You are going to LOVE these adorable foxy sox designed by the Knitorius S H E. The pattern is available NOW.

First let me tell you about my yarn. The color “Poppy Field” on the Knit Picks Web site looks “golden” in the photo and is even touted as “golden” in the yarn description. NOT! When it arrived in the mail, the tag said, “Poppy Field”, but the yarn is actually fairly bright shades of orange. I put it with all of the other ignored yarn in my stash thinking, “Someday baby pumpkin hat?” See the YARN photo at left for the original color.

My yarn ultimately decided to become Fox Sox. I took what was left of our morning coffee and poured it into a big pot with a bit of water and white vinegar. After heating to a reasonably hot temperature on top of the stove, I added the orange tonal yarn and let it soak for a while. Since this is superwash yarn, not all of the coffee color was absorbed. I preferred the darker color it was before the yarn dried, but the coffee definitely took the edge off the bright orange. I think it looks more foxy now.

I divided the yarn into two equal-size balls. Since the pattern is toe-up, I just knit them as long as the amount of yarn allowed which was mid-calf. I plan to wear them scrunched down a bit, peeking above ankle-high hiking boots. Perhaps we’ll see a red fox on one of our hikes.

I measure the smallest part of my foot instep when deciding how many stitches to cast on (assuming that I have matched pattern gauge). For example, the smallest part of my instep (just above toe bones) measures 8.25” (21 cm). So I want the circumference of my sock foot to measure 8 inches (64 sts) at 32 sts/4 inches or 8 sts/1 inch. Socks should have a bit of negative ease, and it will still allow them to stretch easily over the largest part of the foot if you are knitting plain stockinette as in this pattern. I could probably get by with casting on fewer stitches, but I wash my socks in warm water in the washing machine and sometimes even put them in a not-too-hot dryer. So if they are superwash wool or cotton, they will shrink a bit (mostly lengthwise). I always put them in a laundry bag when machine washing or drying. Please note that Sheila decided to change the gauge on the pattern after numerous testers said there wasn’t enough negative ease. I didn’t find this to be the case, but since my foot measures 1/4 inch more than 8 inches, I did have a tiny bit of negative ease in the smallest part of my foot and even more in the larger parts of my foot.

I do my ’magic cast-on’ like Knit Purl Hunter.
There are a couple of advantages to her method. The first is that she does not start with a slip knot which greatly improves appearance of the starting edge of the toe. Secondly, the stitches are not backwards on the second needle which means that you can knit them normally. So this is a little different than “Judy’s” way.

The Knit Purl Hunter Web site is here. for additional valuable knitting tips.

You can also do a Turkish cast-on which has identical results. Although she starts off with a slip knot, that slip knot is dropped before knitting the second row of stitches.

I did RIGHT and LEFT LIFTED increases in the toe area. It looks very nice as you can see in my WIP photo. Staci Perry of Very Pink Knits shows how to do them here.

The smaller needles are only used for the top ribbing and ears.

I cast off on the top front of the socks normally, but did Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-Off on the back of each sock. Next time, I might space the ears a wee bit closer together in front, since they do stretch apart slightly when on the leg. Also, be sure to line up the upper ribbing with the ribbing on the ears. I slipped up on one ear, though it’s not very noticeable. I was also trying out different double decreases at the center of the ears. I think I like the left leaning DD best. It’s less noticeable.

Pattern sample photos show duplicate stitch for the fox faces, but I don’t have the patience for it. Therefore I did intarsia using a 2nd bobbin of MC yarn. I carried that over half of fox face to avoid a 3rd bobbin. (See wrong side photo at left.) I just did a regular W&T at center back of each leg for the intarsia rows. Only 4 ends to weave into wrong side of face! I held together 2 strands of white yarn while knitting the face. The Aloft lace Mohair blend added some foxy fuzziness.

I used black DMC embroidery floss and satin stitch for the fox faces rather than duplicate stitch. Also, I eliminated the fox spots and cute paw prints since the socks will only be worn with hiking boots. Didn’t want to torture myself with the latter when nobody will be seeing that part of my socks.

Such a cute pattern!!! I know I’ll be knitting it again. Thanks for letting me test, Sheila. You never disappoint!

Test Knit Forum