Mentmore Socks

There is really something special about hand-knit socks. You can make them to fit just how you like, with a short neat top in a crisp twisted rib or a deep fold-over cuff to keep your ankles warmly snug as you walk through the autumn leaves.

So here is a brand-new pattern – the Mentmore Socks. I actually designed this some while ago and have already made quite a few pairs of socks with it. They are so comfy to wear for autumn hikes and country walks. They are worked from the top down and have a neat rounded heel and shaped instep, and the Slip Rib patterning gives them a super comfy cushioned finish.

I now have several in a variety of plain colours and have also been trying the pattern out with some of the self-striping and hand-dyed yarns that have recently appeared in yarn stores.

In my last blogpost I was talking about some kettle-dyed yarn I had just received from KnitPicks, their Stroll Tonal. It was absolutely beautiful in the skein, but the photo above shows the issue I saw when it arrived. The three balls of yarn are from a single dyelot but all look completely different… So how to make a matched pair of socks from this?

Well, the first idea I had was to use a slip-stitch pattern, such as in the Mentmore Socks as this helps to break up the colours up between the rounds. This is because some of the stitches are knit but others are slipped on every round which effectively draws that colour up into the band above.
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However, I didn’t think that would be enough for my lovely kettle-dyed red yarn. So I decided to add another level of complexity and work with the three balls of yarn at the same time to mix things up a bit more. I mentioned this last time but I didn’t go into any detail then. I have had some queries asking me how to do this, so this is what I did:

First I divided my yarn into three balls, one with 40gm of yarn and the other two had 30gm each. I worked the cuff using just the larger ball, then I joined in the others to blend the yarns for the rest of the sock. So if you would like to try this:

• Start with the ball of yarn you are using (Ball #1) and work half the way around the sock.
• Drop that yarn and join in Ball #2 and work to the end of the round.
• Then drop that yarn and join in Ball #3.

So there are now three balls of yarn connected to the sock, but it isn’t quite as fearsome as it sounds! I didn’t find they got too tangled as they are evenly spaced around the sock and were fairly easy to navigate as I worked around. I did take to adding a safety pin to hold the ball of yarn in place if I was putting it down for any length of time, but apart from that it didn’t prove too difficult.

• You are now working with Ball #3, so go round again to the half-way point.
• You will now see you have 2 balls of yarn here, the old Ball #1 you used at the start and this new Ball #3. And the rule here is: drop the new yarn and pick up the old one from the round below.  And you literally just do that. You don’t twist the old and new yarns together, but just pick up the new yarn without pulling it too tightly and continue knitting.
• Then you do the same at the end of the round – just drop the yarn you have been using and pick up the new yarn as before and continue doing that at every side marker or at the end of each round.

Each ball of yarn is essentially forming its own spiral of knitting with the new spirals stacked on top of the ones below. I posted a diagram showing that last time so please go and have a look at that to show what I am meaning.

​The Mentmore Socks pattern already mixes up the colours by means of the Slip Rib stitch the pattern uses, but mixing the colours in this way does give a wonderful blend. The photo above shows another example. This is the same KnitPicks Stroll Tonal yarn, but this time in “Poppy Field”, a rich autumnal gold/yellow blend and I love how this has come.

I hope you will try this technique for yourself. I’m sure you will love the wonderful effects you can achieve. 

For more details about the new Mentmore Socks pattern, please click here. The pattern is available for instant download from my website so you can get knitting today.
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Happy Sock Knitting!

Moira​

​Last Blogpost: Spiralling Away
Next Up: Either Way Up - The Elizabeth Scarf

Our book: Reversible Knitting Stitches
My Website: www.wyndlestrawdesigns.com

Keywords: Patterns/Accessories,
sock, socks, tonal yarns, space-dyed yarns, kettle-dyed yarns, blending yarns, dyelots, dye lots, hand-dyed yarns, zebra striping, colour pooling,

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