New Beginnings are a fabulous colourwork sock pattern which feature a favourite motif of mine — used to great effect in Peerie Clewes from The Vintage Shetland Project to represent foliage, ivy or vines — which in these socks is used to suggest the buds of plants and flowers as they begin to burst forth and give us the name of our socks, New Beginnings.

The socks are knitted from the top down with a simple twisted rib cuff before the colourwork commences, repeating this lovely motif throughout, reversing the colours on each subsequent repeat. To enable the pattern to continue across the foot of the sock without interruption, an hourglass heel is worked. Once the heel is worked the colourwork continues down the foot until the toe is reached.

This pattern signifies a new beginning for several reasons, primarily as I devised this pattern whilst we contemplated and planned our move from the small farm we had lived and worked on for many years and encapsulates the feelings I had when I started to realise that the move could indeed be a positive event, a reset, a new beginning!

The yarn used for the pattern is also hugely significant as Lock is my very own sock yarn using Lonk fleeces, a local sheep breed to the North West of England and now on the Rare Breed Survival Trust Endangered list. Not only does this yarn use Lonk, but it uses the fleeces of my own Lonk sheep and that of my neighbour, Jeffrey, who has been breeding Lonks for 70 years. The creation of Lock feels particularly poignant as sadly I will no longer have any Lonk sheep of my own but I have more fibre waiting to be spun and I will continue to work with Jeffrey and purchase his beautiful Lonk fleeces to ensure I can celebrate and support this rare breed for years to come.

The pattern uses two shades, Rodmell, to suggest the soft pinky red blush of the skin of an apple and Malus, the soft, taupe-brown of apple tree bark, but you can choose any combination of the 40 shades of Lock available. Using 25g skeins instead of 100g skeins would enable you to choose several colours and make multi-coloured striped versions of the design.

The socks come in two sizes which are obtained by achieving the correct gauge as shown below however the leg and foot length can be easily altered to any length required. All sizes use the same stitch count and the same chart.

Charlie is shown wearing the first size in the photographs and has a UK size 4 foot (US size 6 / EU size 37)

The pattern contains full written and charted instructions as well as clear schematic diagrams.

Yarn
Susan Crawford LOCK, fingering weight, 75% pure British Lonk, 25% nylon (387m / 414 yds per 100g skein)

1 skein, shade Rodmell - yarn A

1 skein, shade Malus - yarn B

Gauges

1st Size: 34 sts and 40 rounds = 10cm (4in) measured over stranded colourwork worked in the round, after blocking. We obtained this gauge using 2.25mm needles.

2nd Size: 30 sts and 36 rows = 10cm (4in) measured over stranded colourwork worked in the round, after blocking. We obtained this gauge using 2.75mm needles.

If necessary use an alternative needle size to obtain the correct gauge.

Suggested Needles

1st size: Set of 2.25mm (US 1) DPNS, or circular needle if preferred

2nd size: Set of 2.25mm (US 1) DPNs, or circular needle if preferred and Set of 2.75mm (US 2) DPNs, or circular needle if preferred.

Notions

Stitch markers; Waste yarn; Cardboard; Scissors;

A yarn kit is available at Susan Crawford Vintage.