Pairs #1 and #2 for 2024 are off my needles! One of my goals this year is to finish a pair of socks every month, but here it is the 18th of January and I already have 2 pairs done.
I should be working exclusively on the two sweaters I have on the go, but I got a little distracted and ended up going sock bonkers.
In all honesty… it’s all I can do to not cast on another pair right away, but I’m restraining myself for now. We’ll see how long that lasts!
Pair #1
These may look like a boring pair of socks, but they were actually really fun to knit.
I rarely knit plain ‘vanilla’ socks, but every now and again the mood strikes me. This pair was for some man-sized feet so they took a bit longer than ones I knit for myself. I was curious how much yarn they’d use without any contrast colors.
Turns out I used 73g of yarn, so a good amount left for the scrappy stash.
This was a size large, which for me is 72 stitches, to fit a US men’s size 9 foot. I knit 25 rounds of the 1×1 rib for the cuff, 60 rounds for the leg, 20 rounds of gusset decreases, 50 rounds for the foot, and worked a wedge toe down to 28 stitches that were Kitchener grafted.
The yarn is Cascade Heritage, a 75/25 blend of superwash merino and nylon. It comes as a 100g skein with 437yds (400g). It’s a serious bargain at only $11.50 a skein! Sure the colors are all very uniform but there are loads of colors to choose from. I picked Mossy Rock (color 5634) and I have zero complaints about it. Soft, squishy and it machine washed and dried perfectly.
I bought mine from a new yarn shop I found, Wool and Company. They have tons of yarns and quick delivery. Get an extra 10% off Cascade yarns when you add $100 to your cart… and believe me, you will!
Pair #2
This pair is for me. These little beauties are what distracted me from working on my sweaters.
I found (in the bottom of my stash) 64g of one of the first skeins I dyed myself. The colors remind me of heirloom roses, so it’s fitting for an early Valentine’s present to me, right?!
The pattern is an oldie but goodie from my collection. I published it last year and named it Sweet Tea Socks. You can find it here and here, or read all about the origins of it here.
It’s a 12 round repeat so they knit up super quick. 8 of the rounds are plain knit and 4 rounds mixed in have you doing simple lacework. It is seriously one of my favorite go-to sock patterns because it’s such a joy on the needles and it looks great no matter what yarn you use.
Have I mentioned before that a gusseted heel is my favorite part? Yes, sure, it also fits awesome, but it’s just so much fun to work once you’ve got the technique down. p.s. all my tricks for neat and tidy gussets are in every one of my sock patterns!
Do you have a 2024 sock goal? I’d love to hear if you do. I’m beginning to think I set mine too low…
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