Creative Knitting – Beyond Knit and Purl

I just finished the first sock of my new pattern.  I had originally planned to make the field black and do the roses in red, but these old eyes just couldn’t handle the dark background, so I opted instead to reverse the colors.  I like it.

This knee high pattern consists of tubular 2 by 2 cast on, fair isle knit pattern on leg and instep and a double knit heel and toe.  I also retained the center stitch down the back, sole and toe.  Below is a close up of the right side toe cap. You can see how the reverse center stitches come round to meet the top, where the unit is joined together with the Kitchener stitch.

Here is the wrong side view.

Here is the inside of the heel.

This was definitely an interesting knit.  I am at present completing the pattern instructions and will be uploading them soon.  The pattern will include several design options for the toe and heel.

The one thing that stood out to me was the necessity to break you yarns at the conclusion of the last round before setting up for the heel, and toe.

The above photo shows the center stitches I have set up to begin my DK heel.  The black stitch border, just to the right of the center stitches is the last stitch of the round.  Here is where I broke off my yarns, leaving a 6 inch tail to weave in later.  I begin the DK set using 2 new yarns and #1 circular needle( which is 2 sizes smaller than the #3’s I used for the main stocking).  These new strands will complete the instep when the heel is finished, and move right on to the toe section, where the process is repeated again.

Why?  As most patterns have to do a partial round to set up your heel, this method allows you to keep the rounds even, as you will be centering your heel on the sole stitches and when finished you will be able to move right on to the next round of the instep as if you never stopped.  It also doesn’t off set your center stitches as the last round is totally completed.  You can also opt for any pattern you like on the sole-I simply used the leg chart.

It’s been fun!

Happy Knitting!

KT