Toe-Up Travelers by Ann Budd

Toe-Up Travelers

I began these socks with the traveling-stitch “wing” pattern that I found in a Japanese book of stitch patterns called Knitting Patterns Book 250. Because I wanted the pattern to flow along the front of the leg and instep in the same orientation as was shown in the pattern book, I had to work the socks from the toe up. I added another pattern at the sides of the leg to bring the stitch count to an appropriate number for a leg circumference. The pattern I chose involves twisted stitches to coordinate with the main stitch pattern, but I added four-stitch groups of wrapped stitches to add to the textural look. For design continuity on the front of the leg, I extended the wrapped-stitch pattern along the instep. I chose to work a short-row heel to minimize design interruption at the heel, but it would have been nice to extend the wrapped-stitch pattern along the flap of a round heel (worked from the toe up) as well. For the cuff, I maintained the wrapped-stitch pattern at the sides of the leg, but discontinued the traveling stitches in the wings pattern and worked a tiny cable pattern at the center of the motif. A stretchy sewn bind-off forms an elastic edge at the cuff.