Vanilla Latte Socks

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I have a weak spot in my heart for speckled sock yarn and I really love Lauren Farrell’s speckle colorways over in her etsy shop, Craftily Dyed Yarn.  This is a beautiful multi-color speckle, but she also has some fun ones that are speckles on a neutral background, like I used in my Prairie Springs Socks.

I was super intentional about picking a pattern for this yarn because I really wanted the yarn to do the talking, so I needed a pattern that was subtle.  I’ve heard a lot of good recommendations for Vanilla Latte and saw some lovely examples on Ravelry in speckle and variegated yarns, so I went with that one and I think they turned out great – what do you think?

yarn details

Merino Nylon Sock by Craftily Dyed Yarn in Nebula (Speckle Hand Dye!)
Fingering Weight
75% Superwash Merino Wool & 25% Nylon
Machine Washable/Tumble Dry Low
$27.00 per 100g/460 yd skein
Purchased in October 2019

project details

pattern: “Vanilla Latte Socks” by Virginia Rose-Jeanes (this pattern is no longer available on Ravelry but check out this post for guidance on how to knit Vanilla Latte socks)
needles: US size one (2.25mm) bamboo dpns (I like the 5” Clover brand ones)
gauge: 9.5 st and 12 rows per inch in stockinette
yarn used: 312 yards (68g)
size knit: M (64 stitches)
finished size: these are approximately a women’s size 7; 9.5” foot length and 8.5” from the top of the cuff to the bottom of the heel flap
duration: November 10, 2019 – May 4, 2020
modifications: I did the round wedge toe and the slip stitch rib heel

A note on gauge… I never swatch for socks. In fact, I rarely even look at the suggested gauge.  I just have enough experience to know based on the stitch count and needle size whether something is going to fit or not.  (Most sock patterns are stretchy so as long as you get in the ball park, you’re okay.  These are a rib, which is the stretchiest, so I didn’t worry at all).  Anyway, I usally use 1.5 (2.5mm) needles on socks, but I knit these regular size 1 (2.25mm) needles since the pattern just said from zero to two, so I just picked the middle size, lol.

That said, my gauge is super tiny!  It’s 9.5 st/inch whereas the pattern gauge called for 8 st/inch.  I kind of like how tiny the stitches are, but these did take longer to knit because of it.  Anyway, I just note this anomaly because if you want to knit these socks and you want them to look like mine, you’ll need a tighter gauge.