Dyad Socks, Top Down by Lara Neel

Dyad Socks, Top Down

Knitting
August 2014
Fingering (14 wpi) ?
32 stitches and 44 rows = 4 inches
in stockinette stitch
US 1 - 2.25 mm
350 - 525 yards (320 - 480 m)
Women’s XS (Women’s S, Women’s M/Men’s S, Women’s L/Men’s M, Men’s L, Adjustable Size)
English

I chose “dyad” as the name for these socks as a kind of reference to my thought process.
I wanted to explore the easiest way I know to make a two-color sock: one color for the heel and toe, and another for the rest of the sock. I was also eager to use a band heel and a toe to match.
So (in my mind), bands with two colors = two things to do with musical bands = two notes = two notes played together = (a short trip to Google) = dyad. Dyad also means, in many other contexts, sets of two. What could be more perfect for a pair of socks?
I hope you find harmony with these easy socks. The band heel is an interesting exercise in shaping. The gusset shaping happens almost entirely within the heel, leaving the foot of the sock mostly undisturbed. A straight heel flap gives way to a short area of shaping with decreases. The lines created by the decreases are then continued with back-and-forth shaping, which is what actually turns the heel.
A sideways toe matches this heel quite nicely. It fits like a wedge toe and can be made short, medium or long, to fit wide, medium, or pointy toes.