boyfriend socks (written up)

click here or on the pictures to link to the pattern

I finally got round to sorting this pattern.

I’d been teasing my boyfriend for a while that I’d knit him a pair of underpants. Pink eyelash yarn had been mentioned. So when it came to knitting him birthday socks I wanted something quite the opposite. Simple and eminently wearable. Plain stockinette wasn’t quite special enough though, even with nice yarn.

They were also going to be my bus-knitting project for a while. This means the pattern had to be simple enough to hold in my head, but nothing with so much repetition I went loopy with boredom.

This tangled-up take on a cabled rib was perfect. Simple in both style and process, but nothing that actively screams beginner. There are only really three different rows to remember, and the cable stitches were easy enough to manage on even bumpy bus-routes. They knitted up pretty fast.

They have lots of stretch which makes them quite forgiving in terms of size. So if you split with the recipient while knitting them it won’t be a Cinderella-like search to find another pair of feet they’ll fit. No curses here (plus it means you can steal them).

They can of course be knitted for girlfriends. Or assorted friends and relations. Or yourself.

I recently discovered these socks apply the same stitch pattern that is used in Handknit Holidays "log cabin" socks. This is quite a different sock pattern though (e.g. toe-up), its for standard "sockweight" yarn and can be knitted to a variety of sizes. I thought it was funny Melanie Falick and I both thought the intertwined cables had romantic uses. If I was feeling very soppy, I'd say the cables were having a cuddle, but that's just sickning.


click here or on the pictures to link to the pattern