Pond Ice Socks Free Pattern

The light greens of the Socks that Rock Falcon's Eye colorway and the distortion of the stripes reminded me of frozen pond ice.  No ice skating on this rippled ice!  Worked from the toe-up, these socks can be worked until you run out of the last inch of your favorite sock yarn, and can be tried on as you knit.  To get a 'rippled' effect, it would be best to work this pattern with a self-striping yarn. 

The pattern is based on a repeat of 9 stitches +2, and can easily be made larger or smaller. (Found in Sterling Publishing Co.'s Big Book of Knitting Stitch Patterns p. 226)

Difficulty Level: Intermediate

Materials Needed:

1 skein Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Falcon's Eye, 100% superwash merino, light weight.  Approx. 360 yards/ 45 oz

5 double pointed needles - size 1US / 2.25mm
1 crochet hook, size USB/2.25 mm
fingering weight waste yarn in contrasting color from colorway used.

Size
8  inches / 20 cm around foot and 8 inches / 20 cm from heel to top of leg, approx women's size 7

Gauge
30 sts over 4 inches / 10 cm in circular stockinette stitch

Casting On

Using a piece of waste yarn and crochet hook, loosely chain 35. (A helpful hint: make a small knot or insert a stitch marker in the yarn closest to the last chain you made - this will be the side from which you will release stitches.)  With project yarn, pick up 32 stitches through the bottom bump of each crocheted chain, leaving a single crocheted chain stitch on either side as a ‘buffer'.  Divide between 2 needles, 16 stitches per needle. 

Short Row Toes

Knit across 31 stitches, bring yarn to the front as if to purl, transfer stitch 32 to the right needle without working it.  Bring yarn around the stitch to the back and turn your work.  Transfer stitch back the right needle without working it - yarn should remain in the front.  Purl across to second to last stitch, bring yarn to the back as if to knit, transfer last stitch to the right needle and turn your work.  Transfer stitch to the right needle without working it - yarn should remain in the back.  Knit across row until stitch 30, repeat wrap, turn, and purl process decreasing one stitch every row until 12 stitches remain unwrapped (10 stitches on each side should be wrapped).

Knit across 12 unwrapped stitches, and without twisting the stitch, transfer the first wrapped stitch to the right needle.  Carefully insert left needle tip under the wrap and lift it onto the right needle.  Transfer the picked up wrap and the stitch back to the left needle without twisting.  Knit the wrap and the stitch together firmly.  Bring yarn to the front as if to purl, and wrap the next stitch without working it. (This stitch now has two wraps.)  Purl across 13 stitches, transfer the first wrapped stitch to the right needle. Carefully insert left needle tip under the wrap and lift it onto the right needle.  Transfer the picked up wrap and the stitch back to the left needle without twisting and purl the wrap and the stitch together firmly.  Bring yarn to the back as if to knit, and wrap the next stitch without working it.  Knit across row, and continue knitting stitches and BOTH WRAPS until all 32 stitches are live again. 

You should now have a nice little toe-cap, with live stitches on one side, and the waste yarn on the other side. Carefully untie your knot and remove the waste yarn one stitch at a time (starting from where you marked your waste yarn) and put live stitches onto needles.  Knit one round, increasing one stitch at the short row seam between needles 1 & 4.  Arrange the needles: 17 stitches on needle 1, 16 stitches needles 2,3, and 4.  Then begin foot pattern across needles 1 & 2 only.  Needles 3 & 4 knit. 

Foot pattern

Row 1: K3, *k1, yo, k2, skp, k2tog, k2, yo* finish the row with k3
Row 2: Knit
Row 3: K3, *yo, k2, skp, k2tog, k2, yo, k1* finish the row with a k3
Row 4: knit
Row 5: Purl
Row 6: Knit

Starting with Row 1, begin foot pattern across needles 1 and 2.  Knit across needles 3 and 4 (this will be the bottom of the foot.)  Continue working in pattern across needles 1 and 2 only.  After completing a Row 5 on needles 1 & 2, and when the sock is long enough to be in line with your (or your recipient's) ankle-bone, begin short row heel.

Short Row heel

Start the short row heel across needles 3 and 4 (check to make sure that these are the needles used for the bottom of your foot), following the same directions for the short row toe, but leaving 16 stitches unworked, and wrapping 8 stitches on each side.

When all the stitches are live again, (64 stitches) knit one row, and to prevent holes from appearing at the join of your leg and short row heel, pick up one stitch and immediately k2tog between needles 1 & 4 and 2 & 3. 

Leg pattern

Row 1: K1, *k1, yo, k2, skp, k2tog, k2, yo*, end with k1
Row 2: Knit
Row 3: K1, *yo, k2, skp, k2tog, k2, yo, k1*, end with k1
Row 4: knit
Row 5: Purl
Row 6: knit

Continue in pattern until desired length, maintaining enough yarn for one inch of k2p2 ribbing at the top. Bind off loosely (I use Elizabeth Zimmermann's flexible sewn bindoff, explained and illustrated here - just scroll down). Weave in your ends, and enjoy your socks!

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License. Copyright 2005, Nepenthe's Misadventures.