Garden City Socks

This is an elegant mid-calf or knee-high toe up sock with a short row heel, designed to be displayed with pride. :)

I came up with the idea for this pattern through being inspired by my childhood memories of my home city, Christchurch, the Garden City. The architecture, the beautiful gardens and the hidden treasures it always seemed to hold made me a proud Cantabrian, and it still does. A great deal of our historical architecture may have been demolished after the Christchurch Earthquakes, but we are rebuilding and growing like new shoots in the Springtime.

Sizes:

Small (NZ shoe size 4-6, US shoe size 5, UK shoe size 3.5, Euro shoe size 35) – approx length 8 - 8.5 inches/20 - 21.5cm, approx 7 inches/18cm foot circumference

Medium (NZ 7-8, US 7, UK 5.5, Euro 37) – approx length 9 – 9.5 inches/23 – 24.5cm, approx 8 inches/20.5cm foot circumference

Large (NZ 9-10, US 9, UK 7.5, Euro 39) – approx length 10 – 10.5 inches/25 – 26.5cm, approx 9 inches/23cm foot circumference

Materials/Notions:

2mm/size 0 double pointed needles or circular needles with 100cm/40” cord Touch Yarns Magic Merino sock yarn or fingering/sock yarn of your choice

Recommended yarn amount:

Mid-Calf: Knee-High: Small 350 metres (383 yds) Small 410 metres (448 yds) Medium 400 metres (438 yds) Medium 455 metres (497 yds) Large 450 metres (493 yds) Large 500 metres (547 yds)

Stitchmarkers

Tape measure

Darning needle

(optional for knee-high socks) Knitter’s elastic or beading elastic

Gauge:

9 stitches and 12 rows = 1”(2.5cm) in Stockinette Stitch.

Abbreviations: Sts = stitches. M1 = make one stitch. I made the increases with the pick up & knit through back loop technique. Kbl = knit through back loop. Yo = yarn on or yarn over. Sl1 = slip one stitch. K2tog = knit two together. Psso = pass slipped stitch over (knitwise).

Toe:

Using the Turkish Cast-on method, (or another toe-up cast-on method like Judy’s Magic Cast-on), cast on a total of 28 (32, 36) stitches.

Place maker after first stitch, and knit one round. Divide sts evenly on the needles.

Row 1: K1, M1, knit until the last stitch before centre stitch (of round), M1, K2, M1, knit until the last stitch, M1, K1

Row 2: Knit

Repeat these 2 rounds until you have a total of 52, (60, 70) stitches. Then increase by 1 st for small to be 53 sts, medium to be 61 sts, large to be 71 sts. The stitches are now referred to in 2 parts: the instep stitches and the sole stitches – place stitchmarkers to mark the instep or sole.

Size: Instep sts: Sole sts: Small 31 22 Medium 31 30 Large 41 30

Instep is knit in the following Falling Leaves pattern; sole is knit across.

Falling Leaves lace instep pattern (multiples of 10+1)

Row 1: k2tog, k3, *yo, k1, yo, k3, sl1, k2tog, psso, k3; rep from *to last 7 stitches, yo, k1, yo, k3, sl1, k1, psso.

Row 2 and every alt row: knit.

Row 3: k2tog, k2, *yo, k3, yo, k2, sl1, k2tog, psso, k2; rep from * to last 8 sts, yo, k3, yo, k2, sl1, k1, psso.

Row 5: k2tog, k1, *yo, k5, yo, k1, sl1, k2tog, psso, k1; rep from * to last 9 sts, yo, k5, yo, k1, sl1, k1, psso.

Row 7: k2tog, yo, k7, *yo, sl1, k2tog, psso, yo, k7, rep from * to last 3 sts, yo, sl1, k1, psso.

Row 9: k1, yo, k3, *sl1, k2tog, psso, k3, yo, k1, yo, k3; rep from *to last 8 sts, sl1, k2tog, psso, k3, yo, k1.

Row 11: k2, yo, k2, *sl1, k2tog, psso, k2, yo, k3, yo, k2; rep from * to last 8 sts, sl1, k2tog, psso, k2, yo, k2.

Row 13: k3, yo, k1, *sl1, k2tog, psso, k1, yo, k5, yo, k1; rep from * to last 8 sts, sl1, k2tog, psso, k1, yo, k3.

