Introducing Inspire Knits

Well, no blog post yesterday either - I am currently batting .500 on NaBloPoMo; visiting my parents is not conducive to blogging - their computer and internet connection are painfully slow, plus I really need to upload more photos to Flickr to facilitate "away from home" blogging. However, I did have the opportunity to graft the toe on these sockettes: They were my "purse" knitting project during our Eurotrip - designed specifically to wear with these shoes: (Because I prefer the sockless look with these shoes, but dislike the effects of wearing closed shoes sans socks.) These are based on this pattern, but I've made some modifications, and am thus deeming it my first design. Ballet School Dropout* Sockettes by Inspire Knits I knit mine using much less than a full skein of Crystal Palace Maizey, using a set of 4 (well, they started out as a set of 5, but one of them magically disappeared during a ride on the Paris Metro) 2.75mm(US2) dpns. They are meant to fit quite snug, but if you have wee little feet, you might need to make the heel shorter by doing fewer repeats. Gauge isn't super important - best to go up at least one needle size to make them stretchier and faster to knit. Cast on 27 stitches onto one dpn. Knit one row. Next row: K3, *Kfb, K3*, repeat from * to the end. 33 stitches. Knit one row. Heel: Row 1) *K1, Sl1*, repeat from * to last stitch, K1 Row 2) K1, Purl to last stitch, K1 Repeat these 2 rows 18 times, then repeat Row 1. Shape heel: 1) P17, P2 tog, P1, turn 2) K3, Sl1, K1, Psso, K1, turn 3) P4, P2 tog, P1, turn 4) K5,Sl1, K1, Psso, K1, turn 5) P6, P2 tog, P1, turn 6) K7, Sl1, K1, Psso, K1, turn 7) P8, P2 tog, P1, turn 8) K9, Sl1, K1, Psso, K1, turn 9) P10, P2 tog, P1, turn 10) K11, Sl1, K1, Psso, K1, turn 11) P12, P2 tog, P1, turn 12) K13, Sl1, K1, Psso, K1, turn 13) P14, P2 tog, P1, turn 14) K15, Sl1, K1, Psso, K1, turn 15) P16, P2 tog, turn 16) K16, Sl1, K1, Psso Break yarn. With right side of work facing, use a 3rd dpn to pick up 19 stitches along the right side of the heel. Knit the 17 heel stitches onto the same needle. Pick up 19 stitches along the left side of the heel. Redistribute the stitches so that there are 27 on one dpn and 28 on the other dpn. (55 stitches total) Knit the next 2 rows until you have 41 stitches remaining: 1) K3, purl to last 3 stitches,K3 2) K3, K2 tog, knit to last 5 stitches, Sl1, K1, Psso, K3 Then, repeat the next 2 rows until the sockette is 12cm/5 inches less than foot length, ending with row 1: 1) K3, purl to last 3 stitches, K3 2) Knit to end Knit the next 2 increase rows until you have 65 stitches in total 1) K2, Kfb, Knit to last 3 stitches, Kfb, K2 2) K2, Kfb, Purl to last 3 stitches, Kfb, K2 Redistribute the stitches onto 3 dpns as follows: 16, 32, 17. Knit to the end of the 3rd needle, slip the last stitch onto the first needle, and Knit that stitch together with the first stitch on the first needle to join and start knitting in the round. 64 stitches: 16, 32, 16. Knit 2 rounds even. Toe decreases: Round 1: Needle 1: work to the last 3 st, k2tog, and k1. Needle 2 - k1, SL 1, k1, psso. Work to the last 3 st on the needle, & k2tog, k1. Needle 3 - k1, SL 1, psso; work to the end of the needle. *Round 2: Knit even. *If you want the toe to be very short, decrease on every row; this will give you a sock that shows some toe "cleavage". (If you aren't sure what type of toe you want, I'd suggest putting a lifeline in and knitting the shorter toe first - if it doesn't fit your foot, then rip back and do the longer toe) When you are down to 12 stitches, knit to the end of needle one, When you have decreased down to a total of 24 stitches, knit to the end of needle 1, redistribute the stitches to 2 needles and graft toe closed. Slip into your ballerina shoes and capris and channel Audrey Hepburn: Note - the "cuff" on these is 3 rows longer than as written in the pattern; I hate getting blisters on my achilles tendon, so this longer cuff can fold over the edge of the shoe. *Disclosure : I was never in ballet school, but I did take Ukrainian dance lessons for a few years. Up next - La Tour Eiffel Socks!