This was a quick and easy pattern. Once you get going it is pretty easy to memorize & read. I really like the texture, although I think that my yarn choice is a bit dark for this pattern. The texture reads, but the pattern doesn’t.

Summary

• Went with US1 1/2 (2.50mm) needles instead of the recommended US1 (2.25mm) needles. The pattern is for a 7” circumference. I need a 7 1/2” circumference.
• Photo tutorial of bridge stitch at http://www.prairiewillowknits.blogspot.com/2012/02/slip-a....
• this yarn is very twisty & kinky when it comes off the ball.
• Knit picked up stitches through the back loop to create a tighter twisted stitch.
• My gauge: 20 rows / 2”; 16 stitches / 2”.
• Modified toe from pattern specifications to customize fit based on where the foot pattern ended. My toe is as follows: 7 repeats of the knit row / decrease row pair followed by 5 repeats of the decrease row, for a total of 19 rows.
• 56 grams yarn remaining (size 5 1/2 foot)
• this yarn is hard and I actually feel the purl bumps on the inside. That is not typical for me. If I use it again for socks I would do reverse stockinette on the sole.

Journal

2012-02-01: Cast on 62 stitches using the German Twisted Cast on. Completed cuffs of both socks and one pattern repeat of the right sock. I think this yarn may be a bit dark for this pattern.

2012-02-02: Completed 2nd repeat on right sock. Moved to left sock and completed first repeat on that sock. The SL 5 WYIF needs to be kept as loose as if I were doing stranding, since the yarn will be caught 2 rows down from the initial slip. I’ve been stretching the 5 stitches out on the needle and drawing the strand across the stretched out stitches. I found the directions for this stitch a bit confusing, so I created a photo tutorial which can be found at http://www.prairiewillowknits.blogspot.com/2012/02/slip-a.... Hopefully this will help if you found the stitch confusing.

2012-02-03: Completed leg of left sock. Yarn is showing signs of odd pooling. Moving to right sock.

2012-02-05: Completed 4th pattern repeat on right sock.

2012-02-06: Completed leg and heel flap of right sock. Socks fit, but if I wanted a longer leg I would need to adjust the pattern by adding some stitches along the side. Moving on to left sock’s heel flap.

2012-02-07: Completed left sock’s heel flap. Turned heels of both socks. Have started picking up the stitches along the side of the heel. This is the first sock where I’ve actually picked up the same number of stitches as specified in the pattern. We will see if this holds true for the right sock when I get there. Since I’m knitting on 2 circulars, I have divided my stitches as follows: Heel stitches and first 13 gusset stitches are on needle 2; instep stitches and last 13 gusset stitches are on needle 1. This pattern is unusual in that it does one decrease on every round, alternating from left to right side.

2012-02-08: Completed gussets on both socks. Moved remaining sole stitches from needle 1 back to needle 2. I now have 31 stitches on each needle.

2012-02-09: Time to check my row gauge in preparation for the toe. I have knitted about 3 1/2” from end of heel.
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Pattern calls for stopping 2 1/4” before toe, which is 2.25 * 12 rows or about 27 rows. Now, if I count the rows in the toe (from the pattern), we have 9 repeats of rows 1 & 2 plus 3 repeats of row 2 for a total of 21 rows. Oops. I’m going to calculate the number of rows based on my gauge. I plan on adding one more repeat of row 2, for a total of 22 rows. At 10 rows per inch, that would give me a toe of 2.2 inches. Now I’ll need to adjust this based on where the foot ends. The pattern wants to end the foot with row 10 or 14. This may require an adjustment in the number of rows in my toe.

2012-02-09: Completed 42 rows in the right foot and dropped a lifeline before starting the toe. I modified the toe more than initially planned. My right toe ended up as: 6 repeats of the knit row, decrease row pair, followed by 6 decrease rows. This leaves 5 stitches on each needle and creates a nice rounded toe, but its a little tight. Now that I know where to stop the foot, I will move on to the left sock.

2012-02-10: Completed left sock foot and toe. I added an additional repeat of the knit row, decrease row pair to the left toe and it fits better. Ripped right toe back and added the extra knit row / decrease row pair and ended with 5 decrease rows. This toe fits better. I don’t like tight toes. Five stitches remain on each needle.

Next Time

• I might try to make the leg bigger so I can get a taller leg. There are 4 side stitches: P K K P. I’m sure I could add stitches in this area to increase the diameter of the sock. These stitches could be decreased out as I work to the ankle.
• I wonder how the center stitch of the bridge stitch would look twisted?