Row 15: k4, *yo, sl1, k2tog, psso, yo, k7; rep from * to last 8 sts, yo, sl1, k2tog, psso, yo, k4.

Row 16: Knit.

For size small, repeat pattern 4 times, and continue on until Row 2. At the beginning and end of the sole stitches on Row 2, make one increase (k1, M1, knit to last sole st, M1, k1). Repeat increases (one at start and one at end of sole stitches) on Rows 4, 6 & 8, then prepare to short row heel. Size medium repeat pattern 4.5 times, on Row 10 making one increase at the beginning and one increase at the end of the sole stitches (k1, M1, knit to last sole st, M1, k1), then prepare to short row heel.

Size large, repeat pattern 5 times, and continue on until Row 2. At the beginning and end of the sole stitches on Row 2, make one increase (k1, M1, knit to last sole st, M1, k1). Repeat increases (one at start and one at end of sole stitches) on Rows 4, 6 & 8, then prepare to short row heel. OR, knit until about 2.5 inches or 6.5cm from the heel of your foot, ensuring you increase the correct amount of stitches for your size. You should now have 28 sole sts for size small (61 sts total) and 32 sole sts for medium (63 sts total) and 38 sole sts for large (79 sts total).

Size: Instep sts: Sole sts: Small 31 30 Medium 31 32 Large 41 38

Begin short-row heel. Place instep stitches on one needle, and work only the sole sts as follows, back and forth:

Row 1 (WS): Purl to last stitch; slip stitch as if to purl and then wrap stitch (move yarn from front to back, slip stitch back to left needle, move yarn to the front of the work). Turn the work.

Row 2 (RS): Knit to last stitch; slip stitch as if to purl and then wrap stitch (move yarn from back to front, slip stitch back to left needle, move yarn to the back of the work). Turn the work. Repeat these two rows, wrapping the last stitch before the previously wrapped ones. Repeat this until you have 8 stitches for size small left unworked, size medium 10 sts unworked, and large 12 sts unworked.

Then "long-row" the heel as follows:

Row 1 (RS): Knit to first wrapped stitch; knit the stitch and its wrap together as one (scooping up the wrap from the front of the stitch). Wrap the next stitch again as before (this helps to keep gaps small). Turn the work.

Row 2: Slip the first stitch, purl to first wrapped stitch; purl the stitch and its wrap together as one (scooping up the wrap from the back of the stitch). Wrap the next stitch again as before. Turn the work.

Row 3 and 4: Slip the first stitch, work to first wrapped stitch. Work similar to rows 1 and 2, but picking up both wraps and knitting together with stitch and wrapping the following stitch. Continue rows 3 & 4 until all stitches on the heel have been worked. When on the last wrap purl row, pick up final wrapped stitch, turn, then knit 5 sts (small) or 6 sts (medium), or 9 sts (large). This will now be the beginning of a row, so either arrange needles or place marker. For size small you should have 41 sts for the Falling Leaves instep pattern. (61 sts total) To ensure you have the right stitch count for the falling leaves lace in size medium, you will need to create 8 sts – to do this, pick up 4 sts in the gap between the sole stitches and the instep on each side after you’ve finished the heel. You will now have 51 sts for the instep. (71 sts total) To ensure you have the right stitch count for size large you will need to pick up 2 sts, one in each gap between the sole stitches and the instep on each side after you’ve finished the heel. You will now have 61 sts for the instep. (81 sts total) Size: Falling Leaves sts: Staggered Fern sts Total sts: Small 41 20 61 Medium 51 20 71 Large 61 20 81

You’re now on the leg of the sock and will start Staggered Fern lace panel in the centre of the previous sole stitches – this will create a lovely embellishment to run up the back of your calf. Continue knitting the Falling Leaves instep pattern on the remaining stitches, starting with Row 9 for size small and large, and back at Row 11 for size medium.

Staggered Fern Lace panel (20 sts)

1st row (RS) – p2, k9, yo, k1, yo,k3, sl1, k2tog, psso, p2, then carry on in Falling Leaves instep pattern according to where you put the instep on hold for the heel turn.

2nd and every alt row, knit.

3rd row – p2, k10, yo, k1, yo, k2, sl1, k2tog, psso, p2, carry on in instep pattern.

5th row –p2, k3tog, k4, yo, k1, yo, k3, [yo, k1] twice, sl1, k2tog, psso, p2, carry on in instep pattern.

