by Mary the Hobbit

Several elements went into the mix to produce this fusion of a sock. The first was a skein of a new yarn, Noro Taiyo Sock, that I really wanted to try out. The second was that I had just finished knitting the Mockery socks by Katie Grady.

I was admiring the subtle swirls made by the pattern and wondered what it would look like if the yarnovers were left untwisted. As it turned out in a swatch, swirly! A swirly pattern required a swirly toe, so I chose one from Cat Bordhi's book, Personal Footprints for Insouciant Sock Knitters. And the final ingredient was the heel. I'd never done a Strong Heel (by Gerdine Crawford-Strong, originally published in Knitter's Magazine in 2003), but it was supposed to be really easy, so here was an opportunity to try it.

The resulting sock is IMHO simple, swirly, and quite photogenic. And by the way, the Japanese word uzu means whirlpool; the name of the sock yarn, taiyo, means the sun.

SIZE
Adult S [M, L]

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Foot and Leg Circumference: 7.5 [8.25, 9] inches unstretched.
Foot Length: adjustable to fit

MATERIALS
Yarn
Blue-grey multicolored sock:
Noro Taiyo Sock yarn [50% Cotton, 17% Wool, 17% Nylon, 16% Silk; 459 yds per 100 g ball]; color: S8; 1 ball.

Red sock:
Hand Maiden Casbah [80% Merino, 10% Cashmere, 10% Nylon; 325 m per 115 g skein]; color: Berry; 1 skein.

Recommended needle size
[always use a needle size that gives you the gauge listed below -- every knitter's gauge is unique]
1 set US #1.5/2.5mm double-pointed needles
OR
1 long US #1.5/2.5mm circular needle for Magic Loop
OR
2 US #1.5/2.5mm circular needles for 2-circulars method

Notions
Yarn needle
stitch holder (optional)

GAUGE

PATTERN NOTES
[Knitty's list of standard abbreviations and techniques can be found here.]

Taiyo Swirl Pattern (multiple of 6 sts and 9 rows)
Rounds 1-4: Knit.
Round 5: K2, k2tog, k2, yo.
Round 6: Knit.
Round 7: K1, k2tog, k2, yo, k1.
Round 8: Knit.
Round 9: K2tog, k2, yo, k2.

M1L: Insert left needle, from front to back, under strand of yarn which runs between last stitch on left needle and first stitch on right needle; knit this stitch through back loop.

DIRECTIONS
Using Judy’s Magic Cast-on, cast on 12 sts. Distribute across needles as you prefer and knit one round.

Toe Version 1
As used on the grey-blue Taiyo sock.
The toe grows outward in 6 segments, like an orange.
Round 1: [K1, kfb] around. 6 sts increased; 18 sts.
Round 2 and all following even rounds: Knit.
Round 3: [K2, kfb] around. 6 sts increased; 24 sts.
Round 5: [K3, kfb] around. 6 sts increased; 30 sts.
Round 7: [K4, kfb] around. 6 sts increased; 36 sts.
Round 9: [K5, kfb] around. 6 sts increased; 42 sts.
Round 11: [K6, kfb] around. 6 sts increased; 48 sts.
Round 13: [K7, kfb] around. 6 sts increased; 54 sts.
Round 15: [K8, kfb] around. 6 sts increased; 60 sts.

Size M & L Only:
Round 17: [K9, kfb] around. 6 sts increased; 66 sts.

Size L Only:
Round 19: [K10, kfb] around. 6 sts increased; 72 sts.

All sizes: Knit even until toe is 2 inches long.

Round 1: [Kfb, k1] around. 6 sts increased; 18 sts.

Round 2 and all following even rounds: Knit.

Round 3: [Kfb, k2] around. 6 sts increased; 24 sts.

Round 5: [Kfb, k3] around. 6 sts increased; 30 sts.

Round 7: [Kfb, k4] around. 6 sts increased; 36 sts.

Round 9: [Kfb, k5] around. 6 sts increased; 42 sts.

Round 11: [Kfb k6] around. 6 sts increased; 48 sts.

Round 13: [Kfb, k7] around. 6 sts increased; 54 sts.

Round 15: [Kfb, k8] around. 6 sts increased; 60 sts.

Size M & L Only:
Round 17: [Kfb, k9] around. 6 sts increased; 66 sts.

Size L Only:
Round 19: [Kfb, k10] around. 6 sts increased; 72 sts.

All sizes: Knit even until toe is 2 inches long.

