These socks came out of my desire to use a particular stitch pattern found in Karen Hemingway’s “Super Stitches Knitting”. Her peapod stitch really appealed to me and so I went on a quest for a yarn that would show it off with some wicked stitch definition. Happily for me, Crystal Palace’s Panda Silk turned out to be the perfect yarn for this pattern and, after adapting the pattern for knitting in the round, the combination has made a beautiful pair of socks.

You can download the pattern here: Peapod Socks.

Finished Size

To fit a woman’s medium foot

Materials

v 2 skeins Crystal Palace Panda Silk

v Set of 5 US#00 double pointed needles

v Tapestry needle

Gauge

18 stitches and 26 rows = 2 inches in peapod pattern.

Notes

v I found the Panda Silk to be somewhat finer than other sock yarns and so the gauge is quite tiny. If you’re not interested in knitting so many tiny stitches using such tiny needles, I think you could probably get away with casting on 48 stitches onto US 2 needles and reducing the number of pattern repeats to four instead of six. I haven’t tried this myself so, if you give it a go, let me know how it turns out.

Abbreviations

BO bind off

CO cast on

K knit

k2tog knit two stitches together as one

Rnd round

SSK slip 1 stitch knit-wise, slip next stitch purl-wise, knit the two stitches together through the back loop

YO yarn over

* starting point of repeat

Stitch Guide

Peapod Pattern

Row 1 K

Row 2 K

Row 3 K4, k2tog, k1, yo, *k9, k2tog, k1, yo*, repeat until 5 stitches remain, k to end

Row 4 K3, k2tog, k1, yo, *k9, k2tog, k1, yo*, repeat until 6 stitches remain, k to end

Row 5 K2, k2tog, k1, yo, *k9, k2tog, k1, yo*, repeat until 7 stitches remain, k to end

Row 6 K1, k2tog, k1, yo, *k9, k2tog, k1, yo*, repeat until 8 stitches remain, k to end

Row 7 K

Row 8 K

Row 9 K5, yo, k1, ssk, *k9, yo, k1, ssk*, repeat until 4 stitches remain, k to end

Row 10 K6, yo, k1, ssk, *k9, yo, k1, ssk*, repeat until 3 stitches remain, k to end

Row 11 K7, yo, k1, ssk, *k9, yo, k1, ssk*, repeat until 2 stitches remain, k to end

Row 12 K8, yo, k1, ssk, *k9, yo, k1, ssk*, repeat until 1 stitches remain, k to end

Eye of Partridge Stitch

Row 1 Sl 1, p35
Row 2 Sl 1, *k1, sl 1,* repeat from * to end
Row 3 Sl 1, p35
Row 4 Sl1, *sl 1, k1,* repeat from * until 2 stitches remain, k2

Pattern

Cast on 72 stitches; divide stitches between three needles. Join in round and place marker (if desired).

Cuff

Work in k3,p1 rib for one inch.

Leg

Work Peapod pattern six times (approximately 5”). Knit 1 rnd.

Divide for heel flap by transferring 12 stitches from one needle to each of the other needles. There should be 36 stitches on each needle with three stitch patterns centered on each.

Heel flap

On one needle, work heel flap in Eye of Partridge stitch for 36 rows. Set up heel turn by purling 1 row.

Turn heel

Row 1 K21, ssk, k1, turn
Row 2 P8, p2tog, p1, turn
Row 3 Knit to 1 st before gap formed on previous row, ssk, k1, turn
Row 4 Purl to 1 st before gap formed on previous row, p2tog, p1, turn

Repeat rows 3 and 4 until all stitches have been worked.

Gusset

With a new needle, pick up and knit 18 stitches along edge of heel flap.

Knit across instep needle.

With another new needle, pick up and knit 18 stitches along edge of heel flap. Knit 10 heel stitches onto this needle.

Transfer remaining heel stitches to first gusset needle. You should have 28 stitches on Needle 1, 36 instep stitches on Needle 2, and 28 stitches on Needle 3.

Gusset Decrease Round

Needle 1 K until 2 stitches remain, ssk
Needle 2 Work in peapod pattern
Needle 3 K2tog, knit to end

Row 1 Work dec round
Row 2 Knit Needle 1 even, work Needle 2 in patt, knit Needle 3 even

Repeat Rows 1 and 2 until 18 stitches remain on Needles 1 and 3; 72 stitches total.

Foot

Knit Needle 1, work Needle 2 in patt, knit Needle 3 until work is 2 inches less than desired finished length. End with either Row 6 or Row 12 of Peapod stitch.

Toe

Divide stitches evenly between four needles; 18 stitches on each needle.

Toe Decrease Round

Needle 1 K until 4 stitches remain, ssk, k2.
Needle 2 K2, k2tog, k to end.
Needle 3 K until 4 stitches remain, ssk, k2.
Needle 4 K2, k2tog, k to end.

Knit 4 rounds even.

Work one toe dec rnd; 4 stitches decreased. K one rnd. Alternate toe dec rnd with even rnd five more times; 48 stitches remain.

Work toe dec rnd every row for four rows; 32 stitches remain.

With Needle 4, knit stitches on Needle 1. Combine stitches on Needles 2 and 3 onto one needle.

Finishing

Cut yarn leaving a 12 inch tail. Using Kitchener stitch, graft remaining stitches together. Weave in ends and block.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 19th, 2009 at 3:45 pm and is filed under Knitting, my designs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.