Purple Zephyr socks are named for an imaginary Lancaster County steam engine. The Railway Stitch is a 19th century rib pattern that imitates train tracks. The pattern features two distinct choices for the heel--an unusual garter short row heel & a traditional gusset heel.
A one skein project, we knit ours in locally hand dyed yarns.

Nancy Bush has a beautiful sock knit in the Railway Stitch pattern in her excellent book ‘Knitting Vintage Socks.’ Her pattern is drawn from the same source, ‘Weldon’s Needlework.’ I spoke with her after I designed this sock--and we agreed that we had shared inspiration for this one. In the meantime, Knitting Vintage Socks has become one of my favorite sock books. Ever.

Updated photos January 2022