Inspiration
New Year, New Socks: 5 Beauties We Love
What’s that? You’re jonesing for a new sock pattern and just don’t know where on earth to look?
We’re here to help.
Designers love cooking up sock patterns. We love getting to play with sock yarns. (You can see our sock yarns at the bottom of this post and up top in the gallery.)
These five patterns have us scheming and dreaming. (Each pattern name is a link to the Ravelry page where you can purchase these designs.)
Thanks to these designers for giving us new brain teasers!
Basic Sock with Integrated Heel by Ailbíona McLochlainn
Brilliant! Ailbíona has engineered a heel that behaves like the flap-and-gusset classic, yet she works it in the round rather than having to stop and work the flap back and forth.
No Fear Shorty Socks by Denise DeSantis
Denise’s No Fear Sock Knitting Class on YouTube is a gift to the universe: a series of free video classes where she teaches the basics of sock knitting. These little socks are the pattern that goes with the class. She’s so good!
Intersections by Marceline Smith
Gorgeous. This sort of texture really sings when worked in a solid or semisolid yarn. Here’s how to set yourself up to gaze upon your feet with wonderment.
Fleet Feet Socks by Fatimah Hinds
Fatimah is, among many things, a teacher of math. She’s always playing around with cables, and here she sends them on amazing, curving journeys. The result is winged victory in sock form.
Curio Socks by Andrea Mowry
Toe up, with an afterthought heel. Your color-shifting, variegated, colorwow sock yarns will look fantastic in this pattern. And solids will work well, too. Just a cool, unexpected design.
I love it when MDK does a good pattern round up!
Thank goodness Denise (Earthtonesgirl) has an amazing series of classes for all levels of sock knitters! Hip hip hooray! She breaks every aspect of sock knitting into wonderful pockets of information.
I love the shadow wrap heel ! Denise is a great teacher , and her videos are wonderful
Thank you so much Modern Day Knitting!!! I am so honored and humbled to be included in this list of amazing sock designers.
I’ve been knitting socks for many years. Had my personal recipe and considered it written in stone. Then Denise debuted her shadow wrap heel. It’s my new go-to heel. Reminds me we are never too old or too experienced to learn something new. Thanks Denise !
Oh yes, the shadow wrap heel,for me, is the moon & stars of knitting the sock heel. I’ve knitted socks since the dawn of mud,feels like that way, with the heel part written in stone, on trees and burned in my brain. There was no other way until Denise presented the shadow wrap heel. What ? After a couple of mistakes, my brain gave up & memory clicked in , it was a rebirth of my sock heel and loved it. Practice, practice it will make sense and settle in. Note: I still have to check the directions and its OK ! I do love the look & how it feels on my heel.
Denise Desantis is a rock star.
A sock star!
I give Modern Daily Knitting and Denise DeSantis all the credit for getting me into sock knitting. It started with my purchase of the Field Guide No. 11 and then finding Denise and her wonderful tutorials on YouTube. Now, I’m obsessed and loving it. Knitting socks has saved me the last two years!
Same
I just cast on for a new pair of Jeck socks, which I highly recommend, but when I CO these, I’m looking to try at least 1 or 2 of your patterns!
Where can I get these patterns?!
Just click on the pattern name and it will take you to the Ravelry web site (it’s a free site to sign up) and you can purchase them there. Some of the posts there may also show the designer’s web address where you can get them
What is the yarn in photos banner at top that has 9 skeins with purple at far right, next to an orange and a brown(?). I can’t seem to match it up with anything in the MDK shop.
It’s Secretos by Laneras, page 2 of the yarn section, first item in the second row. I just bought some, and it’s lovely!
GASP! Curio Socks. Be still my heart…. Yup, ya found my wheelhouse.
I seldom wear socks so have never knitted them. They always look like such a fun project, however, that I’m tempted. Here’s my question: Do socks with texture—cables or other 3D patterns—or stranded colorwork—where you need to weave in a bunch of ends—not cause blisters?
No, they definitely don’t! The yarns are soft and smooth, and the stitches are small. For extra tender feet there is even something called a princess sole, where you put the stockinette on the inside of the sole, and reverse stockinette on the outside, for feet that don’t want to feel purl bumps! Usually a princess sole is only needed with heavier weight socks, such as worsted weight boot socks. I don’t generally go for stranded color work, not because of foot feel but because I feel like stranding makes the socks less elastic, and I like a stretchy sock!
Thanks for the tips. I love the name of the princess sole—and that there are those among us so delicate that the tiny purl bumps are like the pea under the mattresses.
I’ve been knitting for almost 15 years and never knit socks for some reason – until last year when I had lost a little knitting mojo. I saw some cute sock patterns by Summer Lee and spent all summer knitting up short socks – it was so fun. She has lots of cute designs on Ravelry.