Stitch patterns

So, these socks take three, possibly four stitch patterns: heel stitch, shadow check, a stitch whose name I can't find, but will call seed rib and a pattern for the ribbing along the calf.

Shadow check and heel stitch are described in my original post about the shadow check socks. The unnamed stitch, which I shall, in future, call seed rib, is two rows garter, one row seed, two rows garter and one row seed (in the opposite pattern to the previous seed row).

My first humbling lesson was that heel stitch is incredibly difficult in the round. I've played with that some more, and in my working pattern, have managed to simplify the pattern for the toe dramatically.

My second was that shadow check draws the fabric far too tight to have any stockingette in the same row with it. That realisation led directly to my changing the seed rib from a part of the top to an all-over pattern, continuing it along the heel gusset. The decision to include it over the gusset created its own problems, though.

When decreasing for the gusset, to keep the pattern shrinking at an appropriate rate, there need to be decreases every round. The problem with that is that every third row is seed, and the decreases need to happen in pattern. Approaching the decreases, there are two possible patterns: k1, p1, k1, (marker) p1, k1 or p1, k1, p1, (marker) k1, p1. As you can see, either one of those patterns means that a 2-stitch decrease will double up a stitch. Taking the first as an example, if you k2tog, you end up with k1, k2tog, (marker) p1, k1 and if you p2tog, you have the opposite problem: k1, p2tog, (marker) p1, k1.

After several rounds of deliberation, I came up with the following pattern for decreasing the gusset in seed rows:

1. Knit in pattern to two stitches before marker.
2. If the last stitch was knit, k2tog. If it was purled, p2tog.
3. Knit in pattern to the second marker.
4. If the last stitch was knit, s1, p1, psso. If it was purled, ssk.
5. Knit in pattern to the end of the round.

This ensures that the paired stitches match up nicely. Its biggest advantage, though, is that it stops what I was doing before, namely looking at the previous seed row and guessing based on that.

I still haven't decided what to do for the ribbing around the calf, though. Conceivably, I could knit the lot in seed rib, but I think I'd feel that I was ducking out. I expect and anticipate that I'll end up increasing to a multiple of five stitches and relying on that lovely standby, slip-stitch rib.

On the other hand Barbara Walker has two patterns that intrigue me. One is mistake-stitch ribbing, which looks interesting from the photos, but would have to be rather altered to work as a circular pattern. What it is is k2, p2 rib, worked on one stitch less than the needed multiple of 4 stitches, so that there is a column of knit surrounded by jagged knit and purl stitches.

The other is embedded moss stitch ribbing. That stitch pattern actually fits, interestingly, with seed rib. What it is is a pair of knit stitches enclosing two moss stitches. Converting that would be easy and looks like it'll fit with the overall texture.