Crusoe Pattern Notes

Socks in the Garden on a Summer Morning...

Crusoe Socks
Free Pattern Knitty Spring 2003 Issue, designed by Marilyn Roberts
Knit with less than 2 skeins (178 yards/150 meters/skein) of Koigu Painter's Pallette Premium Merino (100% Merino Wool), Shade P110 on Antique Metal DPNs in size US2 (2.75 mm), in a guage of 15 sts and 20 rows per 2 inches in Stst.

Finished Dimensions:
Women's Size 7.5, Approximately 7.75 inches wide and 8.5 inches in length after blocking.

The Pattern:
I really enjoyed knitting these socks. The stranding pattern shows off the wonderful colors of the koigu to its best effect (which gave me some ideas as to how I might want to use it in future projects), and results in a really cute pair of anklets. The downside of the stranding is that it has absolutely no elasticity, which is a bit problematic in a sock. If you make the stranded portion of the sock to tight, you risk not being able to pull it over your heel. Make it too loose and it will bag unattractively.

My solution to this problem was to re-gauge the pattern to make a sock that fit snugly, but not so snugly that I couldn't coax it over my heel. (There was no way that I was going to make the designer's gauge without going down to size 0's, so this was a modification I was going to make anyway.) I ended up casting on 48 sts (7.5 sts per inch before blocking) and going from there. I also added several heel rows to accomodate the rocking arch I have going on. Other than that, it was all Marilyn. I'm very happy with the result.

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 Crusoe:
I'd aim for snug. Go with the gauge that works for you and re-calculate from there. Adding in heel rows for a high arch will help with the process of getting the socks over your heels as well.