The texture pattern for the leg is a 4 round repeat. I have a fondness for 4 round repeats. They’re easy to memorize and quick to complete. Socks fly off my needles when the pattern makes me do “just one more repeat” before I put them down.
You won’t need a row counter for these, but if that’s part of your sock knitting kit, you’re welcome to it!
All sizes follow the same texture pattern:
- k1, p1, {k3, p1}, k2
- same as round 1
- {k3, p1}
- same as round 3
Continue repeating these 4 rounds until the leg is your desired length.
End the leg with round 2. This makes for the nicest join after working the heel.
My favorite leg lengths for this pattern are 50-62 rounds (12-15 repeats + rounds 1 & 2).
The pair I’m making now ended up with a 62 round leg, mostly because I was following the stripes and liked ending on the minty green.
Reading the pattern – no need for a row counter!
A 4 round repeat is even better when the pattern is easy to read. I like being able to put the socks down and pick them back up when I can just peek at the stitches and know what to do next.
In rounds 1 & 2, the 2nd stitch is a purl. So, if there’s only 1 purl bump there, the next round will be a round 2 (need to add a second purl there).
If there are 2 purl bumps on the 2nd stitch, it’s time to work round 3.
Here are 2 purl bumps on the 4th stitch. That means it’s time for a round 1 again.
It’s fairly easy as you go along. Looking at the beginning of a round, the pattern is 2 rounds of the purl on the 2nd stitch, then 2 rounds of the purl on the 4th stitch. All rounds have 3 knit stitches between the purls, so once I get the first bit figured out, I just continue repeating {k3, p1} until I reach the end of the round.
That’s the leg pattern! The purl stitches line up with the rib from the cuff, and when we start on the heel, the linear nature of the stitches will continue to match up.
Enjoy the leg and all it’s stretchy, squishy goodness 🙂
See you soon for the heel ~Lisa
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