Seashell Monkey Socks

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Guess what? It’s another pair of Monkey Socks!  This pair is kind of special because I plugged in a short row heel instead of the traditional heel flap.  In general, I don’t love the look of short row heels and they are also a pain to knit, so I usually avoid these heels.  However, I was getting gross pooling at the gusset when I knitted these with a heel flap so I had no choice but to rip it back and insert a short row or afterthought heel.  (I wrote a post with pictures of this phenomenon if you don’t know what I mean when I say the yarn pooled at the gusset).

Anyway, long story short, I used a fish lips kiss heel here instead of the heel flap.  Lots of people rave about this heel, it’s supposed to fit better than any other heel on the planet.  I don’t know about that, but I will say that I really like the construction method vs. the wrap & turn short rows because I always seem to get gaps with those and I despise those bizarre double-wrapped stitches!  So, this method is way better.

Here is a close up of the socks and the heel.  (If you want to see what the heel-flap version looks like, I’ve knitted a zillion of these Monkey socks! Here is a post for one of them with a good picture of the heel).

And here is a close up of the lace pattern and this lovely tonal yarn.  As I’ve mentioned before, I don’t always block socks because I feel like it can stretch out rib patterns, but this is an example of a pair I chose to block – see how it has opened up the lace pattern compared to the WIP pictures in the post I referenced above about pooling?

yarn details

Knit Picks Stroll Tonal in Seashell
Fingering Weight
75% Fine Superwash Merino Wool & 25% Nylon
Machine Washable/Tumble Dry Low
$13.99 per 100g/462 yd skein
Purchased in December 2019

project details

pattern: “Monkey” by Cookie A; there is a free version of this pattern published in Knitty or you can find it in Knit. Sock. Love., which I heartily recommend adding to your collection! (it’s hard to find the printed version of this book, but you can get the ebook on Ravelry for $16.95); modified with the Fish Lips Kiss Heel

needles: size 1.5 wood dpns (I’m fond of these 5” wood dpns from Knit Picks because they are lightweight and won’t stretch the lace at the joins, the length is comfortable for working with the work divided across 4 needles, which is perfect for this pattern)

gauge: after blocking, it was 9 stitches and 12 rows over 1” in stockinette

yarn used: 333 yards, 72 grams

finished size: these are approximately a women’s size 7.5; 9.5” foot length and 10” from the top of the cuff to the bottom of the heel; the leg circumference is about 7” after I blocked the lace.

duration: December 20, 2019 – April 15, 2020