Wittle Wednesdays: Spooky Wittle Sock Recipe

Ta-da! Here we are at the pumpkin patch, Halloween socks and all.

I was able to finish the socks in time, including an adventure in seaming while doped up on cold meds the morning of, because JJ was kind enough to share his cold with me (and not, I will note, with CP).

Sadly, the first thing JJ did when we set him on the ground to take pictures was rub his socks in the dirt, leaves, sticks and debris. At least it wasn't rotten pumpkin guts.

In case you'd like a quick pair of Halloween (or other themed) striped socks of your own, I've whipped up a little recipe for you.

What makes this a "recipe" instead of a pattern? Let's see.

For starters, there's nothing particularly novel about these socks--they're just slightly more interesting than plain vanilla socks, they just happen to be baby-sized. Basically, I've done a little math to create a smaller sock, so if you don't want to go to the trouble of doing math, it's your lucky day!

Sort of. This sock recipe comes in only one size: Size JJ. His little foot is about 4" long, and 5" around, so if you have a baby that's about that size, or will someday be that size, these socks are for you.

I'm going to assume you already have a general idea of how to knit socks, and have a handle on all the techniques that go with that, so I'm going to keep the instructions fairly simple. I knit these on DPNs, so the instructions are, you guessed it, for knitting on DPNs!

Also, this hasn't been test knit or tech edited.

And finally, while this basic sock will work with any fingering weight yarn, I used Knit Picks Felici and I did a lot of, "Oh, I'll just knit until the next color change," so if you use the same yarn, you'll get the same color blocking.

Spooky Wittle Sock Recipe

Gauge: approx 8 sts/in

 CO 44 sts over 3 DPNs

Work in 1x1 rib for approximately .5", or 1 color repeat.

Knit 1 round, placing a marker after 22 sts to mark middle of the rnd.

Leg Pattern:

Rnd 1: *k2, slp 1 wyib, k to 3 sts before m, slp 1 wyib, k2; rep from * once.
Rnd 2: *k2, k1 tbl, k to 3 sts before m, k1 tbl, k2; rep from * once.

Work leg pattern through 2 color repeats, or until leg is approximately 3" long, ending after Rnd 2.

Heel Flap

Work Rnd 1 once (I purposely worked 1 rnd in the next color, to make a little "strap" across the front of the ankle); at end of rnd, turn work.

Slp 1, then work back across 21 sts, up to the m; as you are no longer working in the round, you'll be purling on the WS, and remember to purl the slipped sts through the back loop.

You will be working the heel back and forth on these 22 sts. Move remaining 22 sts to scrap yarn or a spare needle.

Continue working heel sts in pattern, and slipping the first st of each row, until heel flap reaches approx 1.5", ending with a WS row.

Turn the Heel

Row 1: K13, ssk, k1, turn.
R2: Slp 1, p5, p2tog, p1, turn.
R3: Slp 1, knit to gap, ssk across gap, k1, turn.
R4: Slp 1, purl to gap, p2tog across gap, p1, turn.

Continue as established until all sts on the needle have been worked; 14 sts.

Knit across 14 heel sts.

Gusset

Return held sts to needle.

Pick up and knit approx 11 sts down the left side of the heel flap (needle 1), work across held sts in pattern (needle 2), pick up and knit 11 sts up the right side of the heel flap, then knit 7 more sts from the original heel flap (needle 3) to bring you to the new center of the round.

Work 1 rnd, knitting sts on needles 1 and 3, and working needle 2 in pattern. (You may find it useful to knit the picked up sts through the back loop on this rnd to tighten them up.)

Rnd 1: Needle 1: Knit to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1; Needle 2: work in pattern; Needle 3: k1, ssk, knit to end of rnd.
Rnd 2: Knit sts on Needles 1 and 3; work sts on Needle 2 in pattern.

Rep Rnds 1 and 2 until 22 sts remain on Needles 1 and 3. Needle 1 and 3 now hold sole sts, Needle 2 holds top of foot sts.

Foot

Continue as established, working Needle 2 sts in pattern and sole sts in stockinette, until foot reaches approx 3.5", or about halfway through the 7th color block. Mark new ctr of rnd between Needles 1 and 2.

Toe

Rnd 1 (start of Needle 2): *k1, ssk, k to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1; rep from * once across needles 3 and 1.
Rnd 2: knit.

Rep these 2 rnds until 24 sts rem; then rep only rnd 1 until 16 sts rem.

Seam toe using kitchener stitch.

Make 2nd sock.

Put on adorable baby.