Sunday, August 13, 2006

Alpaca Cable Socks

Yarn
Jo Sharp Alpaca Silk Georgette 50g x 2 col:750
Needles
* 3mm DPNs; sml cable ndle (cn)




* recommended ndle size is 3.25mm;
gauge = 25sts/33rows over 10cm in St st.
I absentmindedly picked up a 3mm circ and by the time I realised it was too late!

My tension 6.5 sts and 10 rows = 1" (St st in the rnd)

SPECIAL ABBREVIATIONS
C4F (produces a cable that crosses to the left)
Work to beg of cable, sl 2 sts onto cn and leave at front of work. Working behind cn, K the next 2 sts from LH ndle, then the 2 sts from cn.

* Important: ensure the cable panel is facing in opposite directions - RH side for right sock and LH side for left sock. You'll need to sort this out when you divide the instep and heel flap sts.
* Directions are for both socks unless stated otherwise.
* Cable stops at the leg before heel (does not cont onto foot)


Twisted rib
P1, *K1 tbl, P1*

Socks
CO 56 sts and work in twisted rib for 10 rnds.


Leg
Rnd 1 K24, P2, K4, P2, K24
Rnd 2 rep rnd 1
Rnd 3 K24, P2, C4F, P2, K24
Rnd 4 rep rnd 1
Rep these 4 rnds 14 times for a total of 56 rnds (you can adjust length here)

Right sock only - divide for heel (cable will be on right hand side)
K 24, turn and P across 28 heel sts. Place rem 28 sts on holder.


Left sock only - divide for heel (cable will be on left hand side)
K 4, turn and P across 28 heel sts. Place rem 28 sts on holder.

Heel flap
Work back and forth on 28 sts as folls:
Row 1 (RS) Sl 1 purlwise with yarn in back, K to end
Row 2 Sl 1 purlwise with yarn in front, P to end
Rep rows 1 and 2 until heel flap meas 6cm (or desired length)

Turn heel
Row 1 (RS) K16, SSK, K1, turn
Row 2 Sl 1 purlwise, P5, P2tog, P1, turn
Row 3 Sl 1 purlwise, K to 1 st before gap, SSK, K1, turn
Row 4 Sl 1 purlwise, P to 1 st before gap, P2tog, P1, turn
Rep rows 3 and 4 until all heel sts have been worked ending with a WS row and ending P2tog... 16 sts rem

Heel gusset
K across all heel sts and with same needle (N1) pick up 14 sts along heel flap selvedge. With another DPN (N2) K across instep sts. With a 3rd DPN (N3) pick up 14 sts along other side of heel and K across half of heel sts... 72 sts.
Rnd now begins at centre of back heel.

Rnd 1 N1 K to last 3 sts, K2tog, K1; N2 K; N3 K1, SSK, K to end
Rnd 2 K
Rep rnds 1 and 2 until 56 sts rem

Foot
K in rounds until piece meas 5cm less than desired length

Toe
I find the foll method produces a rounder toe than decreasing every alternate row (you can substitute your own toe method here)
Rnd 1 N1 K to last 3 sts, K2tog, K1; N2 K1, SSK, K to last
3 sts, K2tog, K1; N3 K1, SSK, K to end
Rnds 2 - 4 K
Rnd 5 rep rnd 1
Rnds 6 and 7 K
Rnd 8 rep rnd 1
Rnds 9 and 10 K
Rnd 11 rep rnd 1
Rnd 12 K
Rnd 13 rep rnd 1
Rnd 14 K
Rnd 15 rep rnd 1
Rnd 16 K
Rep rnd 1 only until 10 sts rem

Finishing Graft toe sts tog and weave in ends. Steam lightly to block.

more pictures/info at http://black-dog-knits.blogspot.com

8 comments:

Carol said...

What a nice sock! Me thinks me found my 1st cable design! Thank you!

Tabitha said...

Beautiful socks. This is just the design I was looking for to knit for my dh's birthday socks. Simple and elegant. Thanks for sharing.

katsai said...

these are just perfect... so simple yet so effective :) Thanks for posting the pattern! ...when i finally get round to finishing the dreaded 2nd sock of my first adult-size attempt i'm gonna have to try these ;P

Rachel said...

I also think this pattern will make a perfect gift for my dad's birthday. Simple, classic with thoughtful details. Thanks for sharing the pattern!

Unknown said...

Is it ok to use 3.5 mm needles? Would it mess up how the sock looks?

Wlz77 said...

How do I divide for the heel. Please help

Roberta Clayton said...

How would I adjust To have the cable centered on a sock that has 40 sts rather than 56? I am using larger needles and heavier yarn. Thanks so much. I really like your pattern.

Nessa said...

I just figured it out for a sock with 34 sts. This formula will give you the number of sts before and after the cable: (total sts - 8) / 2
So in your case: (40-8)/2 = 32/2 = 16. That makes your setup k16 p2k4p2 k16. Hope this helps.