Slipstream by Stephanie McIntosh

Slipstream

Knitting
March 2013
Light Fingering ?
28 stitches and 43 rows = 4 inches
in stockinette stitch
US 1½ - 2.5 mm
330 - 440 yards (302 - 402 m)
Small, Medium, Large
English
This pattern is available for free.

This sock pattern brings together some of my favorite things: single-stitch cables for texture, slip-stitches for highlighting tonal variation in yarn, and asymmetry for interest. The leg starts out with a simple all-over stitch pattern, but everything changes on the gusset and foot as mock cables multiply to swoop over the arch. The unique anatomical toe continues the stitch pattern right up to the final round.

The pattern is named after the phenomenon which makes it possible to travel at high speed with little effort, by tucking in behind another fast moving object (such as a cyclist or migratory bird) that is doing all the work. The slip-stitch cables nestle behind each other like a group of cyclists in a race, while the diagonals on the foot are like the leading group accelerating ahead.

Knitted in gorgeous squishy Malabrigo, this pattern really flows.