Socks with tie dye stripes

The song “Sussex by the Sea” is the anthem of my home county on the South Coast of England. You can take the girl out of Sussex, but you can’t take Sussex out of the girl. I love the white cliffs and lighthouse of Seven Sisters, the chips and end-of-the-pier fun at Brighton, and the beach huts by the pebble beaches (the best kind, of course) at Hove. And socks are welcome in UK weather…

This pattern is inspired by traditional indigo and white Breton seaside stripes. However, here the stripes are tie-dyed, to give a more relaxed pattern than knitted stripes, with a feel of waves on the seashore.

Tie-dyeing of hand knits is unusual. For an easy and effective result, I knit the two socks in a single piece from toe to toe, encapsulating table tennis balls before closing the final toe. The balls are used to space the stripes equally and spread the sock fabric out for even dyeing. Then the socks are separated (and the balls shaken out) before the final bind-off.

The pattern includes a variety of knitting techniques, including matching toe-up and top-down socks - so no second sock syndrome – short row heels, and German short rows.

Nautical but nice: why don’t you dip a toe into the water?

SIZE
SL –Adult
shown in size S

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Foot circumference: 7.758.25 inches/19.521 cm
Foot length: 99.75 inches/2324.5cm

MATERIALS
Undyed 4 Ply Superwash Merino from Laughing Hens 100 % merino wool; 437yds/400m per 100g Skein; color: undyed; 11 skein
Yarn Characteristics:
The sample shown uses a white sock yarn suitable for dyeing. Choose a plied washable sock yarn with high wool content.

1 US 2/2.75mm circular needle, 32-inch/80-cm

Notions:
Table tennis balls (optional) – 16, or one more than desired number of undyed stripes
Elastic bands – 15, or one per desired number of undyed stripes
Dye sachet – I used Dylon hand fabric dye in Ocean Blue
Darning needle
Safety pin or openable stitch marker

GAUGE
32 sts/46 rows = 4” in stockinette stitch

PATTERN NOTES
Use magic loop method (https://knitty.com/ISSUEss14/FEATss14VT.php) for knitting in the round. Divide stitches into back stitches and front stitches. The back stitches are knitted first in the toe-up sock, and the front stitches are knitting first in the top-down sock.