Non knitters: Move on. There's nothing to see here.

For those of you who requested the pattern for the Shady Engagement Socks that I designed, you'll find it

Shady Engagement Socks by Linda Lussier
©Linda Lussier January 2011


Materials:
400 yards of sock weight yarn
2.75 mm dpns
Cable hook
Darning needle

This pattern will knit a size Ladies small. A word of warning, the instep fits snugly so if you have small feet but a wide or large instep, you may find these tight to get on. You may want to go up a needle size or modify the pattern by adding a few stitches on either side of the end cables, perhaps work them in a seed stitch or create a rib. Or don’t knit this pattern! But as you can see, they do fit me! Disclaimer: I am not perfect, you may find an error! If you’d like, you can send me a message via Livejournal or Ravelry and I’ll fix it!

The center cable on these socks is called Engagement Ring and the yarn I used is grey, hence ‘Shady Engagement’ which makes me think of a sinister romance. Like maybe a mobster tying the knot so that his wife can’t testify against him in court for his part in the murder of a rival ‘family’ member. Or something. I should probably be knitting…


Cast on 69 stitches, carefully join without twisting.

Knit ribbing (k2, p1, repeat) for one inch or as long as desired. On last round, knit last two stitches together = 68 stitches.

Adjust stitches as follows:

Needle 2: 17 sts
Needle 3: 18 sts
Needle 4: 17 sts
Needle 1: 16 sts

Needles 2 & 3 (35 sts) form the front of sock, needles 4 &1 (33 sts) form back of sock.

Follow the chart for front and for back sides of sock. For the back of sock, start at the second stitch and end on the second to last stitch of the chart. Repeat chart until you reach desired length and end on row 6.

Heel Flap:

Knit using your favourite heel flap stitch or if you’d like to knit the heel flap as I did:

Form Heel Flap using back 33 stitches. First row, k15, k2tog, k 16 = 32 stitches

Slip the first stitch of every row and knit the heel flap in slip stitch as follows:

Row 1: Hold the yarn in the front of the work, slip one stitch, hold yarn to the back of the work, knit one – repeat to end.
Row 2: purl all stitches

Repeat these two rows 15 times (30 rows), ending on a purl row.

Turn Heel:

Knit your favourite heel or if you’d like to knit the heel as I did:

This is a French or round heel:

Slip 1, k18, ssk, k1 turn
Slip 1, p5, p2tog, p1, turn
Slip 1, k6, ssk, k1, turn
Slip 1, p7, p2tog, p1, turn
Slip 1, k8, ssk, k1, turn
Slip 1, p9, p2tog, p1 turn
Slip 1, k10, ssk, k1, turn

Continue working one more stitch until all stitches have been worked ending on a knit row.

Form instep:

Pick up and knit 15 stitches along heel flap, knit front 35 stitches following chart starting on Row 7, pick up and knit 15 stiches along other side of heel flap. Knit one round even.

From this point onward, the front of the sock will be knit using the chart and the back will be knit in stockinette.

Decrease instep stitches:

Decrease 1 stitch at each side of the sock (in the picked up instep stitches nearest the heel) as follows:

Round 1: Knit front of sock following chart, knit instep stitches until 2 stitches remain before heel stitches, ssk, knit heel stitches, k2tog, knit instep stitches.

Round 1: Knit all stitches.

Repeat these two rounds until 35 stitches remain on back of sock (70 stitches total.).

Continue knitting sock using chart for front, stockinette for back until sock is 2 inches shorter than desired length.

Toe Shaping:

Round 1: (Front of sock) K1, SSK , knit to three stitches before end of needle, k2tog, k1. (Back of sock) K1, SSK, knit to three stitches before end of needle, k2tog, k1. Four stitches decreased in Round 1.

Round 2: Knit

Knit these two Rounds 5 times (10 rows) and then Knit only Round 1 ( decreasing every row) until 8 stitches remain (4 on front and 4 on back of sock). Graft last 8 stitches using Kitchener stitch. Weave in ends. Knit other sock.

Chart