I’m taking the basic pattern for this sock and converting it to a top down sock with a standard heel flap & a wedge toe. I chose this pattern because I think it will truly highlight the color of the Baah! La Jolla.

Summary

• Cast on with German twisted cast on.

• Cuff is a 1x1 twisted rib.

• The chart stitches are numbered backwards. The numbers should read from right to left, not left to right.

• The pattern calls for 10 gusset stitches and a stockinette heel. I’m doing a standard heel stitch heel. To get 10 gusset stitches I will need 20 rows in the heel. This is a pretty shallow instep. I typically have 15-18 gusset stitches. Since I have a larger gusset, I striped the portion of the gusset not in the circle square pattern.

• Heel flap is traditional heel stitch.

• To correctly start the sole pattern, I marked the center of my heel (11 stitches in) and marked 9 stitches off in each direction. The pattern will extend 7 stitches into the gusset area on each side. Since I am starting on the sole, I have 2 stitches in the first color. These stitches are the end of the first pattern repeat. I am treating the 7 stitches before the start of round as the other 7 stitches of the first pattern repeat. When I complete the first round, these 7 stitches are the last stitches and are knit using row 2 of the pattern repeat.

• I’m striping the non-pattern gusset stitches. The k2tog is knit using the last 2 stitches before the instep; the ssk is knit using the first 2 stitches after the instep.

• The PU&K in the contrasting color along the heel flap looks like 2 rows. The only way to resolve this would be to do the pickup in the main color, but knit the stitch in the contrasting color. I’m not going to bother and I’ll live with it.

• I adjusted the last gusset decrease on one of the socks so that the pattern was maintained. I decreased the stitch on the side of the gusset where the stitch color matched the pattern color.

• The 4 middle rows of the circle motif requires me to catch the float. I didn’t stack the catches, but rather alternated between catching on the 3rd and 4th stitches.

• I discussed the conversion of this pattern to a top down design here.

Journal

2013-08-20: Cast on 72 using German Twisted Cast on with US 1.5 (2.5mm) needles. Complete cuff with 10 rows of 1x1 twisted rib. Change to US 2.0 (2.75mm) needles. Complete first row of dots.

2013-08-21: Complete third row of dots.

2013-08-22: Start right sock and complete leg through third set of dots.

2013-08-23: Completed right leg. I stopped after 5 dot rows. I expected to go to 6, but I like the way the leg is fitting now. Completed heel flap and turn. Picking up and knitting to maintain the square and circle pattern is interesting, so I’m moving back to the left sock to complete it to the same point so that I can get the pattern started consistently on both.

Finish left leg & start heel flap.

2013-08-24: Complete left heel flap. To start the sole pattern, I marked the center of my heel (11 stitches in) and marked 9 stitches off in each direction. The pattern will extend 7 stitches into the gusset area on each side. This might be pretty ugly.

2013-08-25: Complete right gusset, adjusting the last decrease to maintain the main pattern. Complete left sock gusset.

2013-08-26: Finish dot row started in right sock gusset. Switch needles to US 1.5 (2.5mm) to continue foot. Complete right sock foot & toe.

2013-08-27: Finished left sock. Socks are blocking now.

Pattern Rating

I didn’t rate this pattern since I only used the basic chart to create this sock. I have a couple of comments: 1) the chart stitch numbers are going the wrong direction; 2) I believe the gusset would look better in the contrast color, not the heel color.

First Time

• This is my first time knitting a stranded sock across 72 stitches instead of 64. This was a success. From now on, I’ll knit the 72 stitch size instead of the smaller size. The 72 stitch sock allows me to use more reasonable US 2.0 and US 1.5 needles to get a sock to fit my smaller foot while still handling my larger calf.