I am knitting a lot while commuting. So I need small projects to take with me that are satisfyingly quick to knit and don’t need much brain activity in the process. If you are a frequent traveler, too, you might want to give this a try. And because I’m nice I wrote it down just for you :). Take it wherever you go and create something lovely and brainless with it (although the brainless part doesn’t show, I promise!). I love knitting the Boomerang Heel which features German short rows (I call them DS in this pattern), as I find this much easier than picking up stitches for the heel and it fits me perfectly. I included a description of how to knit this heel, but feel free to use any heel style you prefer.  It is extremely easy and you’ll be able to memorize it in no time. All you need to know is how to knit knits, purls and yarn over (yo), and simple decreases. Once you start with one, it’s hard to stop. There are only five rounds that you need to remember for the pattern, so you’ll get it in no time. Knit it for the whole sock, just the leg, or leg and upper side of the foot, as you prefer.

This pattern is also available in GERMAN on Ravelry.

This is a free pattern, but please don’t sell this pattern or parts of it, neither as mine nor as your own. It would be wonderful if you would share your finished projects with me, I’d love to see them!

Happy knitting!

The Hot Waffles Socks

Yarn:

Fingering weight. I used Lana Grossa Meilenweit sock yarn

Needles:

5dpn or a cable needle (although instructions are for dpns, sorry, old habits don’t die), size as indicated on the yarn. I used 2.5mm needles

Abbreviations:

• co = Cast on
• st = Stitch
• rd = Round
• k = Knit
• k2tog = Knit two stitches together, decreasing 1 stitch
• DS = turn work and wrap yarn over the needle (this is NOT a YO!) (instead of a usual w&t turn your work and slip the just knitted st onto the right needle, pull the yarn over the needle and down so that you create 2st without knitting them. When you next come to these 2st, knit them as one. See also at the heel section for further explanation) This is also known nad German short row.
  
• ssk = slip the first stitch as if to knit, slip the second stitch as if to knit, then slide the left-hand needle into the front part of both stitches and knit them together.

Leg:

Cast on a multiple of 4 st according to your desired size. I used 56st for size EU41/43 or US women 10/12.5). The pattern is quite stretchy and 56st should fit most with smaller feet than me 🙂

Knit cuff in [k2, p2] for as long as you like. (My cuffs measure about 6cm/2,4in)

Start knitting the waffles pattern

Rd1: [k1, yo, k1, p2] around

Rd2-3: [k3, p2] around

Rd4: [k3, pass the first st over the last two st (decreasing by one), p2] around

Rd5: [k2, p2] around

Rd6: [k1, yo, k1, p2] around

Rd7-8: [k3, p2] around

Rd9: [k3, pass the first st over the last two st (decreasing by one), p2] around

until the sock leg has the desired length.

Heel: This is how I knit a Boomerang Heel, but feel free to use your preferred style of heel for these socks.

Instead of wraps, the Boomerang Heel uses “double stitches” (DS – also known as German short rows). A DS is really just a slipped stitch pulled tight: Pull the working yarn over the top of the needle and on around under tight so that the “legs” of the stitch are pulled over the needle, making it look like two stitches, but it is really only one.

When beginning a knit row, the st is slipped as if to knit, then pulled tight into a DS. When beginning a purl row, the st is slipped as if to purl, then pulled tight into a DS.

Although a DS looks like two stitches, it is treated as only ONE stitch. When knitting or purling into a DS, always treat it as one stitch.

Put half your stitches (the half intended for the top of your foot) on one dpn on hold. Knit the Boomerang Heel on the remaining half of your stitches: (I had 28st on hold and used 28 st for the heel).

Divide the heel st onto three dpns (in my case 9/10/9, for any other number of st please make sure that the middle needle has either as many st as the side needles or have an equal number of st on the two side needles and a higher number of stitches on the middle needle for example 7/10/7…) and begin with:

k to end of needle 3

*Turn work. Make a DS as seen in the picture above (beginning a purl row), and purl to the end of the first needle (or to the nearest DS). Do not purl into the DS.

Turn work.

Execute a DS (beginning a knit row), and knit to the nearest DS, do not knit INTO the DS.*

Repeat from * to * until you have only DS on needle 1 and 3, the st on needle 2 remain single stitches. (i.e. 9 DS each on needle 1, and 3, and 10st on needle 2)

Knit 2 rounds over all needles taking care to continue in pattern on the upper side of the foot, stopping at the end of needle 2.

K1 st, turn work, execute a DS (beginning a purl row) and purl to the first st on needle 1, turn work.

Make a DS, knit to the DS on needle 3, k the DS, and one stitch beyond. Turn work and purl until the next DS, purl the DS and one beyond, Turn work.

Continue in this manner until you have worked all st on needles 1 and 3.

Now your Boomerang Heel should look like this:

Continue the foot in pattern until desired length. I knit the sole in stockinette and only the top of the foot in pattern as I don’t like the bumps from the pattern under my foot, but you can knit the whole foot in pattern as well.

Toe: I start with the toe decreases, when the sock reaches to the middle of my little toe, but I have very long toes, you might want to start earlier. The toe will be around 4-5cm long (approx 2inches)

Divide st evenly on 4 needles (in my case 14 on each needle) and beginning in the middle of the underside of the foot

*k until last 3st on the needle, k2tog, k1, k1 (on next needle), ssk, k to end of the needle* repeat once more.

k 3 rounds

repeat * to * two times

k 2 rounds

repeat * to * two times

k 2 rounds

repeat * to * two times

k 1 round

repeat * to * two times

k 1 round

repeat * to * until you have only 3 sts left on each needle. Break yarn and pull tight, weave in VERY well, you don’t want this one to come loose again.

Make the second sock in the same fashion.

Big thanks to my wonderful test knitters Binle, Intrepidknitster, franzi55, kathinka14 and mausebinchen! Please do have a look at their wonderful socks on Ravelry!!

This is a free pattern, but please don’t sell this pattern, neither as mine nor as your own. It would be wonderful if you would share your finished projects with me, I’d love to see them!

Happy knitting!