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More about the finished socks here and here!
I gifted myself a copy of Summer Lee’s The Sock Project for Christmas and was inspired by her striped ribbed socks – particularly this Breton stripes style. Believe it or not, I’ve never knitted plain ribbed socks before, so these are super simple, but also totally new to me. One of the reasons I avoid ribbing is because I don’t like those dashes that appear in the purl sections when you change colors. Summer tells you how to avoid them with a tip that sounds a little weird, but it totally works! I’m so glad I tried it out.
Summer also swears by these ChiaoGoo Red Lace needles, and I can see why she likes them. They are super pointy! They are a little pricey, though. The cheapest I could find them was for $12 on Amazon. I’m still a fan of my good ole’ Knit Picks Nickel-Plated Fixed Circulars. They are under $10 at full price, but I always wait for sales when you can easily get two sets for the price of one of the ChiaGoo needles. I’ll be honest: they aren’t quite as pointy, but I’ve been using them for 15+ years and have gotten along just fine knitting way more complicated stitches than some simple striped ribbed socks call for.
WIP Pics
Looking Good!
Project Details
Pattern: Inspired by the Breton Stripes Ribbed Socks in Summer Lee’s new book, The Sock Project, but I’m doing a heel flap as in her Sock Recipe 2. And, obviously, these are way less colorful! (I’m knitting these for an older man in my life who I think will appreciate the neutral tones of striped ribbed socks.)
Yarn: Knit Picks Stroll in Prairie Heather and Knit Picks Stroll Tweed in Farmhouse Heather.
Materials:
- US Size 2 (2.75 mm) ChiaoGoo Red Lace Circular 24” Circular Needles
- Stitch Markers (I use 6mm closed jump rings for jewelry making and a cute calico kitty progress marker to mark the start of my row – both from etsy, but you can also find closed jump rings on Amazon.)
- The flower sock blocker you see in the photos is also an etsy find!
Notes:
- I initially started using the darker yarn to knit a pair of Simple Skyp Socks, but I think I may be getting close to that point in life where I might possibly someday need reading glasses… 😬Working with all those tiny stitches in that dark yarn was straining my eyes, so I decided to frog those and pair that yarn with the lighter-colored yarn, and that really helped. No glasses required! Here are the pics of that original project… may it rest in peace.
