Lang Jawoll Magic Striped Socks

I love knitting with the Lang Jawoll Magic Stripes sock yarn. The yarn has a slightly fuzzy feel when you’re knitting with it that turns into a beautiful halo to the finished sock. But on a cold morning walk, on the beach, the three pairs of socks I have knit for myself using this yarn are always the ones I reach for first. The socks are just so warm.

These gorgeous Lang Jawoll Magic Striped Socks are knit using the colour 840046 on 2.75mm Clover bamboo double-pointed needles. This yarn has such a long colour repeat that I really didn’t attempt to knit matching socks so they are a fraternal pair which I think adds to their beauty.

The new striped yarns in the range that I have just brought into the yarn shop will knit up in a different style of stripe. I’m looking forward to knitting a pair of socks in one of the 6 beautiful new colour combinations but haven’t been able to decide on which colour to choose.

This pair of socks revisited the pattern I used for knitting the Yellow Rainbow Socks. I thought the afterthought 6-section heel and 6-section toe would be very effective with this style of self-striping yarn and I adore how they turned out.

Yarn

• One 100g ball of Sock Yarn.
• Length of contrasting smooth yarn for waste yarn.

Needles

• 3.5mm double-pointed needle (dpn) for casting on.
• 2.75mm set of five bamboo double pointed needles (dpns) for knitting socks.
• 3 stitch markers
• Tapestry needle

Tension

The tension for this sock was 21 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 2 stitches together – k2tog; stocking stitch (stockinette stitch) – st st;

Cuff

• Cast on 60 stitches using a 3.5mm double-pointed needle (dpn).
• Evenly divide stitches onto four 2.75mm dpns. Take care not to twist the stitches when ribbing the first round. (15 sts on each needle)
• Work 15 rounds of k1, p1 rib.

Leg

• Knit 50 rounds for the leg.

Afterthought Heel Set Up

This sock has an afterthought heel. Use a length of contrast yarn (about a metre). I chose pale blue yarn as a strong contrast to the sock yarn. It helps to use a smooth yarn as it is then easier to remove later when you’re doing the afterthought heel. Using the waste yarn knit the next 34 stitches.

Foot

Go back to where the working sock yarn was left, knit across the 34 stitches worked in the waste yarn and then continue knitting in rounds.

I knit 55 rounds for the foot. I normally try my socks on a couple of times when I’m knitting the foot, but for an afterthought heel, this isn’t possible. Although, I have been known to knit about 45 rounds of the foot, then pick up the stitches for the 6-section afterthought heel and knit some of the heel. This allows me to try on the sock to see how many rows I want to knit for the foot before I knit the toe.

6 Section Toe

Set up round: Spread the stitches equally over 3 needles, there will be 20 stitches on each needle. I knit 7 stitches, then slipped the next 20 stitches onto needle 1, slip 20 stitches onto needle 2, and then slip the remaining 20 stitches onto needle 3. In the first round, I placed a stitch marker in the middle. In all future rounds slip the stitch marker when you reach it.

• Round 1: (k8, k2tog, place marker, k8, k2tog) 3 times
• Rounds 2 & 3: k
• Round 4: (k7, k2tog) 6 times
• Rounds 5 & 6: k
• Round 7: (k6, k2tog) 6 times
• Rounds 8 & 9: k
• Round 10: (k5, k2tog) 6 times
• Rounds 11 & 12: k
• Round 13: (k4, k2tog) 6 times
• Rounds 14 & 15: k
• Round 16: (k3, k2tog) 6 times
• Rounds 17 & 18: k
• Round 19: (k2, k2tog) 6 times
• Rounds 20 & 21: k
• Round 22: (k1, k2tog) 6 times (Remove stitch markers as you work this round).

Gather the remaining 12 stitches firmly and sew in the loose end.

6 Section Afterthought Heel

For the afterthought heel pick up the live heel stitches (from the waste yarn) and place them onto 4 double-pointed needles. You will have 17 stitches on each needle. (68 stitches). I unravel the waste yarn as I go along.

Decrease 1 stitch at either side of the heel stitches. (66 stitches)

Spread the stitches equally over 3 needles, there will be 22 stitches on each needle. I was careful to have 22 stitches evenly in the middle of the sole section (needle 1). I also place a stitch marker in the middle of each of the double-pointed needles. In future rounds slip the stitch markers.

• Round 1: (k9, k2tog, place marker, k9, k2tog) 3 times.
• Rounds 2 & 3: k
• Round 4: (k8, k2tog) 6 times
• Rounds 5 & 6: k
• Round 7: (k7, k2tog) 6 times
• Rounds 8 & 9: k
• Round 10: (k6, k2tog) 6 times
• Rounds 11 & 12: k
• Round 13: (k5, k2tog) 6 times
• Rounds 14 & 15: k
• Round 16: (k4, k2tog) 6 times
• Rounds 17 & 18: k
• Round 19: (k3, k2tog) 6 times
• Rounds 20 & 21: k
• Round 22: (k2, k2tog) 6 times
• Round 23: k
• Round 24: (k1, k2tog) 6 times (Remove the stitch markers as you knit this round).

Arrange the remaining stitches onto 2 needles with 6 stitches on each needle. It is important to make sure that these two needles are lying horizontally to the tip of the toe. Graft the 12 stitches. I explain how to do the grafting (Kitchener stitch) in How to Knit your First Sock Part 4.

Sew in all the loose ends.

This pair of socks is very comfortable to wear and the heel fits snugly. I look forward to hearing about how you get on in the comments below.

There is a gorgeous selection of sock yarns available in Knitting Squirrel’s Yarn Shop here.