Web-Letter, Issue 54 – Sweet Summer Socks We’re divided. Some of us in the office LOVE self-striping yarn for socks. And there are others of us who MUCH prefer solids or semi-solid sock yarn. But we’re a democratic group, and we live and let live when it comes to yarn choices. Andi Clark, customer service pro and sock knitter par excellence, is a stripes lover, as you can see in her pair of Sweet Summer Socks. Cecily Glowik, on the other hand, likes solids, so, when testing the pattern, she worked up her pair of Andi’s brief little socks in kettle-dyed CEY Summer Sox .  Can’t decide which you like better? Knit a pair in each. P.S. Next week we'll be taking a break and will return September 2 with a sweater by Veronik Avery.
The Story: I love self-striping sock yarn. I think it’s wonderful that a yarn can do all the work for you, and you end up with great looking socks. How easy is that? But sometimes you need to do something more than knit, knit, knit to keep your interest in your knitting. That’s what I thought when Pam asked me to design a pattern for Summer Sox. Basic stockinette stitch would emphasize the stripes; but the aforementioned boredom factor clicks in. How about a little stitch interest to prevent the knitter from getting bored? So here is a simple cable pattern to keep you motivated, but it doesn’t compete with the stripes. And to make things even more interesting, I’ve designed this pair specifically for knitting with the Magic Loop method. You can easily convert the pattern to two circular or dpn methods of knitting if you care to. I learned Magic Loop last year and have never looked back. Give it a try with these socks. You won’t regret it. The Yarn: Summer Sox — 40% cotton, 40% superwash merino, 20% nylon Although I’ve never been a cotton-in-your-sock-yarn fan, I have to admit that Summer Sox feels fantastic on my feet and fingers—and looks good on the needles while knitting. CEY Summer Sox is a blend of 40% cotton, 40% superwash merino, and 20% nylon. The cotton component allows the yarn to breath and feel cool against the skin. The wool in the blend adds elasticity to the yarn—good for socks--and provides moisture absorption.  Adding nylon to the mix makes the yarn stable and sturdy for socks that last and last.   The slight heathered effect in Summer Sox results from the different ways that the three fibers, cotton, merino, and nylon absorb dye. And because Summer Sox is machine washable, it is also great for children’s garments.  The Stitches: Andi’s Sweet Summer Sox, with its short cuff and simple cable pattern, is a good pattern for warm weather socks. The socks are worked in the round for the leg using the magic loop method. The heel is worked using short rows. When the heel is complete, stitches are picked up along the heel flap to form gussets. Then the foot is worked even for the desired length to the beginning of the toe shaping. Left and right slanting decreases are used to shape the toe, which is finished by using the Kitchener Stitch to graft the stitches together.	more photos The Pattern: Here is the free downloadable Sweet Summer Socks pattern.
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