Next up on the “designs published last year” list: a pair of colorwork house socks designed for Clara Parkes’ third book The Knitters Book of Socks. If you’re not familiar with Clara’s books, I strongly recommend all of them, particularly if you are interested in learning about wool properties or yarn construction.

As many of you know, I’m not much of a sock knitter – I’ve never been seized by the fever, though I do find them entertaining to knit every once in a while. This was my first go at actually designing a pair and I had a great time doing it.

You may recognize the motif & color combination as a companion design to the Strago Mittens (Fall 2010). Sometimes when I get an idea in my head, just one design isn’t enough and I like to continue exploring further applications. In this case I thought the graphic patterning of the mittens would suit a pair of warm, stranded socks perfectly (herringbone hound that I am).

I remember now – this was the first design commission I did when developing Shelter. The two colors – Fossil and Long Johns – were, at the time, the only two colors from the palette that I had on hand at my studio (these were the very first two colors the mill produced). I took this as a sign that a companion sock to the mittens should happen.

The socks are worked from cuff to toe and utilize a short-row heel. The ribbed cuff, heel and toe are worked in a solid color, while the rest of the sock is worked in a graphic, 2-color chevron pattern. I think these would look great in a more subtle, tonal colorway as well. (Greys anyone?)

Shelter is by no means a sock yarn – and it doesn’t claim to be – though I’ve knit a couple of pairs that I wear in the winter to keep my feet warm around the house, and it does the job wonderfully. I think of them more like slippers than socks. The double-thick fabric of colorwork makes these particular socks more durable than a plain stockinette pair, and that much warmer.

As for the rest of the book – it’s packed with great sock patterns! Some of them were enough to get me considering trying a pair or two…though I’m wary of going down the sock yarn rabbit hole to do so! Many knitters have never returned.

I hope you enjoy these, along with the rest of Clara’s informative, well-written homage to knitting for our feet.

I’ve been Short Row crazy these past few months. They seem to be making their way into a lot of designs, and I love how many different ways they can be used. Short Rowing is one of those techniques with endless possibility that can turn the simplest projects into something special. Today’s pattern is a great example of this.

I really love the simple rhythm and bold texture that comes from knitting welts. Whenever I see a welted scarf or cowl in the wild, more often than not I find myself wanting one too. I wanted to put together a welted accessory that had a little something extra that might sneak up on you… that you may not notice upon first glance. Something that would make the knitting process slightly more adventurous as well.

Enter short rows. In the photo above you can see how the use of short rows skews the welts in the center to lay diagonally across the rhythmic horizontals. It was just the thing to spice up an otherwise repetitive bit of knitting (though you know I have a special place in my heart for The Mindless too.)

The cowl pattern is written for three sizes – shallow, medium and deep versions. The medium version is shown here. Wet-blocking is an important ingredient in this pattern, to achieve the proper drape and behavior from the fabric. Unblocked welts create a somewhat stiff and structured fabric that looks more like a tube – great for some things, but a little too rigid for a cowl with that effortless look. Wet blocking this and stretching it vertically helps the fabric relax and take on a wonderfully cozy hand, while simultaneously making the welts more visually appealing and the short rowing more obvious.

It’s a great little gift to to use as Short Row practice. I’ve made a couple of them myself using my favorite method, Japanese Short Rows, which are so clean and tidy they give me more secret delight than most things do.

Resources: The Setzer pattern is available as a downloadable PDF through Brooklyn Tweed or Ravelry. Yarn for this project is available here; sample shown was knit up with Brooklyn Tweed SHELTER in the “Wool Socks” colorway.