Project Page: Down Dog
Pattern: 3rd Dog by Lorraine Umbers
Yarn: Knit Picks Stroll Tweed in Down
Made for: Dad’s birthday
Hey, look, I made a yoga joke!
Like most of the birthday socks I knit, these were finished and delivered late…more than a month so. Ah well. They were a little bit of a pain to knit, with the 4×4 cable. Also I have trouble maintaining the same gauge when purling vs. knitting, and when going from a knit stitch to a purl stitch vs. going from a purl stitch to a knit stitch, so I had to mess with my tension constantly to try to keep the design even on both sides. Le sigh.
That being said, I love this pattern (and it’s free!). Centering the cables in stockinette diamonds makes it look like the whole sock has been twisted together, rather than a cable plopped down on plain fabric. The mock cables on the sides I added; I thought the ribbing was a little boring. I think they compliment the larger cable motif well. I also did an inverted heel, which is quickly becoming standard practice for me on top-down socks since I find it hugs the arch better. More notes on my project page.
I’m really happy with how they turned out. I was a little worried as I was knitting, but they look fantastic on feet, which is the true test of any sock. They’re manly enough to satisfy my extremely gender-normative father but still interesting to knit. And since Dad’s feet are basically identical to mine in both shape and size, there were no fit problems with these (unlike some other birthday socks…)!
What are your favorite “manly” knitting patterns?
Star Ten Thousand 