Bob Marley's Grandma's Caribbean Shell Socks

I finished my Sockapalooza socks earlier this week, gave them a little Eucalan bath, and they're ready to go:

These socks were made for walking, and that's just what they'll do...

Bob Marley's Grandma's Caribbean Shell Socks
modification of Little Shell Socks, designed by Judy Sumner
Knit with 2 skeins (178 yards/150 meters/skein) of Koigu Painter's Pallette Premium Merino (100% Merino Wool), Shade P132 on Clover Bamboo DPNs in size US2 (2.75 mm), in a guage of 30 sts and 20 rows per 2 inches in Stst.

Finished Dimensions:
Women's Size 9, Approximately 8.5 inches wide and 9.5 inches in length after blocking.

The Pattern:
This is a very cute little pattern which I think would look nice in a solid color yarn or one that was subtly variegated, as well. Although you can't see it in the pictures, it is actually a lace pattern, with tiny little eyelets framing the shells. I think this aspect of the sock will be a little more obvious when the sock is worn by the recipient and is properly stretched out.

As usual, I monkeyed around with the pattern a bit. I knew my guage on US2's using KPPPM from working on my Crusoe socks, so I calculated my pal's sock circumference at that gauge, rather than playing around with needle sizes and swatching. Surprisingly, casting on 56 sts (which is what the pattern calls for) was spot on for a size 9, despite the fact that the pattern guage is 1 st per inch smaller (seems to me that the pattern would make rather large socks, so if you make these socks at gauge and you have an average size foot, you might want to consider knocking off a repeat). From cast on I worked 15 rounds in 1x1 rib and then 42 rounds in pattern - pretty much following the pattern but making the sock a little shorter, since my pal likes ankle socks.

The heel is where I made the big changes. I used the stranded heel from Crusoe and made my heel 32 rows deep. This meant that I had to pick up 16 sts at the gussets and reduce a little further as well. When turning the heel I used almost the same short row method as the pattern, except that rather than using a skp, I used a k2tog, which I think looks a hell of a lot better. I haven't decided if that is in absolute terms, or if it has something to do with my knitting. Regardless, I'll keep k2toggin'. I also shaped the gussets using first k2tog and then ssk on each side of the sock. I'm avoiding anything that passes a slipped stitch over on the principle that if it's looked ugly in other places on the sock it will look ugly here.

Finally, I worked to 7.5 inches from the heel (for me this was 68 rounds past the heel turn short-rowing) and then began the toe-shaping. There, I also stuck to k2tog, ssk, k2tog, ssk for the reasons noted above. Finally, I kitchenered the toes.

[For those of you who have issues with kitchenering, I pass on a little tip that my friend Mary (Oh She of the Beautiful Socks!) passed on to me: Use the instructions in the back of every issue of Interweave Knits. They're well-written and as easy to follow as kitchenering will ever be. After a single sock, I knew the basic method well enough that I could make any sock without referring to a pattern. I cannot kitchener without IK sitting in my lap. Give it a try, you'll like it.]

Impressions of KPPPM:
I feel a little silly even putting this section in, since I think almost everyone in blogland has tried and loves this yarn. What is there to say? It is the only yarn that I have ever used for socks, so at this point I'm ill-equipped to make a full comparison to another sock yarn. I have been swatching with Cherry Tree Hill's Supersock which is also a 100% merino yarn and I can say already that KPPPM has greater thickness and a nice bounce in comparison. However, it's a trade-off because CTH has very nice drape and sheen (I think it would be excellent in a shawl). It's amazing to me how two yarns with the same fiber content can be so different, but there it is. Anyhoo, I digress. KPPPM is great, and we all love it. The only thing I have left to say is that I wish more places would carry it in some solid colors, because despite the rather brazen color combos I've had going on over here in honor of sockapalooza (which seems to drive us all to wacky colors and patterns) I am a solid color girl and would love to make myself a very subdued pair of cabled stockings.

Possible substitute yarns:
Any sock yarn that knits to guage. The Cherry Tree Hill Supersock springs to mind as a good all-around substitute for KPPPM, since the gauge is similar and the fiber content is the same. Just note the differences that I mentioned above.

Tips for Making Little Shell Socks:
Do your math to make sure that the fit is going to work well for you, and then adjust accordingly. I think this goes for most socks.

For the "shells," the yarnovers that precede purl sts can be hard to identify and knit properly on the following row, because the purl sts that tack them down tend to roll back on the needle. This issue is especially pronounced on the yarnover at the beginning of the needle. To help myself out, I roll the yarnover forward on the needle with my left index finger and get into the stitch from there. This is probably something better illustrated than written about, but if you've ever dealt with a yarnover preceding a purl stitch, you should get the picture.