Clover

By Kate Blackburn

These summery socks are a riot of cables and lace. Best worn in the garden when the sun is shining!

Photographs: Kate Blackburn

Size
UK Woman’s 5-7

Finished measurements:
Foot length 24cm/9.5inches, leg circumference 17.5cm/7inches after blocking, with negative ease of up to 5cm/2inches.

Requirements
Yarn: 2 x 50g skeins Shelridge Farm Soft Touch Ultra (100% wool,175yds/50g) in colour: Clover Flower
Needles: set of 4 x 2.25mm/US1 dpns or size needed to obtain correct tension
Notions: stitch marker (optional, to mark beginning of round)

Tension
32 sts = 10cm/4inches in stocking stitch in the round.

Pattern Notes
The socks can be adjusted for any foot length, see pattern directions for the foot.

Cabling without a cable needle will make working the cables much simpler. There are many excellent tutorials and videos available on the internet.

Abbreviations
c4f = cable 4 forward – slip next two stitches onto a cable needle and hold at the front of your work. k2, and then k2 sts from the cable needle.

The Inside Loop list of standard abbreviations can be found here.

Instructions
Cuff:
Cast on 66sts over two dpns held parallel and then arrange evenly over 3 dpns. Join for working in the round, placing a stitch marker to denote beginning of round if desired.

Next round: *k2, p1, k2, p1, k4, p1, rep from * to end of round.

Work a further 14 rounds in ribbing as set.

Now begin cable and lace pattern as follows, or work from chart A:

Round 1: *k2tog, yo, k3, p1, c4f, p1, rep from * to end of round
Round 2 and every even numbered round: *k5, p1, k4, p1, rep from * to end of round
Round 3: *k2, yo, ssk, k1, p1, k4, p1, rep from * to end of round
Round 5: *k3, yo, ssk, p1, c4f, p1, repeat from * to end of round
Round 7: * k1, k2tog, yo, k2, p1, k4, p1, rep from * to end of round
Round 8: *k5, p1, k4, p1, rep from * to end of round

Work pattern for a total of 8 reps, or until sock cuff is required length, ending after either row 4 or 8 and making a note of which pattern round you end with.

Heel flap:
Next round: [k2, p1, k2, p1, k4, p1] twice, k2, p1, k2, p1, k2 - 30sts worked onto one needle. Turn work.

Next round: sl1, p32, turn. You will now have 33sts on one needle for the heel flap. Slip the 33 remaining stitches together on one needle for the instep and begin working heel flap.

Row 1: sl1, k1, p1, [k2, p1, k2, p1, k4, p1] twice, k2, p1, k2, p1, k2
Row 2: sl1, p32

Repeat these two rows a further 15 times (32 heel flap rows worked in total).

Heel turn:
Row 1: sl1, k18, ssk, k1, turn
Row 2: sl1, p6, p2tog, p1, turn
Row 3: sl1, k7, ssk, k1, turn
Row 4: sl1, p8, p2tog, p1, turn

Continue shaping heel flap in this manner until 19sts remain, ending at the end of a purl row. Note that the last two rows will not have an additional st after p2tog/ssk.

Pick up sts:
Knit across 19 heel flap sts. With needle 1, pick up 16sts along heel flap, plus 2 additional sts at the corner. With needle 2 work 33 instep sts following Chart B, beginning with next round of pattern as set. With needle 3, pick up 2 sts in the corner of the heel flap and 16 along edge. Knit 9sts from heel flap needle onto needle 3 and slip remaining 10sts onto needle 1.
Next round: k to last 2 sts on needles 1, ssk. Work across needle 2 in instep pattern. Needle 3: k2tog, k to end.
Now begin instep decreases as follows:
Round 1: k to last 3 sts on needle 1, k2tog, k1, knit sts on needle 2 in pattern, needle 3: k1, ssk, k to end.
Round 2: k sts on needles 1 and 3, work sts on needle 2 in pattern.
Continue with these two rounds until there are 33 sole sts remaining. Work without decreasing until foot measures 20cm/8inches or 4cm/1.5inches less than required total length.

Toe decreasing:
Round 1: k all sts
Round 2: k to last 3 sts on needle 1, k2tog, k1. Needle 2: k1, ssk, k to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1. Needle 3: k1, ssk, k to end. Repeat these two rounds until 34sts remain.

Finishing
Knit sts on needle 1 onto needle 3 - 17sts on each needle - and graft sts together using Kitchener stitch.

About the Yarn
Shelridge Farm can be found near Guelph, northwest of Toronto. A wide range of their luxurious hand painted yarns is available from Socktopus.

About the Designer
Kate Blackburn loves knitting socks, especially for small people, and has been creating her own designs for over a year now. For more patterns and almost-daily musings check out her blog, Confessions of a Graveyard Gypsy.

Contact Kate