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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I guess I’ve decided it’s time to start knitting vests, and while I typically think of vests as being for fall, this one is decidedly summery.

Vanessa Ewing’s Fruit Salad Fest is covered with all kinds of fruits. I see grapes, blueberries, strawberries, peaches and kiwi all stitched up in rows for a cute and colorful vest.

This one is worked in sock yarn and comes in nine sizes. The actual finished chest measurement of the vest ranges from 29.5 to 59 inches, or 75 to 150 cm. It’s meant to be work with 2 to 4 inches/5-10 cm of positive ease. And while it’s called a vest it doesn’t look like it has any shaping, which gives it little cap sleeves when worn.

There’s a bit of ribbing at the armholes and neckline, and the bottom has a split hem. It’s worked in the round from the bottom up and includes steeks. It’s not really a pattern for people new to colorwork thanks to all the charts and different colors used, but if you’re ready to take on a challenge this would be a fun one.

Speaking of colors, there are 13 involved in this pattern, but a few of them aren’t needed in a huge quantity, so this could be a use for some mini skeins or leftovers from other projects if you have them in the right colors. This isn’t one where you can substitute colors that easily since they are meant to be true to real fruits, but you could use a different background color, make your grapes green or red, or change the blueberries to another fruit if you have different colors on hand.

Any way you slice it, this looks like a super fun knit that is sure to bring a smile to your face whenever you wear it, and to others whenever they see it.

Check it out and grab a copy on Ravelry.

[Photo: Vanessa Ewing]

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