using a 3.25 mm double pointed needle 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 the first and last stitch together.
• Work 14 rounds using k1, p1 ribbing.

Leg

• Knit the next 54 rounds to complete the leg.
• If you want your socks to be a bit longer you could add additional rounds at this point.
• 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

Eye of Partridge Heel Flap

After finishing the leg you’ll be working the heel flap over half of the total number of stitches (30 stitches), working in rows rather than rounds.

• Row 1 (WS): *sl 1, p1; rep from * to end.
• Row 2 (RS): sl 1, knit to end.
• Row 3 (WS): sl1, p2, sl1, *p1, sl1; rep from * to last 2 Sts, p2.
• Row 4 (RS): sl 1, knit to end.

Repeat rows 1-4 eight times for a total of 32 rows for the finished heel flap.

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, k30, k18 tbl, k6
• Next: knit

Gusset Shaping

• Round 1: Needle 1: k to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1; Needles 2 and 3: k; Needle 4: k1, ssk, k to end of needle.
• Round 2: K
• Repeat rounds 1 and 2 until there are 15 stitches on each needle. (60 stitches)

Foot

• Knit 42 rounds or the number of rounds that you need for your foot.

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. You will have 8 stitches on each needle.

• Graft the toe stitches using Kitchener Stitch.

Finishing

Sew in the ends using the tapestry needle. You can wash and block these socks if you like or just add them to your sock drawer. On the other hand, if you can’t wait just pop them on your feet and enjoy wearing a lovely new pair of socks!

Have a Spooky HALLOWEEN!

I’ve always loved Halloween. When we were children my mum always gave us an amazing Halloween Party.  I drew on these happy childhood memories of these great occasions for the Sasha Doll Style story Halloween Party.