“This pair of short socks was inspired by a collection of Estonian socks in the Nordiska Museum in Stockholm, Sweden (…) They had a tassel at the toe that was used to hang up the socks to dry, as did the original Estonian socks and two rows of braid separated by simple K2 P2 ribbing. (…) Rather than leaving a tassel at the toe where it was sure to cause some discomfort, the tassels here are at the top, made from remnants of the cast-on yarns.” -Merike’s Socks from Folk Socks by Nancy Bush.
I…did not win that game of yarn chicken. I had no intention for my Merike’s Socks to have variegated red toes. I sat there, debated between having one sock with a solid white foot and the other only half white, then realized if I were to wear them with my usual work shoes it would be painfully obvious (to me) that one of my socks had a bloody accident. Made the tough decision to snip a stitch in the previously finished sock, un-pick the yarn back, then use the few yards I gained to knit the second sock to the same length as the first, then do both toes in red.
I had a moment while I considered ripping out all the way back to the heel and reknitting them in the red to make it look more like I did it on purpose, but I got lazy. The heel is a new-to-me technique Nancy Bush calls the Shaped Common Heel, in which you knit a regular heel flap, then decrease a number of stitches in the middle to shape the heel, and Kitchener (or in my lazy case, do a three needle bind-off) to form the bottom, and pick up around the perimeter for the gusset decreases and foot. Having tried on the finished pair and taken a few awkward as heck photos, Kitchener-ing the heel closed would have certainly made for a smoother fit on the bottom of the foot, but after a bit you don’t really notice the ridge. Unless you’re some sort of The Princess and the Pea type, in which case it would drive you crazy. I have executed exactly one good-looking Kitchener graft in my life so far and have no desire to practice it.
The toe concept was also new to me. Bush’s Star Toe calls for decreasing the toe stiches in four quarters rather than at the side of the foot. You continue the decreases until you get to just a handful of stitches and then draw it tight to close the foot. This pair turned out a little large for my feet, I didn’t adjust the stitch count to match my normal gauge but with time and washings it will molder a bit to fit my foot.
I didn’t add the tassel at the cuff, mainly because I forgot to leave a long-enough tail at the cast on but also because all I could picture was the dangly tassel getting tangled up in the laundry. Or swatted at by a cat. Or chewed on by a puppy. Or somehow caught in an escalator. Or caught on any number of things, really.