I had some interesting yarn in my stash that I had purchased from Brynna at Draygone Yarnes some time ago in a color way called Say You Love Me.
Draygone Yarnes Hand-Dyed Sock Yarn, Say You Love Me, 70% superwash Merino, 30% silk
Interesting is one of those descriptors that one uses when one doesn’t wish to be negative, but really cannot think of anything positive to say. This is not a colorway I would have chosen; I received it as part of a sock club based on Broadway musicals. The yarn sat in my stash for months, and I just didn’t know what to do with it. I mean, it’s hot pink and dusty grape, for cryin’ out loud!
Then, a couple of weeks ago, one of my Ravelry friends said she was working on the Simple Skyp Socks. I’m always looking for new simple sock patterns, so I clicked the link she had provided and found this pattern.
It’s a free download, as you can see, and a lovely pattern. My first thought when I saw this pattern was, I have to knit these socks! My second thought was, I wonder how these socks would look in that pink and purple yarn I got from Brynna?
The answer to the question is, It looks marvelous, darling!
I should have trusted Brynna. She is a brilliant dyer, and I have never, ever gotten a clunker from her.
The pattern is written for sport weight yarn, and the yarn I decided to use is fingering weight yarn, but I figured it wouldn’t be difficult at all to adapt the pattern. I was wrong. I didn’t even need to adapt the pattern. It is written for a range of sizes, one of which uses 72 stitches, the magic number I use when knitting socks in fingering weight yarn on size 2.5mm needles at a gauge of 9 stitches per inch.
So I cast on 72 stitches, knit the called-for 10 rounds of 2 x 2 ribbing, then started the Skyp pattern. The pattern looks complicated, but it is as simple as can be. I worked round and round and in short time came to the end of the leg.
Here I modified the pattern a bit. I arranged the stitches as called for in the pattern, and I knitted the heel flap in heel stitch (row 1: *sl 1, k 1, repeat from *; row 2: sl 1, purl across), but instead of a chain selvedge edge, I use a 3-stitch garter edge. In other words, I started and ended each row with k 3.
I turned the heel in my usual fashion, picked up the gusset stitches, and then I tried something new to me. I did all my gusset decreases on the sole of the foot at the same place each time, on either side of the two center heel stitches. This is an idea I borrowed from Scullers Socks, and I wanted to compare this technique with the gusset decreases I used for the Reversible Ribs Socks.
Both are simple to do. Both are aesthetically pleasing. And both create a well-fitting heel that wraps itself gently around the contours of the foot’s anatomy. Both are winners. Both are keepers. But I must admit I have a preference for the looks of the slanted gusset decreases I used on the Reversible Ribs Socks. I like how it forms a diamond, and I think the heel fits just a skosh better than the straight-line decreases.
Say You Love Me Skyp Socks sock #1 is finished, and sock #2 is OTN.
There is one more pattern modification I have to mention, this one unintentional. When I cast on sock #2 and finished knitting the ribbing, I discovered that I had missed something in the directions. There is supposed to be a round of purl stitches separating the 2 x 2 ribbing from the Skyp pattern. Somehow, I missed that the first time around. But I kind of like the way the ribbing flows into the leg pattern, so I’m not upset at all that I can’t read a pattern. 😀
Don’t forget to visit Tami’s WIP Wednesday site and see what other crafty folks are up to.
All Kinds Of Knitting 
Thanks for comparing the two heels. I’ve been working on the Artichoke pattern by Janel Laidman on Ravelry. The sole decreases for the gusset remind me of your socks- but instead of slanting in to form a diamond they slant out to the instep. And later on the sole there are some increases that end up looking very much like the decreases seen on the sole of the Skyp socks. It’s an interesting construction- at least to the novice sock knitter that I am. Good job on your socks!
You piqued my interest and I had to get on Ravelry and check out the Artichoke pattern. The design is, um, interesting. Personally, I think it is quite unattractive, but YMMV. I’m hardly the arbiter of beauty.
What I like best about the two techniques I tried that put the decreases on the sole is that the fit of the heel is so wonderfully sweet. I can’t say that I care for the look of the decreases coming up the side of the sock and meeting in a point at the toe. And I’m curious whether the construction used for the Artichoke results in the wonderful, heel-hugging curve that I have fallen in love with, or if the fit is more like the standard heel-flap and gusset technique? The pictures on Ravelry appear to show a rather loose-fitting heel like one gets with putting the gusset decreases on either side of the instep.
It’s clever how the designer incorporates the gusset stitches into the design, but the design itself just isn’t my cup of tea.
To each his own. I rather like the elements of the sock you find ugly.
I haven’t finished the pair yet so can’t fully report. But having tried one on, it fits very snuggly. But, I am knitting at a tighter gauge than the pattern calls for- an extra stitch/in.
What does YMMV stand for?
YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary. In other words, to each her own. 😀
Lovely socks!!
I am blushing a little because I would have liked those colors right off, lol.
Colors are such a matter of individual taste. I remember as a child going through a phase where my favorite color combo was orange and chartreuse. I filled coloring books with lovely orange and chartreuse everything. Nowadays I’m obsessed with blue and green together. Love it!