High Tide Socks by Solène Le Roux

I’ve always been fascinated by high tides, when the beach slowly disappears and the sea reaches the city before withdrawing again and you have to walk kilometers on the beach to find it. Tides have always punctuated my vacations so I wanted to design those socks to knit at the beach while watching the movements of the sea.

These socks are knitted in the round on four double pointed needles, but the experienced knitter can easily adapt the pattern for one or two circular needles. They are knitted top down, with a round heel and a wedged toe. The stitch pattern is made of stockinette stitch and elegant wavy cables over garter stitch.

Size

Foot circumference 7.5 (8.5, 9.5)” or 18 (20.5, 23) cm

Shown in size 8.5”

The leg and foot length are both adjustable

Yarn

Knit Picks Stroll Fingering (75% Superwash Merino Wool, 25% Nylon; 231 yards [211 meters]/50 grams): 25028 Wonderland Heather, 2 balls

Thanks to Knit Picks for yarn sponsorship.

Needles

Size US 1 (2.25 mm): 4 dpns

Notions

Cable needle; tapestry needle

Gauge

30 sts and 38 rows = 4” [10 cm] in St st after wet blocking.

Schematic

Abbreviations

See our standard abbreviations.

2-2 RPC: cable 2 right over 2 purl; sl2 to cable needle, hold in back, k2, p2 from cable needle

2-2 LPC: cable 2 left over 2 purl; sl2 to cable needle, hold in front, p2, k2 from cable needle

Pattern Notes

These socks are worked in the round from the top down. 

Chart

Sock

Cuff

Loosely CO 56 (64, 72) sts. Divide over 3 dpns as follows: Needle 1 has 16 (20, 24) sts, Needle 2 and 3 have 20 (22, 24) sts. Join to work in the round, being careful not to twist.

Rnd 1: *K1, p1, rep from *

Repeat Rnd 1 until you reach 1.5” or 4 cm.

Leg

Rnd 1: Work rnd 1 of Right Chart, p4 (8, 12) sts, work rnd 1 of Left Chart, k28 (32, 36) sts.

Rnd 2 and all even rnds: K all sts.

Rnd 3: Work rnd 3 of Right Chart, p4 (8, 12) sts, work rnd 3 of Left Chart, k28 (32, 36) sts.

Continue as est until you reach 5” or 13 cm or desired leg length. Note the place you ended in the chart so you can restart it after working the heel.

Heel Flap

Rearrange your sts as follow: sl last 8 (10, 12) sts from needle 2 to needle 3. You are now working back and forth over 28 (32, 36) sts on needle 3.

Row 1(WS): Sl1p wyf, p to end

Row 2(RS): *Sl1p wyb, K1, rep from *

Repeat the last 2 rows 13 (16, 18) more times.

Heel Turn

Row 1(WS): Sl1p wyf, p15 (17, 19), p2tog, p1, turn.

Row 2(RS): Sl1p wyb, k5, ssk, k1, turn.

Row 3: Sl1p wyf, p to 1 st before gap, p2tog, p1, turn.

Row 4: Sl1p wyb, k to 1 st before gap, ssk, k1, turn.

Repeat Rows 3 and 4 until all sts have been worked. For the last rep, do not work the last p1 and k1 and don’t turn after last row. You have 16 (18, 20) sts on needle 3.

Gusset

Rearrange your sts as follows: put all your front sts on one needle: Needle 2.

Set-up Rnd: With Needle 1, pick-up and k15 (17, 19) sts along heel side. Needle 2, work in patt starting with the rnd you noted above. With Needle 3, pick-up and k15 (17, 19) sts along heel side, k16 (18, 20). Sl last 8 (9, 10) sts to Needle 1. This is the new beg of rnd.

Rnd 1: K to last 3 sts of Needle 1, K2tog, K1, work sts on Needle 2 in pattern, K1, ssk, k to end.

Rnd 2: K sts from Needle 1, work sts from Needle 2 in patt, K sts from Needle 3.

Repeat Rnds 1 and 2 until

Foot

Next Rnd: K sts from Needle 1, work sts from Needle 2 in patt, K sts from Needle 3.

Rep last rnd until you reach about 2.25” or 5.5cm less than desired foot length.

Toe

Rnd 1: K to last 2 sts of Needle 1, k2tog, ssk, k to last 2 sts of Needle 2, k2tog, ssk, k to end.

Rnd 2: K all sts.

Repeat Rnds 1 and 2 until 28 (32, 36) sts rem. Then repeat Rnd 1 until 16 sts rem.

Rearrange your sts on 2 needles by knitting the first 4 sts of the rnd with Needle 3. You now have 8 sts on each needle.

Finishing

Break yarn leaving a long tail and graft your sts together using Kitchener stitch.

Weave in ends, wash and block to dimensions.