The Perfect Socks to Knit for a Road Trip

I have said this before (probably a lot, because it’s true) but whenever I’m planning travel knitting projects, I always try to include a pair of socks to work on.

Socks are great for travel because they’re small but still (often) take a long time to knit. They don’t take up a lot of space in your bag, and usually there’s a repeating pattern that’s easy to memorize, or the directions are compact enough to easily carry with you. And if you’re stuck in a car or on a plane for many hours, you may find that second sock syndrome disappears.

I say “may” because that sock I knit on vacation last year still doesn’t have a friend.

The Roam (If You Want To) socks by Joji Locatelli are great to knit on your adventures, or to wear when you’re roaming around the world. They feature lots of fun cables, including big loopy cables on the top of the foot and smaller cables on the back of the leg.

Gauge is given in Stockinette stitch, and you’ll definitely want to check yours before you start, since all those cables will make a big difference in how the sock fits (cables pull in the fabric so you’ll need more stitches than you think).

You also might want to test some of the cables in the yarn you want to use to make sure they look good. The sock is pretty in a subtle multicolored yarn or a solid, but if the yarn gets too colorful it might be hard to see all the work you put into those cables.

They’re worked from the top down and include charts for the cable patterns. (I’m not sure if they are also written out; if you buy this pattern let me know!) There are two size options, for a foot circumference of 8.5 or 9.75 inches.

You can grab a copy of the pattern from Ravelry.

[Photo: Joji Locatelli]

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It seems like every year there are more rainbow colored (and other flag hued) knitting projects out there to celebrate Pride. Whether you celebrate at a local event or just want to add some more color to your wardrobe, these Pride knitting patterns are a great place to start.

See also these Pride knitting patterns, tiny Pride flags, and more rainbow projects if you need more inspiration.

These Pride socks from Birger Berge are a free pattern on Ravelry. They feature a rainbow flag on the heel and toe, plus stripes on the cuff with the word Pride and a heart worked in.

Or you can Put Some Pride in Your Step with these allover colorful socks from Oriahna WhimsyStitch. Using a self-striping fingering weight yarn, they have a spiral rib on the legs and come in three sizes. The pattern has suggestions for if you don’t have self-striping yarn to use. You can find it on Ravelry.

Amy Snell’s Pride Like the Wind is a triangular shawl that uses slipped stitches to add texture to the multicolored stripes. The pattern was made with a large skein of rainbow colored yarn and mini skeins in rainbow colors, but you can use stash or whatever you can find in theose colors for a different look. You can find this pattern on Ravelry.

Pride and Elegance is a pretty pair of rainbow striped arm warmers made by martaschmarta. They call for fingering weight yarn and have sparkly beads incorporated at each end for extra flair. This pattern is also on Ravelry.

Pride in Parallelograms by Treena Evans is a mobius knit cowl worked in a multicolored ombre yarn. It calls for DK weight yarn and is a free pattern on Ravelry.

Stephen G. Krueger has designed a lovely kippah/yarmulke pattern that can be worked in the colors of any Pride flag you like. The pattern is free on Ravelry and uses fingering weight yarn.

And if you want to make a full progress flag in knitting, you’ll need the modular progressive Pride flag pattern from Kim Smith for Alterknit Universe. The pattern comes in two sizes using different weights of yarn to suit your needs, and the modular style of the project makes it seamless. You can purchase this pattern on Ravelry.

If you want to add a touch of Pride to a sweater, wall hanging or other project, the abstract waves chart from Hits Knit Patterns is a great place to start. It uses the colors of the lesbian flag, but you could change it to whatever colors you like (there are six colors used and the chart is 49 stitches by 80 rows).

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