New Knitting Patterns: Slip Stitch Textures

I have been playing around with some plastic-free sock yarns and slipped stitches recently and the the result is a small collection of four sock patterns! All patterns use the small gauge differences that come with slip stitch patterns to create subtle textures. All patterns work best on solid colourways in lighter shades. I have added instructions for my favourite short row heel, but you can exchange it for your favourite heel constructions if you prefer a different one. Two of the patterns are knit top-down, two have a toe-up construction. Triangles and Chevrons also feature folded cuffs, Triangles with a special top-down construction. Now to the details:

Triangles

Triangles Socks knitted from red Retrosaria Mondim yarn

Triangles is a top-down sock pattern with a folded hem that is knit without having to pick up stitches. My yarn of choice is the wonderful Retrosaria Mondim, a 100% Portuguese wool, non-superwash sock yarn.

Rhombi

Rhombi Socks knitted from red-purple Onion Nettle Sock yarn

Rhombi is a top-down sock pattern with a classic ribbed cuff. I have knitted it with Onion Nettle Sock, a superwash sock yarn consisting of 70% wool and 30% nettle fibre. It is a bit less elastic than classic woollen yarns, but super soft and silky.

Inverted Rhombi

Inverted Rhombi Socks knitted from green Wolle Willich Foxy yarn

[PR sample, but I would have chosen it anyway]

Inverted Rhombi is a toe-up sock pattern with a classic ribbed cuff. I have used Wolle Willich Foxy, a stunning 100% wool, non-superwash yarn spun from locally sourced German sheep. It unfolds its full beauty after its first wash.

Chevrons

Chevrons Socks knitted from khaki Pascuali Pinta

Chevrons is a toe-up sock pattern with a folded cuff. My version is knitted from Pascuali Pinta, a machine washable sock yarn consisting of 60% extrafine, mulesing-free Merino wool, 20% Mulberry silk and 20% Ramie. It is a lot more drapey than classic sock yarns, but the socks are a dream to wear.

How to Get the Patterns

You can buy the single patterns as well as the bundle of all four in both English and German in my Ravelry store, as usual. I have also set up a payhip store for those who want to support me, but not Ravelry. For more pictures, check #trianglessocks #rhombisocks #invertedrhombisocks and #chevronssocks on Instagram to see the results of my gorgeous testers! Enjoy my new patterns, I’m looking forward to your socks!

Yarn Review: Schachenmayr Regia Premium Alpaca Soft

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During Yarncamp 2018, I was offered a ball of Schachenmayr Regia Premium Alpaca Soft. After some initial problems (testing a set of dpns at the same time, a very bad idea for a convinced magic loop knitter) and some Christmas knitting, I finally have finished my pair of socks.

The sport weight yarn is a blend of 62% wool, 23% Nylon and 15% alpaca, which is pretty close to the classic Regia blend of 75% wool and 25% Nylon. The alpaca adds a light halo, but I have used way softer alpaca yarns before. I have followed a textured pattern, petäja sukat (free but Finnish only), to test both stockinette stitch on the soles and stitch definition on the patterned parts. The yarn looks very elegant in stockinette stitch and the halo surprisingly even highlights the textured pattern. There only is one point I did not like at all: the yarn fuzzes horribly. Whenever I worked on the socks, my pants were covered in short alpaca fibres afterwards. This raises the question how the yarn will behave over time and I am a bit worried the yarn might keep losing fibres. This probably will keep me from using this yarn again, but apart from the fuzzing, the yarn looks really good both in textured knits and in stockinette stitch.

I am very thankful for this testing opportunity and am looking forward to testing the yak version of this yarn, soon.

Slippers

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It feels a bit strange to knit slippers from sock yarn, but it totally makes sense if you live in an apartment with well working radiators. Often, bulky slippers are too warm for my feet, even in winter. However, this pair is not for me but for a dear friend of mine. I really hope he enjoys them, as some time ago I knit him a pair of cabled socks that came out way too tight.

The pattern is Compass Points, a free pattern from DROPS Design. Each slipper is knit modularly with eight squares seamlessly. Nonetheless, there are quite a few ends to sew in after finishing the last square. The pattern is easy to follow and includes a very helpful schematic to visualise in which order the squares are knit. The yarn is from my huge Tausendschön stash, a Halbstarke colourway called Maria Schroeder. The largest size used 81g of yarn and hopefully fits an EU size 43.

Sideways Socks

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I am still trying to use up notable amounts of multicoloured sock yarns from my stash. Sadly, I am getting tired of knitting socks, so I had to try out a different approach: sock knitting with unusual constructions. In this case, I have tried out Longitudinal by Nicola Susen/ Nicolor, a free pattern which was published in Knitty. It actually calls for striped yarns with long pattern repeats to show off their colour changes, but I am happy already not to see the usual Tausendschön pooling once again.

The pattern is well written and easy to follow. Grafting together almost 200 stitches in the last row was a challenge, nonetheless. I am just not the most patient person when it comes to boring, repetitive activities. Apart from that, I am very happy with the result. As usually, it was a pleasure to knit Tausendschön sock yarn, I really like their yarn bases. I especially like that I have used up 93g of sock yarn for a pair of EU size 40 socks! This pattern really is a yarn eater!

I have already cast on the next unusual sock construction, so stay tuned.