This book begins with a good basic sock pattern, given in great detail. Oodles of ways to design your personal favorite double bed socks follow. The book is designed for use with any knitting machine that has 2 beds and can thus knit ribbing and tubes. ALL gauges and sizes from infant to XL adult are included.
These socks are good solid classics, to be made on any standard gauge double bed machine. A Japanese machine with a good ribber works fine as does a true double bed machine such as the Passap, Superba, Orion and the like. No special bells and whistles are required so vintage machines work fine. The thing that makes these special is the yarn.

Opal makes quite a few sock yarns. All of them are good. But this design relies on the gauge and fabric characteristics achieved with the 75%wool/25% polyamide #1 size yarns. What’s so great about them? The wool is both soft and durable. It is very resistant to pilling. And the polyamide component is strong and very, very stretchy. The addition of polyamide to the high quality wool gives the socks a superior fit that lasts and lasts. They don’t bag and stretch by the end of the day. This particular blend is produced under several names by Opal and the names change with the season. But all of them that have come my way have been suitable for this pattern and excellent yarns.

Another great feature of this particular yarn is that the self-patterning yarns are almost perfectly consistent. Many are not. When they aren’t, it’s impossible to get a perfectly matched pair of socks. I thought this was a sign of shoddy production until I learned to make my own self striping yarns. Once one has tried it, the reason for the difficulty in getting consistent patterns becomes obvious. The yarn is usually painted or sprayed while in a skein, with different colors applied at intervals. Each loop of a skein is similar but not identical. Therefore when we paint at tidy intervals, then loosen the skein and measure, the intervals of color are not identical and this affects the pattern that will knit. Somehow, Opal has perfected a very consistent way of getting the colors spaced.

This pattern is part of a book called Sockinations. Table of Contents for the book is below.

Table of contents
Semi-Precious Sock Pattern
Casting on & tubular knitting
Moving from flat to tubular knitting
Automatic short rows
Ladies’ numbers
Men’s numbers
Children’s and Babies’ numbers
Diagramming sock patterns
Fill-in-the-blank diagram/pattern maker for your designs
Sock Fabrics
Sock Anatomy
Sizing Socks
Adult length measurements
Child and baby measurements
Row count chart for all sizes and gauges
Turning socks into slipper socks with non-slip soles
Short rowing instructions and chart
Hems and sock tops, including 2 kinds of rib, hung hems, tubular hems, fairisle, lace, tucked & classic length chart
Kitchener stitching toes
Toe up socks
Alternative toes and heels