July's Sock - Foo foo

Julysock
Originally uploaded by thebretonyarnerie

This sock is all about form and nothing about function. I wasn't sure what to make for July. I grabbed a ball of lace-weight baby merino yarn and a 3.25mm hook for the roadtrip to North Dakota and Minnesota that I just returned from. I knew I'd need something to keep my mind occupied because after a few minutes all those canola and cornfields stop becoming interesting. "Oh look hon, more crows - isn't that exciting??"

I wanted to make something FUN. In this sock I obsessed very little about gauge. I also obsessed very little about practicality. Laceweight baby merino does not make for a terribly sturdy sock. You can not put your sneakers on and then do any running around in these bad boys. The netting will not keep your legs warm. The magenta/lime green/pink/russet colourway will go with very little in the closets of most 30-something moms. In my case, it competes with the tattoos.

**However**, the yarn is incredibly soft. It's gushy soft and the toe and heel feel incredibly sexy. And yes, I had sex on the brain while I crocheted these because this was a roadtrip taken after The Child was put on a plane to spend the summer with other family. To be honest, I am sad and I do miss him but there is that part of me that wants to have sex in every room of the house ten times over while he is gone. I must give this part of me a voice, and here she is, screaming out loud in laceweight magenta/lime green baby merino.

Because you know, in all fairness and honesty, when you are wearing fishnet kneesocks that are soft enough to make your panties wet, and match absolutely nothing in your closet, your only recourse is to wear them with a smile on top of a crisp white bedsheet.

The only photos I have right now were taken on the dash of a Ford pickup as we headed north up the I-29 making our way home. When I get a chance I will take better shots.

Yarn: One hank of Malabrigo laceweight baby merino
3.25mm hook
split ring markers
darning needle
gauge: 44sc in rnd = 8 1/2"
Pattern as is makes a US 9 Women's.

Chain 16, flip the chain, sc into the bottoms bumps for 15 sc, flip the chain again, sc in the top loops for a total of 30 sc in the round. You can mark side sts at either end or eyeball them. The increase sequence is like my other sock toes: round one, work inc before and after each marker. For round two, work even.

Work like this until the toe is as wide as you want it, about 1/2 to 3/4" less than the width of the ball of your foot. When you hit that size, work even until the toe cap is about 2-2 1/2" deep or desired depth.

Netting: starting at the side of your toe cap, chain 4, skip the next 3 sts, sc in next one, ch 4, skip the next 3 sts, sc in the next one, work like this around, don't worry if you don't have enough sts for an even set of multiples, just get to the point where you don't have enough sts left to skip 3, and just work your sc into the ch-4 space that you created previously. These socks are not about obsessively counting, remember, they are about sex and hormones and crocheting on Manitoba's really crappy, bumpy highways which cause much too much distraction for the proper counting of stitches.

Work about 12 rounds of ch-4 netting. Put it on and stretch towards your ankle. If it feels long enough, start working the heel. If not, work a few more rnds of netting. If ch-4 netting feels too tight, try ch-5 instead.

Heel:

Flatten sock widthwise and work from one side to the other: ch 1, turn, work 25 sc across one side.

Ch 1, turn, work 24 sc, stopping short of the last st, leaving it unworked.

Ch 1, turn, work 23 sc, stopping short as before.

Repeat this row, working one less st, until you have 10 sts left. You should have a little triangle with steps on it.

Turn the heel:

Ch 1, turn, work across the 10 sc, and, working into the side of this st, and into the next sc below, make a sc2tog. Work a ss into the next side edge below. 11 sc. Turn.

Skipping the ss, sc in the 11 sc, and work a sc2tog into the side edge of the 11th sc and the one below, then work a ss into the side edge below that. 12 sc. Turn.

Repeat this process until you have "picked up" your original 25 sts. Carry on in netting pattern as before, only this time, ch-5 instead of ch-4. If you didn't ch 4, then chain 1 more than your number.

Work 12 rounds of ch-5 netting, try it on, tug gently to see how it fits - incidentally, it helps if you have a vehicle dash to do this on, as gravity will help you to tug and pull your netting into place. It also makes for interesting facial expressions of the folks in the oncoming lanes of traffic.

Continue on, but this time, work the rest of your rounds in ch-6 netting. Do this until your sock, when stretched out, comes almost up to your knee.

Next rnd: work one rnd in ch-5 netting
Next rnd: work one rnd in ch-4 netting

Next rnd: ch 3 (does not count as st), work one dc in each sc, and 4 dc in each chain sp. You may need to fudge to get a number that divides by two.

Next rnd: Chain 3 (does not count as st) Work ribbing by working fpdc around first dc in row below, then bpdc in next dc in row below. Work fpdc, bpdc across, join with ss, ch 3.

Work two more rnds of dc ribbing, fasten off. Weave in ends and enjoy your socks!!!!