This is a plain vanilla sock based on patterns from World War II.

To create this design, I cut together patterns and knitting tips for soldiers’ socks that were originally published between 1939 and 1942 in the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. Each instruction is over 80 years old and was first written for socks that were worn by soldiers who fought Nazis.

I’ve tried to mix and match these directions to produce a pattern that is relatively straightforward while still retaining the idiosyncrasies of the originals. At the same time, I also think of this pattern as more of an art project than anything else and I’m still unsure as to whether it’s really meant to be knitted.

This pattern comes in only one size (60-st circumference). The sample socks were knitted using 2.25mm needles at a gauge of 8.5 sts/inch and produced a women’s small/medium.

The PDF includes a list of sources and links to all the original patterns that I consulted.

You can read more about the background and development of this design here: https://jaggedlines.substack.com/p/how-i-knitted-socks-fo...