Kristin Nicholas Socks

I love the Kristin Nicholas Socks. The self-patterning yarn by Regia Design Line is absolutely gorgeous. The colours are very rich although the self-patterning yarn is a little bit busy! But I just love it. The finished socks are just so comfortable and cute.

I was careful to cast on the socks from the same point in the pattern on the yarn as I wanted a matching pair of socks. This also meant that the afterthought heels were started from the same point in the patterned yarn.

The Regia Design Line Kristin Nicholas Sock Yarns came in a range of 6 gorgeous colour combinations. Kristin Nicholas was inspired by the colours in her beautiful New England garden when she designed these lovely sock yarns for Regia.

Yarn

• 100g ball of Regia Design Line sock yarn

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

• The tension for this sock is 20 rows and 16 stitches / 5cm (2 inches) square in stocking stitch (stockinette). 8 stitches / 2.5cm (1 inch).

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 14 rounds using k1, p1 ribbing.

Leg

• Knit 49 rounds or you can add more rounds if you would like the sock leg to be longer.

Afterthought heel Set Up

This sock has an afterthought heel. Use about a metre of contrasting coloured yarn. I chose ivory yarn as a strong contrast to the strong patterning of these socks. It helps to use a smooth yarn as it is then easier to remove later when you’re picking up the stitches to knit the afterthought heel.

• This is the point where you would normally start knitting the heel. This heel uses a little over half of the total stitches – 34 stitches.
• On the next round knit 43 stitches, then knit the next 34 stitches using the waste yarn.
• Go back to where you started knitting with the waste yarn and continue knitting the foot of the sock with the Kristin Nicholas sock yarn (you’ll be knitting across the waste yarn stitches first).

Foot

• Knit 49 rounds for the foot.

I go into a lot of detail about knitting the foot and working out how many rounds you will need to knit in my Red Rainbow Socks post.

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 the needle.
• Round 2: k
• Repeat rounds 1 and 2 until there are 4 sts on each needle. (16 stitches).
• Making sure that the toe stitches align with the waste yarn that marks where the afterthought heel will be placed, 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.

The Afterthought Heel

Pick up 17 stitches on each of four double-pointed needles and then remove the waste yarn.

Once the live stitches are on the needles, knit 1 round.

Then I worked the heel in the same way as for the 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 the needle.
• Round 2: k
• Repeat rounds 1 and 2 until there are 4 sts on each needle. (16 stitches).
• Making sure that the heel stitches align with the toe, 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.

I love how the heel looks. The self-striping sock yarn gives cute circle patterns on the heel.

Finishing

Sew in the ends using the tapestry needle. I washed and blocked these socks because I was going to be photographing them. I also do this if the socks I am making are a gift.

But to be honest, if you have made them for yourself, just add them to your sock drawer. You’ll definitely want to wear them tomorrow. Excellent fit to these socks and really cute too.