The pattern is now for sale HERE. If you wish to buy the yarn and colorways designed for this pattern, it is for sale at Desert Vista Dyeworks.

Racing Hearts is a pattern to purchase for a good cause. All of the profit from the sale of the pattern, and some of the profit from the sale of the yarn, will be donated to the American Heart Association. Many of us Girlfriends have been touched by heart disease…either our own, or that of a loved one. In response, some in the group are trying to get fit, and some are even participating in a Couch to 5k program, with plans to run in the fall! These socks are designed with a princess sole, to be gentle on running (and walking) feet!

I helped to design this pattern with cawshirley of the Girlfriends Knitting Group! The pattern (Racing Hearts is the working title) has already been test knit, but this project will use one of the specific colorways dyed by Desert Vista Dyeworks for this pattern.

Notes:

• I followed the top-down instructions, and for my foot, I knit 64 rows of the instep/sole portion before starting my toe decreases. I wear a 9-9.5 (US) shoe.
• To make your socks bigger, Carolyn had the best suggestion…add your extra stitches in stockinette at the back of the ankle, in between the pattern stitches. Use even numbers, and remember to also account for those extra stitches when you work the heel (i.e.-if you have increased to 68 sts, your heel will be worked over 34 stitches, etc).
• To make them smaller, I would play with the needle size rather than the stitch count. Actually, the way this sock has ribbing all the way down the top of the foot, you should not actually need it any narrower for a smaller foot, just shorter. Knitter’s choice!
• I started with the variegated yarn for the cuff ribbing, switched to main color for the cuff patterning. I used the striping on the heel (the repeat is pretty long, so the heel didn’t even use a whole repeat of the three colors). Back to the MC for the foot. On the toe, I started with the rest of the red from the striping yarn, then finished up with the variegated. :) I like the way sock 1 turned out, so I am doing a second to match!
• I think I will have enough yarn to do a second pair, and I am considering omitting the princess sole on pair #2…not sure yet.
• These would also be great in a solid or semi-solid color yarn, so if you have something wonderful in the stash, get the pattern and start knitting today! They are a really quick knit!

Below my sock pics, I have shared some photos with you of the colorway that I knit my socks in…a large skein of variegated grays (290yds), along with a small skein of red/black/grey variegated (85yds), and a small skein of red/black/grey self-striping (85yds)…I can’t wait to see how these come out! (Carolyn will be test knitting with the red colorway.)