Tidying up Loose Ends

Yes, yes, I've been promising readers my notes on my Volare socks (link to ravelry, sorry non-ravelers). Well, here's the instructions, at least the best I think I can give you without copyright violation:

Volare:

You will need:

• A Copy of Sensational Knitted Socks if you would like more detailed instructions for some points. (please note that this book provides a lot of the instructions for this sock, though experienced sock knitters should be able to deduce the pattern from the given information)
• Needles in the required size to give you your wanted gauge (I used four size 1 dpns, but do note that you may find the toe and heel significantly easier if you use two circulars, magic loop or five dpns)
• Yarn, in my case, KnitPicks Felici, in Hummingbird
• A tapestry needle
• A scrap length of yarn (about a yard should be enough)
  

Gauge:

I got approximately 8.5 stitches to the inch in stockinette, but if they fit, don't worry about it. I used 66 stitches; your cast on needs to be a multiple of 11. Or see Charlene Schurch's notes about modifying the stitch patterns.

Instructions:

Follow the instructions in the "Chevron stitches for Self-Striping yarn" chapter of Sensational Knitted Socks, using the following stitch pattern: (essentially, cast on a multiple of 22 stitches and work a few ridges in garter stitch before working the pattern) You may also desire to substitute my variation on the Afterthought (forgive me, Tsock Tsarina) Peasant heel (follows stitch), as I did, because I find the Forethought heel annoying:

From Barbara Walker's Craft of Lace Knitting.Crest of the Wave Pattern:

Rnd 1 (and further odd numbered rounds): knit

Rnds 2 & 4: purl

Rnds 6, 8, 10, & 12: *(k2 tog) 2 times, (yo, k1) 3 times, yo, (ssk) 2 times

Arachnera's heel/toe variation: (Actually, this starts with the toe. To use my heel, knit a row in scrap yarn on the heel needle at the requisite area and ignore Charlene Schurch's heel instructions. Note that this may cause you to encounter some difficulty in trying the sock on.)

At the toe:

Purl to approx. the middle of the instep. Stop. You are going to move your stitches around. Right now, your stitches are arranged something like this:

with the sole stitches on those two upper needles, and the instep stitches divided between the other two needles. You are going to divide the work so that you have at least thirteen stitches on either side of the red stitches(which are the first sole stitches on either side) [ETA: Important errata: In which case, I didn't read my instructions carefully enough to make the picture, as it has been a couple months since I made these: the red(pink) stitches are pictured on the wrong needles] on two of the needles, and the extra stitches of either the sole or the instep on the third needle. You have moved the beginning of the round to the middle of the instep. Make a note of the first stitch on either side of the sole. These stitches are going to be the center of your double decrease and are important.

\

Repeat these two rounds until 34 stitches remain (16 rounds):

Rnd 1: Purl to stitch before side stitch (If you so desire, place a marker to remind you of this point), sl1, k2tog, psso. Knit around to the stitch before the other side stitch. Here, sl1, k2tog, psso. Purl to beg of round.

Rnd 2: Purl all purl stitches and knit all knit stitches. (Knit the side/decrease stitches)

After 34 sts remain, repeat rnd 1 four times so that 18 stitches remain. Divide these eighteen stitches into sole and instep stitches and graft using regular stockinette grafting. Rejoice. Weave in ends...

No! Wait! You're not done yet. Go-back-to-the-heel...Using one of your needles, pick out the spare yarn and pick up the heel stitches. You can do this however you like, however, I highly recommend utilizing the normal knitting direction around the sock for the stitches at the top of the heel. The best way I found to to this is to pick up the stockinette stitches along the sole first without unpicking the waste yarn, then unpick the waste yarn as you go picking up the stitches at the top of the heel because the yo's on row twelve of the Crest of the Wave are difficult to catch otherwise. Okay. You are going to pick up 1-3 extra stitches as you feel necessary at both corners to catch holes. If you wish, match your stripe repeat(you may want to note KnitPicks's note on the stripe repeat if you are using Felici), but you can just start knitting. You are basically going to repeat your feat at the toe, except you are going to not going to purl one side of the toe-so go back to the toe section and repeat that. Graft the stitches shut. Weave in ends. Finally! You are finished with one sock. Now, just wait! You haven't made the other sock yet! Or have you? Well, anyway, if you seem to be in need of a second sock, repeat the whole directions. Wear and show off.

Good luck!