There was once a time when I decided to knit a scarf. Not just
any scarf – a cabled scarf of many colors, where every
cable was a color of its own. I loved the cable
pattern of this scarf. I loved it so much that,
even after six feet of it plus massive intarsia,
I wanted to put it on socks. Well, not the
exact cable -- I changed it up a little bit.
I changed where some of the cables went, micro-sized
the motif, made the cables one twisted stitch
instead of two, and adapted it to working in the round. Then
I put it on a sock, and Primrose was born.
Primrose is a toe-up sock with a gusset and a slip-stitch heel. I highly
recommended you work the cables without a cable needle – it will
make these socks much less fiddly and much more fun!
Instructions are provided
for working the cables both with and without a cable needle.
The
bind-off is something like a tubular-cast off, except without the set-up
rows and the additional circular needle, and is one of my favorites.
photos: Jennifer
Dennis
SIZE
Women’s M[L] (shown in size M) To fit foot circumference of 8[9] inches
Recommended needle size [always use a needle
size that gives you the gauge
listed below -- every knitter's
gauge is unique] 1
set #1/2.25mm dpns OR 1 US #1/2.25mm circular needle, 32 inches or longer OR 2 US #1/2.25mm circular needles, 32 inches or shorter
Notions Yarn
needle Cable
needle [optional]
GAUGE
32 sts/48 rounds = 4 inches in
stockinette stitch
PATTERN NOTES [Knitty's list of standard abbreviations and techniques can be found here.]
LLI: Insert left needle into left loop of
stitch two rows below last completed stitch,
place it onto the left needle. Knit this stitch through the
back loop.
RLI: Insert right needle into right loop of
stitch just below next stitch. Place it onto left needle and
knit it, then knit the stitch on needle
Left Cross: Working with a Cable Needle: Slip next
stitch onto cable needle and hold in front of work; k1 tbl,
then k1 tbl from cable needle. Working without a Cable Needle: Skip
the first stitch and knit into the back of the second stitch,
leaving it on the needle, then knit into back of the first stitch,
and slip them both off the needle.
Right Cross: Working with a Cable Needle: Slip next
stitch onto cable needle and hold in back of work, k1 tbl,
then k1 tbl from cable needle.
Working without a Cable Needle: From
the front of the work, insert right needle
into second stitch on the left needle,
p-wise. Slip both stitches off the left needle. One stitch
is now loose, and the other is on the right needle. Slip the
loose stitch back on to the left needle, then slip the other
stitch back from the right needle to the left needle. K2 tbl.
Left Twist: Working with a Cable Needle: Slip next
stitch onto cable needle and hold in front of work; p1, then
k1 tbl from cable needle.
Working without a Cable Needle: Skip
the first stitch and p tbl second stitch on the needle, leaving
it on the needle; k tbl the first stitch off the needle and slip
them both off together.
Right Twist: Working with a Cable Needle:Slip next
stitch onto cable needle and hold in back of work, k1 tbl,
then p1 from cable needle.
Working without a Cable Needle: From
the front of the work, insert right needle into second stitch
on the left needle, p-wise. Slip both stitches off the left needle.
One stitch is now loose, and the other is on the right needle.
Slip the loose stitch back on to the left needle, then slip the
other stitch back from the right needle to the left needle. K1
tbl, P1.
3-Stitch Twist: Working with a Cable Needle: Slip next
stitch onto cable needle and hold in front of work, p1. Move
cable needle to back of work, k tbl next st, then k 1 tbl from
cable needle.
Working without a Cable Needle: From
the back of the work, insert right needle
into second stitch on the left needle,
p-wise. Slip both stitches off the left
needle. One stitch is now loose, and
the other is on the right needle. Slip
the loose stitch back on to the left needle, then slip the other
stitch back from the right needle to the left needle. P1. From
the front of the work, insert right needle into second stitch
on the left needle, p-wise. Slip both stitches off the left needle.
One stitch is now loose, and the other is on the right needle.
Slip the loose stitch back on to the left needle, then slip the
other stitch back form the right needle to the left needle. K2
tbl.
DIRECTIONS
Toe
Using Judy’s
Magic Cast On, cast
on 26[30] stitches. Distribute them across your needles
as you prefer – if you’re working on magic loop or
two circulars, distribute the stitches
half-and-half. If
you’re working on dpns, group the first half of the stitches
together and the second half of the stitches
together. The
first half of the stitches will form
the instep, the second half will form
the sole. Join for working in the round. Round 1: Knit. Round 2: K1, m1, work to 1
st before center of round, m1, k1;
k1, m1, k to 1 st before end of round,
m1, k1.
