Faith’s Fancy Little Feet

Fresh off the needles is a sunny yellow pair of children’s socks. I designed the pattern I used. A Peasant heel, naturally dyed yarn, and knitting cables with no cable needle are a few reasons I enjoyed making these socks. Read below for information on my newest project.

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Yarn: Fingering weight

• Quince and Co. Finch in color, Egret

Note: I naturally dyed the Egret yarn with marigolds grown in my family garden to create a sunny yellow color.

Pattern:  Fancy Little Feet by me (this pattern hasn’t been released yet)

Needles: US 1 (2.25 mm) double pointed needles

Size: 4 years (6 inches / 15.5 cm finished foot circumference)

What I Enjoyed:

• Peasant heel
• Folded cuff
• Cable needle not required

What Bothered Me:

• Questioning if more stitches should be picked up to close gap at heel

My youngest sister was in need of another pair of wool socks. She wears them almost daily in Crocs or boots around the house or outside.

Besides knitting new socks for Faith, I was able to do a test of the sock knitting design I’ve been refining over the past months, Fancy Little Feet.

Materials

Last year, I had grown marigolds in our garden which I used to dye many skeins of Quince and Co. Finch, an 100% wool fingering weight yarn. I picked this yarn for a few reasons:

• I’ve found Quince and Co. Finch to be a super durable yarn for socks even though there is no nylon present in the yarn. In my experience, the result of choosing this yarn is a super breathable, less sticky, and less sweaty sock that doesn’t get holes quickly.
• Sunny yellow was a cheerful color perfect for Faith.
• Fancy Little Feet is designed with Quince and Co. Finch.

Construction Details

The socks were worked from the cuff down. My pattern provides 2 folded cuff options, a plain cuff or a picot cuff. I picked the plain cuff.

After working the cuff, there is a simple, cabled stitch pattern for the leg. Then, scrap yarn is knitted onto the heel stitches for a Peasant heel.

The foot is worked with the cabled stitch pattern from the leg continuing centered along the instep (top of the foot) before decreasing for the toe.

Finally, the scrap yarn is removed, and the heel is knit.

Modifications

Since Faith’s socks were a sample for the Fancy Little Feet pattern, I was following the instructions as listed.

As commonly happens when designing a knitting pattern, I discovered the toe could fit a little better if 1 more decrease round was worked before binding off. I updated the pattern to include the extra decreases.

Other Notes

1 stitch is picked up in either side of the heel to avoid any holes forming where the heel joins the socks. After sample knitting a larger size of the pattern, I’m wondering if picking up 2 stitches in either side of the heel would be better for the larger or all the sizes. There was a slight hole in the corner even with the extra stitch picked up.

One thing I enjoy about the stitch pattern I designed into this sock is that there are elegant cables yet no cable needle is required. I don’t hate cable needles, but I fumble with them slowing down my knitting progress.

Conclusion

Sunny yellow in color, just right in fit, and a sample for my new pattern made these socks a rewarding project. Do you know that feeling when you bind off a knit and the finished item is “perfect” for more than 1 thing in your life? These socks were just that!