Sunday Sock Pattern – Regatta Socks Update

 

As promised, here’s a sneak peek at the stitch pattern for the Regatta Socks toe-up sock pattern.  As you may recall, the inspiration for these socks is my dual interest in sailing and knitting.  In particular, the sight of the Canandaigua Yatch Club‘s J DAZE Regatta on the lake in Canandaigua, NY and the Knitter’s Review Retreat, held at the Inn on the Lake in Canandaigua, fueled my desire to design these socks.

I began with the idea of a small sailboat motif that would materialize out of the stitch pattern, as pictured in the photograph to the right, rather than as a result of color changes.  The stitch sequence that I devised perfectly captured the sense of a little boat moving through the water on a sunny day.  The design really pops when worked in a solid or semi-solid yarn.  Colors in a light-to-medium value range yield exceptional stitch definition.

Initially, I thought I might stagger the placement of the sailboats on the instep and leg, such as in this quick sketch:

In playing with the composition a bit, a wonderful geometric pattern emerged when I connected the sailboats horizontally and then stacked the pattern repetitions vertically.  This led to my ultimate motif placement, as shown in the following photo:

This is an excellent example of the importance of negative spaces in an artistic composition, whether that composition be a painting, a photograph, a drawing, a creation of nature, or a knitted fabric.  It also underscores the need to remain open to new ideas, especially in the early stages of the design process.  Sometimes, a work of art knows what it wants to become before the artist, herself, has come to that realization.

Please stop back next week to see the completed sock and for information on how to obtain a free copy of the sock pattern.  Until then, happy knitting on circular needles!

. . . Linda, the well-rounded knitter

 

Filed under: Sock Pattern

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