Challenge Socks #3: Fascine-ation

I can't tell you exactly why it took me so long to post these socks; I can tell you that I absolutely adore them! I completed them exactly one month ago today and call them my Fascine-ation socks. A pattern is forthcoming.

The decorative stitch on these socks is quite wonderful. From a distance, it looks like a cabled braid:

But take a closer look and you discover that there's no cabling involved whatsoever!

The diagonal lines that your eye reads as crossed stitches have been created using the simple technique of slipping stitches that then get passed over newly knit stitches. It's ingenious, quick to work, and easy to execute without those pesky errors that creep in with some stitches just because you can't quite remember -- or figure out -- what row you're on.

To be clear, I'm not the clever knitter responsible for developing the Fascine stitch. As with so many other wonderful stitches, we have Barbara Walker to thank for bringing it to our attention. I think it's an absolutely perfect stitch to try with hand-dyed yarns that don't have long color repeats. The diagonal slip/passover breaks color lines and enhances the visual interest without overpowering the dyer's work.

The Fascine stitch's comparison to cables doesn't stop at resemblance. The stitch draws the fabric of the sock in for a nice, dense, foot-hugging fit. They're so comfortable that they may just be my favorite hand-knit socks to-date!

The basic sock construction follows the MUMTU recipe.  The decorative stitch begins on the top of the foot and extends up the leg for a long, lean look. As is my usual preference, I worked a traditional, turned heel with the Eye of Partridge on the heel flap.

I used Koigu PPM in browns and couldn't be happier with the results. This particular yarn is one of Koigu's more subtle in the nuances of its colorwork, with some areas containing delicate speckling that leaves me puzzled as to the dye technique. Whenever I buy Koigu, I look for colorways with this quality -- as far as I'm concerned, there is no more wonderful dye work done today.  (My Monkey socks were knit from a similarly scrumptious Koigu.) My only disappointment with this yarn was that there were two knots in one of the skeins. I'd not experienced that with Koigu before and was surprised to find the first, let alone a second.

After a 3/4-inch rib, I finished with Jenny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-Off:

In this application, the bind-off created an almost ruffled edge. This is because the bind-off's expansiveness gets doubly emphasized by the Fascine stitch's denseness. I imagine the bind-off would have the same impact coming off a cable. The ruffle disappears during wearing, though, so it's not something that could work as a design element.

Specs:

Pattern: Mash-Up Magic Toe-Up Socks (MUMTUS) by Zhenya Lavy
Decorative Stitch: Fascine Stitch worked over a 6-stitch repeat
Materials: Koigu PPM browns with a hint of orange
Needles: US 2 / 2.75mm
Gauge in Stockinette: 7.5 st/in
Primary Stitch Count: 60
Started: January 19, 2011
Finished: February 1, 2011

Amphibious Monkey Socks

I've finally finished my Monkey socks!



Pattern: Monkey by Cookie A.
Started: February 8, 2008
Completed: March 28, 2008
Materials: Koigu Painter's Palette Premium Merino (KPPPM), 2 skeins
Needles: US 2 / 2.75 mm

Of all the socks I've knit to-date, these are some of the most fun. I can honestly say they made me happy every time I picked them up.

In addition to Cookie's great pattern — which I highly recommend — I credit much of my happiness to the amazing Koigu yarn. The colorway is just gorgeous, and it's painted with such subtlety and depth as to keep me always in awe.

These socks have already gotten considerable blogtime here and here, so I won't repeat myself now. Instead, this post marks their completion and my final thoughts.



I knit my Amphibious Monkeys using magic loop, two-at-once, from the top down. I would have preferred to do them toe-up, but at the time I was itching to cast on, I couldn't figure out how to reverse the lace. I admire Cookie's application of the lace and didn't want to have her pattern appear upside-down on my socks. (I have since solved that problem. See my next post for the chart.)

Modification: I replaced Cookie's heel stitch with Eye of Partridge, which provide better cushion and fit and, as I've said, I believe better suits the design. I adore this stitch, so let's see it again:



Only a few yards of the Koigu remain, the rest got eaten up in the knitting. About 3 inches from finishing, I thought for sure I'd run out of yarn — I even started planning ways to handle a shortfall. Anyone with feet bigger than, say, 8-1/2 will want a third skein if they go with Koigu.

I made mine with a little more ease than the pattern intends because I wanted to keep the bumpy texture. That's why I opted for US 2 needles. It created a slouchier version of the sock, and I'm really happy with the results!

Why "Amphibious"? The color. Don't they just look like something that crawls in and out of water?!

Monkeys Back on My Back

It's been awhile since I gave a progress report on my Amphibious Monkeys, which hibernated several weeks while I flirted with other projects. With the Urban Aran Cardigan, BSJ and Hemlock Ring Blanket behind me, the Monkeys are back on my back!


