Fantastic Fair Isle Socks

Pattern: Judy's Two Color Kickback Socks (sort of)
Needles: 2 24" Addi Turbos (US 2)
Special Technique: Stranded knitting
Started: May 2005
Completed: June 1, 2005
Recipient: Me
These socks are for my feet and are my first completed pair for myself. I drew from techniques described in Judy's Two-Color Kick Back Cybersocks, an online class on the Socknitters website. So far, these have been my most creative socks. I used my own fair-isle pattern and modified it to fit the striping motif on the sock. I also substituted heel types, opting for a salt-and-pepper heel (which I probably wouldn't do again, as it was a lot of trouble.)
I think I finally loosened up my gauge enough to prevent the puckering I was experiencing on the first sock. As a result, the second sock is a bit bigger than the first, but they still fit.
I used a medium red and medium brown for this sock. They remind me a bit of Boy Scout socks... only with fair-isle patterning! They're nice and cushy and will probably be more like slippers than socks.

You can see the salt-and-pepper heel better a bit closer up.

A closer look at the pattern, adapted from Sheila MacGregor's Fair Isle Patterns book.


Comments
Curious if you can answer a question for a total stranger? :) I just ripped back 85% of a sock that I was trying to pattern with a fair isle technique because there was not enough "give" in the patterned portion of the cuff -- any suggestions? I was thinking that I should switch up a needle size when I get to the colorwork?