January 4, 2024
What a fun way to kick off 2024. My swirly socks are featured in the latest issue of Simply Crochet magazine, which is full of fun fractal-inspired designs!
In the Fall, the magazine reached out to see if I would commission a pair of socks inspired by the image below. This felt like a creativity challenge for me since I had never created anything inspired by such a bold pattern. Challenges are how you grow, so I happily agreed and got to work on design ideas.
The yarn they recommended is Scheepjes Metropolis in the same gorgeous colors as the swirl image (seriously, check out the video below to see how dreamy they look), but we encountered some issues with shipping. Fortunately, a local yarn shop in Ohio, Around the Table Yarns, had all the yarn and were wonderful to work with. It arrived quickly, and my first impression was how soft and durable they skeins felt due to the blend of wool and nylon.
To mimic the movement in the inspiration photo, I gave the socks a unique swirl heel and toe. You can’t see these elements with shoes on, so it creates a fun peek-a-boo effect, or a “secret detail” as the magazine refers to it.
Not everything works out the first time, and that was the case with my heel. I initially used more colors to create a gradient effect like the inspiration photo. The end result was not what I was going for, as you can see below. So why am I showing you this? I suppose so you can see it’s not always a straight forward process, everyone makes mistakes along the way, and it’s ok to go back to the drawing board.
Once I felt good about using only two colors, which has the benefit of a more straight forward and user-friendly pattern, I reinforced the fractal look with a third hit of the two colors in the cuff. The striped cuff also lends to the fun secrecy of the socks. Here is the pic I took in the post office parking lot before I shipped them off to the UK.
I kept the foot and leg portions of the sock simple intentionally. Using blocks of color keeps the focus on the swirl and striped details, feels reminiscent of the inspiration photo, and creates a solid fabric so they are wearable and not too busy. I doubled the yarn, meaning I worked with two strands at once, to create a thick and comfortable feel.
While I love the peek-a-boo aspect, I also love a little sneak peek. I can’t wait to wear them with slightly cropped jeans like these Levi’s I own and Nike Blazers so they pop out at the top when I sit down and walk. I can picture them in different color variations and with a variety of looks, like an off-white or oatmeal and charcoal combination.
Let me know what you think of my most outside-the-box project. If nothing else, I hope you are inspired to inject some fun into your wardrobe. The entire issue is full of creative projects, as most issues of Simply Crochet are! I always enjoy collaborating with them, and I am especially grateful this time around for pushing me outside my comfort zone. As I say in the issue, “The beauty of crochet is its inspiration of creativity and the magic of making.”
Check out my Instagram for more behind-the-scenes socks content, like this quick video.
nickibyrnescrochet.com 