I've modified Cookie's pattern in two ways, both of which give relevance to today's update:

First — and this is, more properly, a modification of technique rather than pattern — I've knit them on magic loop, two at once. The pattern lends itself to this technique rather easily: The lace stitch has a 16-row repeat which is evenly balanced across 2 or 4 needles without any awkward pattern starts flanking the gussets. You start with two repeats of the pattern on each needle: those which will land on the top of the foot are on one; those for the bottom of the foot are on the other. However, to work the gusset, you need to re-jigger the needles to put the right side of the sock on one and the left side on the other. (Note, I did not reverse the pattern to knit toe-up. I'm still knitting top-down to preserve the design.)


It's not impossible to do this part without stitch markers, but I like to use them to mark the gusset junctures and remind myself to track rows. I use four total markers, placing a more fancy one at the juncture marking the beginning of the round. The above picture shows the right side of the socks, which are worked as the second half of each round. The needles are at the bottom of the picture; the cable loop is at the top. See the pretty black, painted stitch marker? It marks the beginning of my row, and it's actually attached to the lower needle (left side of socks), not the top one. The pink stitch marker dangly thing for the right side of that sock is mostly hidden in this picture, but you can see the ring.

Many knitters will tell you to use stitch holders to assist with the cable shift. I prefer to use DPNs in the same size as my cable. That way I can knit on and off the holding needle without having to spend time just transferring stitches. I also find it pulls less on the stitches at the needle change.

To make the shift, you're going to have to accept the fact that one half of your sock bottom will have one row more than the other half. It's ok — believe me. This is a standard process. Your socks will fit and feel just fine!

For my second modification, an actual adjustment of the pattern, I swapped out Cookie's heel flap stitch for the Eye of Patridge. It's cushier and more interesting to look at. From a design perspective, too, I think it suits Cookie's pattern better because it doesn't insert strong vertical lines to conflict with the lace. The Eye of Partrige complements the effect of the lace's purled stitch so nicely. And isn't it pretty?


In general, I use reinforcing thread on my heels and toes, but I decided to forego it for these socks. I know, it's a risky call. To put so much work into a pair of socks and then put my toes through them would be a major bummer. I just don't see myself trying to turn these into my daily, go-to, workhorse socks, though. For one, the Koigu is too pretty to destroy with reckless wearing. For another, they read as a dressier sock to me. I'm such a big fan of boots, and I'd never hide these beauties under all that leather. So I'm taking a chance on the assumption that I'll treat these more like delicates.

When I start the next pair of socks that uses reinforcing thread, I'll post pictures of how I keep all four yarns tangle-free while knitting magic loop two at once.

As of bedtime last night, I'm about 4 inches into the foot. Knitting forecast predicts a completed pair of Monkeys by the weekend!

Monkeying Around

The Amphibious Monkeys have been on hold for a couple of weeks while I finished the Eco Urban Aran for J (I had hoped to get it done in time for him to wear in the movie but missed by about an hour) and whipped out Mia’s BSJ. Mia’s our neighbors’ new/first baby. She had been due on March 1 but came a month early… My knitting plan kept her on time! My itchy cast-on fingers had me start the Hemlock Ring this week, too. So now I have three projects going. The Hemlock Ring, which is best for working on at home. The Washing Over the Headache Dishcloth for otherwise wasted time. And these socks, which are my current portable project.

Monkey See; (Amphibious) Monkey Do

Cookie A’s glorious Monkeys look like they were designed for the yellow-green Koigu I bought in DC.



In my enthusiasm about finding such cool yarn, I hadn't really thought about what I might make with it other than it had to be socks. I tooled around online looking for that perfect pattern, and low and behold, I found it.

After fretting for days about whether to knit these socks as written or toe-up, researching every other knitter’s toe-up versions (thank you, all you bloggers and Ravellers!), swatching the lace version with purls and the version without, and stressing size/gauge, I finally cast on February 8.

I opted to go up a needle size. The pattern’s written for 2.5 mm, but it made me just a little too nervous about fit. Don’t feel like frogging these amphibious babies if I can help it! I mean, Cookie’s so tiny, and her calves have yet to experience the expansive joys of pregnancy!!

It’s a fairly simple pattern to convert to magic-loop since the lace pattern repeats exactly 2 times over the top of foot. Just a little re-jiggering. I may write down the details so the next person doesn’t have to figure it out.

Cast on using the Norwegian method and knit one round before starting the twisted rib.

True to reputation, they work up easily. The pattern’s intuitive and simple to memorize.



Oh… and I absolutely adore the yarn! This is the first time I’ve worked with Koigu, and I love it. If only it were superwash. Alas. Can’t have everything. Hard to get a good read on the colors, but the second image best reflects the brightness of the yellows. The subtleties of the color changes work so nicely with Cookie’s pattern. No unsightly color-pooling encountered yet, and no god-awful stripy stuff, either. Yay!

See this photo? I shot it bottom-up instead of top-down.


See how totally different it looks from the other direction? That’s why I opted not to do this pattern toe-up and just let the lace be upside down. I love the chunky squishily monkily goodness – so much mooshy fun to knit! I know I’ll be a little bummed to lose some of the bumpily fun once I block them.