Speckle Footie Socks Made from Leftover Yarn

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Knitting hexipuffs was my go-to plan for using up leftover sock yarn but I’ve taken a bit of a break from them so the yarn bits have been piling up.  I was especially sad to think of this lovely hand-dyed speckled sock yarn going to waste so I decided to whip up a pair of footie socks with it.  I wasn’t sure how much yarn I’d need  – I didn’t take super great notes last time I made these –  so I decided to do a contrasting heel and toe with a tiny bit of green stroll that I had in my stash to stretch the yardage on the speckle yarn a bit.

I recalled that the last time I made these socks I didn’t like the look of the short-row heel so I decided to substitute it with the Fish Lips Kiss Heel that I’ve heard such wonderful things about.  I’ll admit – I’m sold on the technique! It was much easier and is cleaner looking than a wrap-and-turn short-row heel.  Still, I prefer a gusset heel at the end of the day, but this is the next best thing.

This pattern is kind of neat because it’s more of a recipe than a set pattern, which makes it great for stash-busting yarns of any weight. All you need to do is get your stitch gauge and then take your measurements, create some calculations on a worksheet that comes with the pattern, and then plug in your numbers as you follow along on the pattern.  It’s not too hard, but I wouldn’t recommend it for a beginning sock knitter. Get some more experience under your belt before casting on for this one.

yarn details
Craftily Dyed Yarn from ICraftOutsideTheBox in Sunshine and Rainbows (buy here)
Fingering Weight
75% Superwash Merino Wool 25% Nylon
Machine wash/Tumble dry low
$23.00 per 100 g / 450 yd skein (purchased in July 2018)

Knit Picks Stroll in Peapod
Fingering Weight
75% Merino 25% Nylon
Machine wash/Tumble dry low
$4.69 per 231 yards / 50 grams

project details
pattern: Footie Socks by Miriam L. Felton ($6 on Ravelry) and the Fish Lips Kiss Heel ($1 on Ravelry for a great pdf explaining the technique).
needles: size 1.5 (2.5mm) wood dpns
gauge: 8.5 stitches per inch
yarn used: about 16 grams of the speckle yarn (about 72 yards) and 19 grams of the Stroll (about 88 yards)
finished size: first sock is about 8.25” long and I thought it was a bit tight so I made the next one a 1/2 inch longer… I considered ripping back on the first sock and making it bigger, but I had already woven in the ends so I decided to just live with it.
duration: June 29 – August 12, 2019

notes

• Before starting the contrasting color cuff, knit one round in green before starting the ribbing on the next round (this makes the color change nice and clean).
• I did a Tubular Bind Off to try to make the cuff finish look a little neater. It sort of helped.