Repeat these two rounds until you have
33[37] sts on each needle, and work Round
1 once more. 66[74]
sts.
Foot
Work Set-up Round as follows: Size M: K1, p1, k1, p2, [k1, kfb, p1] 7 times, k2, p2, k1, p1,
k1; k to end of round (73 sts, 40 on instep, 33 on sole). Size L: K1, p1, kfb, p1, [k1, kfb, p1] 10 times, k1, p1, k1;
k to end of round (85 sts, 48 on instep, 37 on sole).
Foot Round: Work Foot Chart on 40[48] instep sts, k
to end of round.
Work Foot Round until foot measures 3 inches short of
full foot length, ending on a Chart row 5[3] or 15[13]. Take
note of which round you ended on. If your perfect length is in
between the two rows, go shorter rather than longer - the heel
has some stretch to it.
Gusset Round 1: Work Foot Chart as
established on instep; k1, LLI, K to
last st, RLI, k1. Round 2: Work Foot Chart on
instep sts, k sole sts.
Repeat these two rounds 10[11] more times. 55[61] sts on the
sole. You should end on round 7 if you started the gusset after
round 5[3], or round 17 if you started the gusset after row 15[13].
Turn Heel
Work Foot Chart across instep as established.
Knit to end of round, knitting the wrapped stitches together
with their wraps, as you come to them. 63[69] sts on sole.
Heel Flap
Work Foot Chart on instep sts.
Work sole sts as follows: Row 1 [RS]: K47[52], knitting
the wrapped stitches together with
their wraps, as you come to them, ssk,
turn. Row 2 [WS]:Sl1, p31[35], p2tog,
turn. Row 3 [RS]:[Sl1, K1] 16[18]
times, ssk, turn.
Work rows 2 and 3 13[14] times Next row [WS]: Sl1, p31[35],
p2tog, w&t. Last row [RS]: K to end of
sole sts. 33[37] sts on the sole.
Leg Leg setup round, size M: K1
tbl, p1; work round 20 or 10 (as appropriate)
of the Leg Chart to end of instep (you
will be 2 sts short of a full repeat
when you get to the end of the needle);
p1, k1 tbl the first two sts of the
sole onto the instep needle; k1 tbl,
p2, k1 tbl, [kfb, p1, k1 tbl] 7 times,
k1 tbl, p2, k2 tbl, p1, work a Left
Twist on first 2 sts of round, transferring
them from the instep to the sole.
Leg setup round, size L: K1
tbl, p1; work round 20 or 10 (as appropriate)
of the Leg Chart to end of instep (you
will be 2 sts short of a full repeat
when you get to the end of the needle);
p1, k1 tbl the first two sts of the
sole onto the instep needle; k1 tbl,
p2, k1 tbl, [kfb, p1, k1 tbl] 10 times,
kfb, work a Left Twist on first 2 sts
of round, transferring them from the
instep to the sole.
80[96] sts total – 40[48] each on instep and sole.
Work Leg Chart, starting on round 1 or 11 as appropriate, until
1 inch short of desired length, ending on round 14. Sock
as photographed has leg measuring 8.5 inches, and has 3 full
repeats of the pattern plus the 14 extra rounds.
Note: For Rounds 1 and 11 on the
leg chart, the cable crossing at the end of the round is worked
over the last st of the sole and the first st of the instep.
Hence there is no stitch at the beginning of rounds 2 and 12.
Ribbing round: [K1 tbl, p1] to end of round.
Work Ribbing round for 1 inch.
BO using the Invisible
BO method.
FINISHING
Weave in ends. Block if desired.
ABOUT THE DESIGNER
Sarah V Miller is currently working on
her BS in Marine Biology and Chemistry from the Rosenstiel School
of Marine and Atmospheric Science at the University of Miami. She
is often found knitting on
campus, both in and out of class, as well
as writing various lab reports. Off campus, she can be seen
raising aplysia, harvesting macroalgae, scuba diving, and ogling
all the yarn at the LYS. Nine times out of ten, there is a pair
of socks on her needles.
She blogs here, and can
be found on Ravelry as bijou3owl.
LLI: Insert left needle into left loop of
stitch two rows below last completed stitch,
place it onto the left needle. Knit this stitch through the
back loop.
Right Cross: 
Right Twist: 
