Simple Textured Socks

This is meant as an alteration to my simple toe-up socks, but will en up with its own pattern when I'm done.

Since knitting them, I've been thinking about how to improve the pattern, and have realised that I'd like the soles thicker and softer. Barbara Walker has a stitch pattern called shadow check on page 103 of A Treasury of Knitting Patterns.

It's a lovely slip-stitch pattern, with a beautiful wrong side. The slipped stitches make it exceptionally dense, but the way it works makes it quite soft. Better still is that it can be worked over the same number of stitches as heel stitch.

However, there's a catch. As with all of her patterns, shadow check is given as a flat pattern with a right and a wrong side. Further, it doesn't easily translate to knitting in the round, at least, not easily enough that I can do it in my head, so I'm jotting down the stitch pattern, converted to circular knitting, so that I can refer to it when needed.

Shadow check (circular)

Odd number of stitches. Stitches in {braces} are repeated.

1. {Purl 1}
2. Purl 1, {knit 1, purl 1}
3. Purl 1, {yarn over, slip 1 with yarn in back, purl 1}
4. Purl 1, {drop the yarn over from the previous round, slip 1 with yarn in back, purl 1}
5. Purl 1, {slip 1 with yarn in back, purl 1}
6. Purl 1, {slip 1 with yarn in back, purl 1}

That pattern will make up the sole of the sock, with the right side facing out and the dense, corrugated wrong side facing in as padding. Because this will make the sole denser than simple knit stitch, I plan on having a small amount of ribbing on the top of the sock, to give the whole thing some give.

The heel of the sock will be made from standard heel stitch, which lines up exactly with shadow check and begins with a row of purl, which will serve nicely to complete the previous pattern.

Heel Stitch

Odd number of stitches. As this is worked flat, it has a right and a wrong side.

1. (Wrong Side) {Purl 1}
2. Knit 1, {slip 1 with yarn in back, knit 1}

Again, this is denser than simple knit stitch, but because the heel is knit flat and then gusseted, the only significant difference will be that there will be more decreases along the gusset.

Because slip-stitch patterns look really interesting when worked in multiple colours, rather than doing what I did before and knitting the toe, heel and cuff in self-striping yarn and the foot and ankle in plain, instead I'm going to use self-striping yarn for the whole thing.

Like everything, it's an experiment, but the only downside I see to this project is going to be that I can't work the sole while reading a book. Anyhow, time to cast this project on.