BLUE Railway Stitch Socks

The bright blue socks are done. After all the unraveling and reknitting, and I really and truly did not have enough yarn to finish the toes the first time around, I have a bit of JitterBug left over:

Go figure. Anyway, I like these a lot. JitterBug’s color variegation obscures the Railway Stitch pattern a little, but I enjoyed making them and found they were worth the effort.

They fit Mr. MmmYarn perfectly:

Pattern: Gentleman’s Sock in Railway Stitch by Nancy Bush, published in Knitting Vintage Socks
Yarn: 1 skein Colinette JitterBug, 100% superwash wool, color 16
Needles: size 1
Started May 16, 2008 and finished June 4, 2008

This is the first pattern I have used in Knitting Vintage Socks. I like how the pattern is written. Some sock patterns use the numbered needle system, giving all instructions in relation to needle #1, #2, and #3 (and sometimes #4). I don’t number my needles so I find those kinds of instructions bewildering. This pattern uses the “work x number of stitches” approach which is what makes sense to me.

The instructions call for 81 stitches for the cuff and some leg decreases. After three starts, I reduced the enormously huge cuff to only 63 stitches, then decreased down to 60 for the leg. I had initially worked the pattern’s leg shaping in the first sock but that made the leg way too tight, so I ripped back to the cuff and made the leg without the shaping. I used my usual knit 1, slip 1 heel and ended up working the foot on 60 stitches. Hey, whatever it takes to make the socks fit the recipient properly.