Sock Architecture is perfect for both experienced and novice sock knitters. This thorough, imaginative collection of sock shapes and patterns gives you the tools to construct an astounding variety of custom socks.

All heels and toes are carefully explained and clearly photographed, and you can plug in your own numbers to work at the exact size and gauge you want.

If you’d rather just pick up the needles and start knitting, Sock Architecture also includes 17 fully designed patterns. Most span five sizes, from women’s extra small through men’s large. And most of the patterns offer guidelines for an adjustable size so you can choose your own gauge, size, or both. Make socks that are as unique as you are!

Lara demystifies popular sock-knitting techniques and gives you tips and tricks that could only have come from the mind behind the Math4Knitters blog and podcast. Terrified of grafting? Love afterthought heels but hate retrieving those tiny left-on-hold stitches? Adore the look and fit of your usual top-down heel, but hate picking up gusset stitches and dealing with that weird little hole at the top of the heel flap? Lara gives you all the tools and methods you need to address these issues and build your own great socks.

17 top-down toes…
68 top-down heels…
17 toe-up toes…
26 toe-up heels…

At a minimum, before adding any variations in stitch pattern or color, a knitter could make 1,156 unique socks from the top down and 442 unique socks from the toe up using this book. A knitter who could turn out one sock every day could spend at least eight years knitting all the possibilities.

published in August 2014

cooperativepress.com