These socks were too much for 2020

I have one last project to share in 2020 - these ambitious socks for S1 (Bottoms Up pattern by Laura Nelkin - Ravelry link). She spotted the pattern on Instagram and loved them. Given that her sock drawer is completely full and she certainly doesn't "need" another pair of handknit socks, her excitement was a clear signal that I needed to make them. But she wanted a full sock, not a shortie, and no beads. This is the designer's photo, for reference (© Laura Nelkin). The "regular" design is the sock to the left (on the model's right foot) - the other one is a simplified version:

"No problem!" I thought. We went to my sock yarn stash to find appropriate yarn, and came up lacking. (I know this is astonishing ... but my acquisition of wild handpainted sock yarns stopped years ago.) We ordered these sale yarns from WEBS:

I printed the pattern and read it carefully. It's a toe-up sock that begins with brioche on the top of the toe. I have never really enjoyed knitting toe-up socks, so this was deflating. I find the toe-up cast-on to be incredibly fussy, and the length of the foot is difficult to fit. It quickly became clear that this was not a PB&J sock project, but something that would require my full attention and wits at many points. "Full attention" and "wits" are both in short supply at this point in the pandemic, so there were often many days or weeks between sections. Laura's video tutorial was invaluable.

The toe with brioche on the top looks pretty cool, I must admit:

Brioche fabric is thick and squishy. I suppose this will feel comfortable as long as the wearer has enough room in the toe box of their shoe to accommodate the extra bulk. The bottom of the toe is plain stripes:

Once I got the fancy toe completed, the foot was pretty straightforward... except that I had to figure out how long to make it and I overshot the first time. There was a bit of ripping back and reknitting. Once all the gusset increases have been worked, the heel turn is worked with German short rows. I like German short rows, but have never worked them on such tiny yarn. I had to pay attention during this section (unlike my usual eye-of-partridge heel flap and turn).

The mind-bending really began when it was time to work the heel flap. It contains a center panel of brioche surrounded by corrugated rib (which is just ribbing in two colors). The tiny brioche section had to be worked in the MC before slipping the stitches back to the LN and then working them again in the CC. This was fussy and fiddly, but it gets you this result:

The next part of the pattern calls for working some beautiful increases and decreases that make a fancy brioche section on the back of the ankle, but I was suspicious of this feature. I looked carefully at every photo I could find, for both this sock and its sibling the Bottoms Up Slipper, and I saw a bulge at the back of the ankle on every single one. I predicted that this would cause the sock to sag and bag, no matter how much one yanked it up. Plus, this section required a LOT more slipping of stitches and working them again in the other yarn, and it was all just too much for me to contemplate. At this point, I felt like this pattern was an exercise in showing what can be accomplished technically, without enough regard for wearability or knitability.

S1 agreed about the bulge risk and we decided to work some sporty stripes at the ankle, which is exactly what Laura calls for in the simplified version of the sock. Then it's easy knitting up to the cuff. Here's where I ran into issues again. My first approach was to work the cuff in corrugated ribbing, which is what the simplified shortie version of the sock calls for. However, corrugated ribbing does not have the stretch of regular ribbing, so it was too tight around the calf. I ripped it out and replaced it with brioche rib, which is very stretchy. This is comfortable to wear. Visually, brioche is puffier than stockinette, so the cuff is thicker than the leg, but I guess that's okay.

I worked the allegedly stretchy bind off called for in the pattern, but it was not even close to stretchy enough... so I ripped it out. After reading about several supposedly stretchy bindoffs, I decided to try the Invisible Sewn BO. It's similar to the Elizabeth Zimmermann Sewn Bind Off, but just a little different. I picked it because the description said it is especially effective next to garter stitch, and the brioche rib cuff is capped off by a couple garter ridges. This bind off worked perfectly!

I blocked these socks like I always do, but I think their profile looks a bit odd. The proportions look quite different from the socks I usually knit - the sock looks short and fat. S1 has long, narrow feet, so this is especially surprising. But they fit perfectly and she loves them, so that's a job well done.

I started the first sock on Halloween and finished it on December 23. I started the second sock on December 24 and finished it on December 29. I'm pleased with the result, but the process wasn't the kind of comfort experience that I've needed from my knitting in 2020. I'm ready to enjoy a celebratory drink for finishing these socks. Bottoms up!