Jitterbug Socks by Wendy Freebourne and Lou Sugg

Jitterbug Socks

Knitting
April 2008
Fingering (14 wpi) ?
30 stitches and 40 rows = 4 inches
in st st
US 1½ - 2.5 mm
744 yards (680 m)
4, 6 or 8 UK
English

2 x 110g hanks needed

From the magazine:

“The pattern for these socks came about when Colinette challenged us to design with Jitterbug yarn. We had the idea of bugs on socks, but knitting them in Fair Isle would have meant carrying the floats across half a sock between bugs. We then had the idea of two bobbins, but this meant knitting backwards and forwards in a mix of Intarsia and Fair Isle when the main sock is knitted in the round, so we finally came up with the idea of a back leg seam that would be the length of the bug. We added an extra stitch so the seam wouldn’t tighten the leg and would lie flat. Now we have perfected the pattern, so here it is for you to try out!”

Sock is knit in the round to start (cuff down), then worked flat with a mixture of intarsia techniques (intarsia weave) and Fair Isle (carrying floats) for the bug motif. Sock is then joined back in the round to finish, and the opening is seamed.

A photo tutorial explains how to knit the motif.