7th row – p2, k3tog, k3, yo, k1, yo, k9, p2, carry on in instep pattern.

9th row – p2, k3tog, k2, yo, k1, yo, k10, p2, carry on in instep pattern.

11th row – p2, k3tog, [k1, yo] twice, k3, yo, k1, yo, k4, sl1, k2tog, psso, p2, carry on in instep pattern. 12th row – knit.

Following staggered fern pattern, ensure extra stitches aren’t being picked up to keep the stitch number at 61 for size small, 71 for size medium, and 81 for size large.

For ankle socks, knit one more staggered ferns pattern, and begin Open Twist Rib across all sts (instructions follow). Knit one row, reducing 1 st for each size to take the stitch count to 70 (small), 80 (medium), or 90 (large). Now begin Open Twist Rib pattern.

For mid-calf and knee high socks, continue.

Repeat staggered fern pattern 7 times.

Increase section: To increase for the fitted calf, after the 7th repeat of staggered fern pattern, don’t do any decreases for the beginning and end of the pattern repeat of the Falling Leaves instep pattern. Go about it thusly: At the beginning of the next repeat of Falling leaves, on Row 1 of the instep pattern, start this Falling Leaves instep section with: Row 1: k5, yo, k1, yo, then carry on in Falling Leaves pattern until last 6 stitches before staggered ferns, yo, k1, yo, k5. Row 2, 4, 6 & 8, knit. Row 3: k5, yo, k3, yo, then carry on in Falling Leaves pattern until last 7 stitches before staggered ferns, yo, k3, yo, k5. Row 5: k5, yo, k5, yo, then carry on in Falling Leaves pattern until last 8 stitches before staggered ferns, yo, k5, yo, k5. Row 7: k5, yo, k7, yo, then carry on in Falling Leaves pattern until last 9 stitches before staggered ferns, yo, k7, yo, k5.

This will increase 8 sts.

On Row 9, form a new lace leaf in the instep pattern by starting the row thusly: K4, yo, k1, yo, k3, *sl1, k2tog, psso, k3, yo, k1, yo, k3; rep from *to last 5sts, then yo, k1, yo, k4. On what should be the next instep pattern Row 11, begin as in Row 1 of the Falling Leaves instep pattern. This will increase 2 more sts, taking total increase in this section to 10 sts. For mid-calf socks, knit one more staggered ferns pattern, and begin Open Twist Rib across all sts (instructions below). Knit one row, reducing 1 st for each size to take the stitch count to 70 (small), 80 (medium), or 90 (large). Now begin Open Twist Rib pattern.

For knee-high socks, do two more repeats of staggered ferns, then follow instructions for increase section for the fitted calf twice, starting the second increase section again after reaching Row 1 for the second time. This should take you to 85 sts for size small, 95 sts for medium, and 105 sts for size large. Complete at least 2 more Falling Leaves instep repeats until you get desired leg length, and finish on Row 11 of the Staggered Ferns lace panel or Row 15 of the Falling Leaves instep pattern.

Knit one row, decreasing 5 sts for each size to take the stitch count to 80 (small), 90 (medium), or 100 (large). Now begin Open Twist Rib pattern.

Open Twist Rib pattern

Note: If you want your socks to stay up, knit in some knitter’s elastic or bead elastic to the open twist rib pattern to give more stretch and grip to the ribbing, or sew in some after binding off.

1st row: p1, kbl, p1, *k2, p1, kbl, p1; rep from * to last 2 sts, k2.

2nd row: p1, kbl, p1, *k1, yo, k1, p1, kbl, p1; rep from * to last 2 sts, k1, yo, k1.

3rd row: p1, kbl, p1, *k3, p1, kbl, p1; rep from * to last 3 sts, k3.

4th row: p1, kbl, p1, *k3, pass 3rd st on right hand needle over first 2 sts, p1, kbl, p1; rep from * to last 3 sts, k3, pass 3rd st over first 2 sts.

Repeat these 4 rows × 3 (3 pattern repeats). Finish with a Picot bind-off.

Picot Bind-Off

Cast on 2 sts onto the left needle using cable cast on, cast off 4 sts, return the st on the right hand needle to the left, and repeat to end. It doesn’t matter if you are left with odd sts left – just bind off or cast on an extra stitch to make up the number needed.

Weave in yarn ends, and you’re done!