New Directions in Sock Knitting (plus giveaway)
Published On: January 26, 2016

If you’ve been here for a while, you know I have opinions about socks.  Socks are supposed to start at the top, go for a while, make a turn, go for a while more, then make a toe.  It’s the natural order of things.  And while I understand that some folks may make their socks other ways (which is cool, you make your socks however you want, my sock opinions only deal with my socks, not yours), I never quite got why.

So I was more than a little surprised when the lovely Ann Budd asked me to contribute a pattern to her new book, New Directions in Sock Knitting: 18 Innovative Designs Knitted From Every Which Way (as always, amazon links are affiliate links).  I think my socks are lovely and comfy and fun to make, but I do not generally think of them as especially innovative.

sock knittingBut Ann is charming (and persuasive!) and we found a happy medium.  I would stick with my top-down tube with a bend plan, with just a little tweak to how you do the bend part.  The result is a lovely way to take a baby step into a different construction (without anything too scary if you’re in the sock traditionalist camp with me).

cleaveThe socks are called Cleave, and are just one of the patterns in the book (the rest get much more adventurous).  If you’re looking for new ways to wrap lovely cozy wool around your feet, you’ll want this one on your shelf!

And I’ve got a copy of it to send home with one of you.  Just leave a comment telling me how you feel about sock construction to be entered to win (top down? toe up? the weirder the better? there are no right or wrong answers, I’m just looking for your opinions!).

Oh, and Ann’s got one more little goody to tuck in with the winner’s book, a nifty little gauge ruler that’s way more fun that it should be (I can’t find them for sale online anywhere, but you can have your yarn store ask her for them if you need one too. Heard from Ann, and she says “folks can purchase rulers (minimum order of 5 rulers at $5 each) directly from [email protected].” So if you need one, you can either ask your yarn shop to order them or get them straight from Ann! And it looks like the folks over at Knit Circus have them too!).

rulerComments left between now and the end of the day (eastern time) Friday, January 29, 2016 will be entered to win.  I’ll pick a winner, contact them to get their addresses, and arrange to send the book their way.  Be sure to use a real email address so I can contact you if you’ve won (I won’t do anything with those email addresses besides notify the winner).  If I do email you, I need to hear back from you within 72 hours or I will pick a new winner and contact them.  Sorry, but I can only ship physical prizes to US addresses.

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