Foot
Foot round: Work Taiyo Swirl pattern across next 30[30, 36] sts, k0[2, 0], k to end of round.  30[32, 36] sts for instep; 30[34, 36] sts for sole. Rearrange your stitches as you prefer.

Work Foot rounds until sock measures approximately 2.25 [2.5, 2.6] inches shorter than desired foot length.

Gusset Increases
Gusset increase round: Work Taiyo Swirl pattern across next 30[30, 36] sts, k0[2, 0], kfb, k to last st, M1L, k1. 2 sts increased.
Following round: Work even in pattern as set.
Repeat the above 2 rounds 12[14, 15] more times, ending after an even round. 56[64, 68] sole sts, 86[96, 104] sts total.

Work the heel back and forth on a single needle. The Strong Heel is basically an upside-down Half-handkerchief heel, so these directions may be familiar.

Heel row 1 [RS]: K29 [33, 35], SSK, k1, turn.

Heel row 2 [WS]: Sl 1, p3, p2tog, p1, turn.

Heel row 3 [RS]: Sl 1, k4, SSK, k1, turn.

Heel row 4 [WS]: Sl 1, p5, p2tog, p1, turn.

Heel row 5 [RS]: Sl 1, k6, SSK, k1, turn.

Heel row 6 [WS]: Sl 1, p7, p2tog, p1, turn.

Heel row 7 [RS]: Sl 1, k8, SSK, k1, turn.

Heel row 8 [WS]: Sl 1, p9, p2tog, p1, turn.

Heel row 9 [RS]: Sl 1, k10, SSK, k1, turn.

Heel row 10 [WS]: Sl 1, p11, p2tog, p1, turn.

Heel row 11 [RS]: Sl 1, k12, SSK, k1, turn.

Heel row 12 [WS]: Sl 1, p13, p2tog, p1, turn.
Heel row 13 [RS]: Sl 1, k14, SSK, k1, turn.

Heel row 14 [WS]: Sl 1, p15, p2tog, p1, turn.

Heel row 15 [RS]: Sl 1, k16, SSK, k1, turn.

Heel row 16 [WS]: Sl 1, p17, p2tog, p1, turn.

Heel row 17 [RS]: Sl 1, k18, SSK, k1, turn.

Heel row 18 [WS]: Sl 1, p19, p2tog, p1, turn.

Heel row 19 [RS]: Sl 1, k20, SSK, k1, turn.

Heel row 20 [WS]: Sl 1, p21, p2tog, p1, turn.

Heel row 21 [RS]: Sl 1, k22, SSK, k1, turn.

Heel row 22 [WS]: Sl 1, p23, p2tog, p1, turn.

Heel row 23 [RS]: Sl 1, k24, SSK, k1, turn.

Heel row 24 [WS]: Sl 1, p25, p2tog, p1, turn.

Size S only: Proceed to Heel Finish

Heel row 25 [RS]: Sl 1, k26, SSK, k1, turn.
Heel row 26 [WS]: Sl 1, p27, p2tog, p1, turn.
Heel row 27 [RS]: Sl 1, k28, SSK, k1, turn.
Heel row 28 [WS]: Sl 1, p29, p2tog, p1, turn.

Size M only: Proceed to Heel Finish
Heel row 29 [RS]: Sl 1, k30, SSK, k1, turn.
Heel row 30 [WS]: Sl 1, p31, p2tog, p1, turn.

Heel Finish
Next row [RS]: Sl1, k26[30, 32], SSK, k1. Do not turn.

At this point, you will resume working in the round.
Leg setup round: Work 30[30, 36] instep sts in pattern, k1[3,1], k2tog, k to end of round. 60[66, 72] sts.

Work as set until you have completed a Round 4 of Taiyo Swirl pattern.
Upper leg round: Work Taiyo Swirl pattern around on all sts. 

Work as set until sock leg is desired length, ending with a Taiyo Swirl pattern row 2 or 3.
The leg of the blue-grey Taiyo sock is as photographed is 5 inches, the red sock, 4.5 inches.

Cuff
Cuff round: [K3, p1, k1, p1] around.
Repeat Cuff round until cuff measures one inch tall.

Bind off with Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-off using all knit stitches.

FINISHING
Weave in ends.

Mary the Hobbit is a computer programmer turned obsessive sock knitter who loves experimenting with stitch patterns, sock constructions and new techniques. A Silicon Valley expat, she now lives in the Biggest Little City in the World with The Spouse and the Princess Bird.

You can see her projects and patterns on Ravelry.