Knit Some Moo-velous Socks – Sock Knitting Pattern

I am not a huge fan of cows, but I will admit they are kind of cute as a motif for socks.

The Herding Cows Socks from Stone Knits feature a whole herd of cows all over the cuff and foot. The cows are worked with stranded knitting in the round, and sometimes you will have three colors to work in a single round, but you could also work the details with duplicate stitch instead.

They call for four colors of yarn, including three for the cows and one for the background of the sock, but you can also work the cows in different colors to make it even more fun.

The socks are worked from the top down with a ribbed cuff and a short row heel.

The designer says they were inspired by life in Switzerland, which is full of cheese, chocolate and cows. From the description:

The Herding Cows Socks are a celebration of cows, grazing on alpine pastures and the star of so many peaceful, Swiss mountain scenes. Whether you choose classic black and white cows or opt for a whole herd of different colours, you’ll enjoy watching them knit up and appear in their grassy green pasture. Perfect for cow lovers, farm enthusiasts, or anyone who enjoys a bit of barnyard whimsy in their sock drawer.

They even used my favorite word, whimsy! A designer after my own heart.

The Herding Cows Socks come in three sizes so you can get the perfect fit for your feet, and while the pattern was written to use the magic loop method for working in the round, you can also use double-pointed knitting needles or two circulars if you prefer.

Pattern instructions are available in English and German. You can find the pattern on Etsy and get ready to knit until the cows come home!

[Photo: Stone Knits]

Waves Socks– Free Knitting Pattern
These cozy Waves Socks are a lovely choice if you want a handknit sock pattern with a little texture but nothing too fussy. The gentle scallop stitch creates a soft wave effect, making them pretty enough for gifting but still practical for everyday wearing. They’re worked in light worsted weight yarn, so they knit up a little faster than fine sock yarn socks too.

Ladies Lace Top Socks – Free Knitting Pattern
These Ladies Lace Top Socks are a sweet step up from a basic handknit sock, with a delicate lace cuff that adds just the right amount of pretty. The rest of the sock is worked mainly in stocking stitch, so it’s a nice project for knitters who are ready to try sock shaping without making the whole thing overly complicated. A lovely handmade gift idea, especially if you use a soft 4-ply sock yarn.

I guess I must have had this pattern on my mind, because I had chosen this log cabin blanket recipe to write about, promptly forgot about it and a couple of weeks later started knitting a log cabin blanket using all my pink yarn.

It might stay pink if it makes it to baby blanket sized, or I might add in some pastel green and blue, too, to make a bigger blanket. We’ll see. I’m also holding several strands of yarn together to make a kind of bulky yarn, which means it’s deeply satisfying how much yarn is used even as the project is still relatively small.

In Kristen Finlay’s version, DK weight yarn scraps (or fingering/sock yarn held double) are used to make a simple scrappy log cabin blanket that’s lighter weight than my version. Log cabin is a great technique for knitters of any skill level because it’s worked in garter stitch. The only not completely basic technique you need for log cabin knitting is picking up stitches.

If you’ve never worked a log cabin knitting project before, this is a good introduction, and it is really nice to use all your yarn scraps in one big project you’ll use for years to come.

If you use a lot of DK weight yarn you can keep building on it whenever you finish a project, or if you use more worsted weight you can do the same thing with it, it will just be a little bigger starting out than the pattern calls for. How big it gets is totally up to you.

I have really been enjoying working on my log cabin project, and it’s my current sitting at my desk and need a break knit (do you have one of those or is it just me?).

Ready to start your own log cabin blanket knitting project? You can grab the free pattern from Kristen Finlay on Ravelry.

Need more log cabin inspiration? Check out more log cabin knitting patterns.

[Photo: Kristen Finlay]

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