Both my husband and I are huge film noir fans and one of our sentimental favorites is Dark Passage with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. I wanted to create a sock that fit the mood of the movie so, of course, it needed to be in black and gray. An unusual two-color cast on starts the sock (both a video and photo tutorial are available) and then a pinstripe cuff is worked in corrugated ribbing. This is continued down either side of the leg and repeated on the heel flap. The two color cable is easy and fun to work and is flanked by more pinstriping. A zigzag motif is mirrored on either side of the cable. The gusset decreases are worked on the sole of the foot where knit pinstripes continue to the toe. Dark Passage is a challenging knit, but fun to work as each element is sure to hold your interest.

Some might find the original cast on a bit tight. My fabulous test knitters discovered a modification that makes it more loose. I will be providing a video on my blog today (7-31-12) that demonstrates the modification. Essentially, you catch the lower yarn around a second needle.

The techniques included in this pattern are:

two-color cast on
corrugated ribbing
stranded knitting
two-color cable
standard heel flap
short row heel turn
gusset decreases on bottom of the foot
use of stitch markers
standard toe using two colors

You will need to follow charts for the color and cable patterns. Line-by-line instructions are not included. There is also a table to follow for the heel and gusset, which allows for customization of the heel flap length.

Testers of all sizes were able to knit the sock using one 50 gram ball of each color. If you plan to knit extra repeats, you will probably want to order more yarn.

I have spent a lot of time fine tuning this pattern and have included very detailed instructions. Seven test knitters and two tech editors helped me make the pattern as coherent and error-free as possible. It is important at many steps to just “trust the pattern”! But, if for some reason, you run into an error or have a problem understanding an instruction, please send me a pm or email me at any time. I am here to help!

This pattern is not for new sock knitters or the faint of heart. It’s a challenging but very rewarding knit!