April 6, 2012

Beadboard Beach Socks: The Final Draft

 My Martha Stewart merino wool came just as scheduled. This allowed me to get right to work on the "real" pair for the Martha Stewart project contest.

It took me 3 evenings and a few stolen daytime hours to complete the final design for this sock.

I decided on cables for every other wide rib, with one going straight down the back like a seam. The instep side has one of the wider ribs to make the top of the foot more comfortable inside a shoe.

These fit really nicely into my Dansko Mary Janes and, as soon as the second sock is done, I will be doing a "photo shoot" for the contest.
The MS wool was surprisingly nice and also had (I believe) surprisingly nice stitch definition. The merino is soft and good to your hands and I enjoyed working with it. It would be nice to see a DK/sport weight in something similar from them, and even a fingering/sock yarn would be nice. I would probably use the brand again, even though I think it is a little expensive compared to similarly mass produced products.

These socks are top down knee highs with a ruffle at the edge, and an "interruption" of shell-lace motif at the top. The cables and ribs are continuous from the top, past the shell panel and down the instep and heel. The calf decreases happen where the twisted knit stitches are brought together and at the edges of the wide rib.


The heel is a 2.5 inch flap with a continuation of the leg cable pattern.  
The toe is a traditional style, with the typical decreases, and is closed at the end using kitchener stitch. I continued the instep pattern down the toe as long as I could, eliminating elements as room was no longer available. I hope I can finish the second one by Sunday, just for peace of mind. The online entries are due next Thursday, April 12th. By midnight. Hope I am not pushing it!

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