How Are You? Socks

*The How Are You? Socks use the cozy double-knitting technique to make a perfectly-reversible pair of ankle socks. However, just because they are seamlessly reversible doesn’t mean they’re the same on both sides! Are you in a good mood or a bad mood today? Tell everyone in the area whether or not it’s safe to approach you while you’re working on a challenging knitting project without looking up, just by choosing which way to wear these socks!* ***This was the Round 1 bonus sock for [Sock Madness 19][1]! You can find questions, chat, and FOs in the Sock Madness group forums.*** **Pattern Description** These whimsical toe-up socks with patterning on both the sole and instep have an afterthought heel and a 2x2-rib cuff. The double-knit stranded colourwork must be worked differently on each side to create the two different motifs. The patterning is provided **both as charts and as written instructions**. The pattern also offers suggestions about adjusting the width of the heel for accommodating a higher instep. Generally, float management is not required even for complex double-knitting because the floats are all kept between the layers of fabric. Techniques required for this pattern include: * **Basic knitting stitches** (knit, purl, slip, directional increases and decreases in both knit and purl), * **Judy's Magic Cast On** (video link provided), * **double knitting** (detailed instructions provided, as well as a video link), * **directional increases and decreases in double knitting** (detailed instructions provided), * **grafting/Kitchener stitch** (video link provided), and * **picking up an afterthought heel from a scrap yarn placeholder** (video link provided). This pattern is written in a method-neutral manner to suit any sock-knitting technique — double-pointed needles, Magic Loop, two circular needles, or a short circular needle. Note when choosing a technique that there are double the usual number of stitches on the needles when making a double-knit sock. **Yarn Requirements and Sizing** Sizes available: Adult Small (Medium, Large) for finished foot circumferences of 18.5 (21, 24) cm / 7.25 (8.25, 9.5) inches, with *minimum* foot lengths of 20.5 (22, 23) cm / 8 (8.625, 9) inches (this is adjustable to any longer length desired by adding extra rounds before the heel; you can also make a taller sock by adding rounds after the heel). **If you work at a different gauge, your foot sizing will vary accordingly from these measurements.** The needle size provided above is only a suggestion; be sure to use whatever needle size (or combination of needle sizes) that works well for your individual tension, yarn choice, and desired gauge/size. For double-knitting, I generally recommend using needles that are **smaller** than your usual sock knitting needle size. This pattern requires fingering weight yarn appropriate for socks in two clearly-contrasting colours; each colour requires approximately 200 (225, 250) m / 220 (245, 275) yards; 400 (450, 500) m / 440 (490, 550) yards. (This may seem like a lot of yarn for ankle socks, but remember, you are essentially making four socks, not two!) *These socks are rated 5/5 — **[Challenging][2]** — on my sock pattern difficulty scale. This is because they are constructed using double-knitting with several specialized techniques required, and the patterning is different on each side of the fabric.* [1]: https://www.ravelry.com/groups/sock-madness-forever [2]: https://www.periwinkledragon.ca/patterns/socks/challenging/