Special pattern features:
Toe-up method
Afterthought heel
Stitch for foot: cable and openwork on the top of the foot, single crochet remaining stitches
Stitch for leg: the cables continue in the leg with additional cables and ribs added, evenly spaced around
As you may recall, my May sock didn’t go as well as expected (due to a touch of user error… and general malaise), so I declared a do-over! I chose a fingering-weight merino from Cozy Rabbit Farm. I couldn’t tell you what this glorious colorway is (it’s not listed on their website and the belly tag doesn’t list it), so I think I’ll call it orange sherbet.
When it starts to get hot in Colorado, like it has been this week, I daydream about orange sherbet. My favorite!
I had more success with the pattern and yarn this time around. It just goes to show what a difference a great skein of yarn can make. You may remember that I used Cozy Rabbit Farm merino for my March socks as well. It works up like a dream and is just as the name suggests: completely and utterly cozy.
Cozy Rabbit Farm recently updated their website and they now offer online ordering. I don’t know about you but I’m eyeing those skeins of mocha magic. Wouldn’t that make a divine tunic? Be sure to check out the “Where to Find Us Tab.” They might just be at a show near you!
Once again, June’s sock pattern is “Ribbons & Bows” by Jerry Rigdon. It features a toe-up construction and afterthought heel. The bottom of the foot is done in single crochet stitches. The openwork center panel of stitches creates little bows up the top of the foot. Cables on either side of this look like jaunty ribbons. The combination makes for a fun sock project that is fast and easy to do.
A word of caution, though: single crochet provides very little ease, so it is important to check your gauge before starting out and to try on the sock as you go. For this sock I ended up working the largest pattern size with a D-3 (3.25 mm) hook. This worked out fine, but I probably could’ve gone with a larger hook, knowing that my single-crochet stitches tend to be tighter.
I think the cables on either side are my favorite detail. If you like cables like I do, the fun really begins at the ankle where the pattern places another set of cables evenly spaced at the back. This is paired with alternating front and back post double crochet stitches in between each cable. This provides great fpdc and bpdc practice! Once you get the hang of it, you’ll be breezing along. The ankle really does work up much faster than the foot with all those dc stitches.
Another detail worth mentioning is the afterthought heel. Afterthought heels use an attached chain to create a hole where the heel will be stitched in later. After you’ve finished with the sock, you go back to this heel, pull up a loop with the RS facing, and place your stitches evenly around the hole. Then you continue crocheting in the round, while decreasing at the two corners until you have about 12-15 stitches. You FO and use the tail to sew the remaining stitches closed.
Stitching in an afterthought heel.
This pattern is the first sock I’ve ever crocheted with this type of heel. Up until now I thought that I really preferred the short-row heel the best because it reminded me of knitted sock construction. But there’s something very important to be said about afterthought heels. If you have a tendency to wear out the heels on your socks, this is a great method to use. When your heels wear out, you can carefully unravel just the heel and replace it with a brand-new one just by stitching it back in. Isn’t that cool?
Which heel construction do you prefer?
And don’t you think my new socks are sunshiny fabulous?
Let’s Crochet July’s Pair of Socks Together!
Before I forget, we are doing something different for the month of July. My friend Patricia of PopsdeMilk.com and I have chosen a very easy, but interesting sock pattern that we can all crochet together. Together we’ll be making “Crochet Heart Sole Socks” by Amy O’Neill Houck. This free pattern from Red Heart is worked from the toe up with an afterthought heel. A linked double crochet stitch is used for the foot and a v-stitch is used for the ankle.
If you’d like to participate, you’ll need approximately 425 yards of fingering weight yarn (4 ply), a 2.75mm (US C/2) crochet hook, stitch markers, and a yarn needle. The pattern is written for women’s size 9 shoe but you can try on the sock as you go to make adjustments.
Grab the free pattern here: http://www.redheart.com/files/patterns/pdf/KTV2005C.pdf
Check out the Ravelry page for more details: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/step-by-step-socks
Be sure to join our Facebook group to get the scoop on tutorials, techniques, and tips related to this sock pattern. And don’t forget to share your progress photos and let us know if you have any questions. We can’t wait to get started. Let’s crochet socks together!
Check out previous months in this incredible year of the sock:
January
February
March
April
May
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Pattern: Patons Toe Up Socks
The first thing that really peaked my interest is that this pattern comes with an hour-long step-by-step tutorial by the designer, Mikey of the Crochet Crowd. This tutorial really is step-by-step; this kind of detail is exactly what every beginner craves. I wish I had known about this pattern and tutorial when I was starting out. Anyone who is interested in trying their hand at sock crochet could start with this video and gain a very good grasp of sock construction and terminology, and most importantly be able to crochet their very first sock. Continue reading 
Squirrel Picnic 
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