These socks are named for my favorite T.S. Eliot poem, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.” I read this poem often to my daughter when she was in the womb, hoping she would be soothed by its soft waving rhythms. Eliot references mermaids at the end of the poem and this stitch pattern reminds me of both scales and lapping waves.

This lace in this pattern is quite stretchy to allow for a number of different foot sizes. The sock can be made larger by making increases into the sole when working the foot, or into the plain stitches between the lace panels when working the leg. You can also make the socks larger by knitting them on a larger size needle.

Working both socks at the same time from the toe up also allows you to use all of your yarn within a few yards if you would like. If you are making these for another person, measure the foot circumference, length from toe to ankle, length from toe to end of heel, and circumference of the leg at the height you intend to make the socks. You can also work this pattern with only one sock at a time, or using double pointed needles or two circulars. If you use DPNs, you should divide the instep stitches on two needles and the sole stitches on two needles and knit with a fifth needle.

This sock would work well in almost any solid or semi-solid fingering weight sock yarn. The yardage can vary depending on your foot length and how long you intend to make the cuff. For the size 8.5 sock shown above I used approximately 335 yards, or 85 grams of the 100 gram ball of yarn.