Stripey Stairs Socks

I will be the first to admit I'm an adrenaline junkie when it comes to sock knitting;  I like the super complex wacky socks the best.  But, sometimes I am inspired to do something simple.  My friend Carol wanted to learn how to do toe-up magic loop socks so I decided to design a simple sock pattern that would be interesting to look at while still simple enough that it doesn't detract from learning the overall process.  Thus the "Stripey Stairs" sock was born.

The sock is very simple;  the "stair steps" are formed from all knit and purl stitches.  Aside from the necessary increases and decreases for toes and heels, there are no cables, nothing fancy.  So, to spice things up a bit, I decided to take the opportunity to force myself to learn continental knitting.  I've had several people tell me over the years that it's much faster, but it always felt "wrong" when I tried it.  Very, very awkward.  Which is kind of funny since I was a crocheter long before I was a knitter and when crocheting you keep the tension with your left hand like you do in continental knitting.

I won't lie, it took me awhile to get used to.  At first my hand was cramping like crazy and I could only do a row or two before needing to take a break.  I also changed the way I held the yarn significantly from the you-tube videos I watched because frankly that wasn't working for me at all.  Eventually though, I became very comfortable with the knit stitch.  Not so much the purl.  I can do it, but it's a lot more awkward and much more "swooping" is necessary.  I've heard that the trick to that is to twist the stitches and then purl through the back loop to untwist, but I haven't actually tried that yet.  But now, I have "graduated" to the point that whenever I'm doing long rows of knitting I gravitate toward continental, and when I'm not, I stick with my old English method.

The yarn I chose for Stripey Stairs was a Noro Taiyo Sock that I got on clearance when my beloved Madtosh store went out of business.  I had been eyeing the yarn for awhile but never bought because it always felt a little rough to the touch and I'm a sucker for soft yarn.  At half price though I figured I would give it a shot.  I am glad I did because I actually really love the yarn.  It was not as rough when caked up as it was in the original form, and it didn't bother me at all when working with it.  I read some reviews that said it twisted up badly but I did not have that problem.  And I absolutely LOVE the colors.  They remind me of mint chocolate chip ice cream.  I am glad I have enough yarn left to do another pair of socks with them!

You could use any self-striping, gradient or solid yarn with this pattern as well, but if you chose a solid then they wouldn't be Stripey Stairs!

You purchase the Stripey Stairs pattern from Ravelry.