The Farmer’s Favorite Socks, by Debbie O'Neill, are perfect to slip into while you cozy up with your knitting after a long day. Knitted on size 4 (3.5 mm) needles, these socks work up quickly, even in larger sizes. The squishy yet durable yarn—Laxtons SheepSoft DK—is a blend of wools from two British sheep breeds that will make your stitches pop. The fiber combined with a few fun knitting techniques will have you saying, “Just one more round!” again and again.
Fun Techniques for Cozy Socks
After you’ve finished the cuff in a contrasting color, there’s a small section of 1x1 stranded colorwork in a checkerboard pattern. This is a great opportunity to practice your stranded colorwork skills without committing to a whole project!
Most stranded colorwork uses a chart, which means one more thing to keep track of while you learn a new skill. The checkerboard pattern in the Farmer’s Favorite Socks doesn’t need a chart, because the pattern is so simple. This means that you can focus on technique first.
I have the best results with stranded colorwork when I hold one color in each hand. That helps me keep from getting the yarns tangled, and it also creates a nice rhythm. If doing so feels too fiddly, don’t despair: there are plenty of other strategies for managing two colors at once. Try a few and then decide what works best for you.
As you’re knitting the checkerboard pattern, remember to not pull your stitches too tight, but don’t leave them too loose, either. The pattern has a great tip for dealing with tension in this section: simply change your needle size. Another great tip I’ve picked up along the way is to turn your knitting inside out while you knit the stranded colorwork section. Try it—it really works!
The Farmer's Favorite Socks offer plenty of opportunities to try new techniques, like stranded colorwork and cabling without a needle.
Once you’ve made it through the stranded colorwork checkerboard, you’ll work ribbing and a sophisticated cable that runs down the back of the leg. With only a few inches to go, this is a great place to try cabling without a needle.
Cabling without a needle might sound scary, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll never have to hunt down a cable needle between your couch cushions again. Choosing a wooly yarn with enough “grab” to keep the stitches from raveling makes cabling without needle so much easier.
Then you’ll turn the heel, and it’s smooth sailing with a ribbing pattern on the top of the foot. Change colors once more for the toes, resulting in a stylish, cozy pair of socks.
SheepSoft DK is spun by Laxtons in Yorkshire, England, from fleece grown within less than 50 miles of the mill. Photo by Kate Larson
Soft, Strong, and Sustainable
The pattern calls for SheepSoft DK, a blend of Bluefaced Leicester and Masham wools, with a low carbon footprint and sixteen heathered shades. These wools are wonderful to work with, wear well, and are soft enough to wear next to the skin.
The SheepSoft DK is a true DK-weight yarn that is soft yet strong. Whether you want to wear the socks as boot socks or around the house, the long staple length of the fibers gives the yarn strength and luster.
You might have heard of Bluefaced Leicester (known to spinners as BFL), a longwool breed of sheep that was originally bred in Northern England. It is an excellent choice for sock yarns since the long staple length of the fibers helps the yarn hold up to wear and tear. What makes Bluefaced Leicester wool special is that it’s among the softest of the longwools, making it comfortable to wear against the skin.
Masham sheep are less well known in the United States, but they have been common in the hill country in Northern England for over a century. These sheep are a cross between a Teeswater ram and either a Dalesbred or Swaledale ewe. Like Bluefaced Leicester, Masham sheep have wool with a long staple length and a beautiful luster.
These breeds combine in SheepSoft DK’s undyed shade with a complex mix of natural shades. The dyed colors offer a luscious palette of options to choose from.
—Pamela
Bluefaced Leicester has a beautiful, silky shine. Photo by Pamela K. Schultz
Cast on a Pair Today!
The Farmer’s Favorite Socks are perfect for cozy nights by the fire or as a gift for the knitworthy people in your life. Because of the small amount of contrasting color used at the cuff and the heel, you could even knit a second pair with your leftover yarn and the colors reversed!
Subscribers can access the Farmer's Favorite Socks in the Farm & Fiber Knits Library.
Further Reading
- "Tips and Tricks for Fair Isle Knitting"
- "Going Without—Knitting Cables Without a Cable Needle"
- "Broaden Your Fiber Horizons: Knitting Beyond Merino"
Pamela K. Schultz is the content editor for Spin Off Magazine. She spins, weaves, knits, and gardens in coastal North Carolina.