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° S | % i 5. SSI 8 (eke nceln) ii mporary © sou hy Barb Brown, Manufactured in China, AIL rights resery ns I drawings in this hook ate For the personal use of the reader, By permission of the author and publisher they may be either hand-traced ar photocopied to take single copies, hut under no circumstances may they le resold or repubs lished, [Us permissible forthe purchaser create the designs contained he and sell them at fairs, bazaars anil craft shows. No other part ofthis book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical eana including infortation storage aud retrieval systems without permission in writing from the publisher except by a reviewer who may quote bret passages in a review, Published by Kratne Publications, division of EsW Medi, Ine (700 Bast Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45°96, (Boo) 289-0963, First Esltion meda Syn 543e DISTRIBUTED IN CANADA BY FRASER DIRE too Armstrong Avenue Grorgetonn, ON, Canada L7G 584 Tel (go) 87-448 DISTRIBUTED INTHE UK.AND EUROPE BY F-W MEDIA INTERNATIONAL Brel House, Newton Abbot, Devon, TQes (PU England Tek: (+44) Gab 323a00. F 6 3a hy Enail postmnaster@ davidandcharles.couk DISTRIBUTED IN AUSTRALIA BY CAPRICORN LINK PO. Box 04,5. Windsor NSW, 2756 Australia Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Bron Barb Kiting kinee-highs :sock styles from classic to contemporary / Barb Brown pc Includes inde ISBN go8-1-4400-136-4 (alk paper) Socks 2. Knitting. 1 Tile, ‘Thess 76a adden 2010085810 Fiitor: Jennifer Claydon Metric Conversion C1 Prodton evoniinat reg Nock Foner eS DY Ilustrator: Karen Manthey Inches Centimeters 254 ctor: Hie De Centimeters Inches oa Sislist: Monica Ske Feet Centimeters 305 Makeup artists: Cass Brake and Nicole Deitsch : Centimeters Feet 0.03 F+W Media, Ine, woul ike to Yards Meters as thank Baker Hunt Art and Cultural Genter Raster Yards 141 for generously sharing the beautiful Toeatian shown in this ook Table of Contents Introduction Getting Started 10 Knee-High Formula Tips and! Trike for Custom Fitting Converting Knee-Highs to Other Sock Styles Projects 18 Bonnie Birds Knee-Highs Bonnie Birds Sacks Birdwalk Knoe-Highs Birdwalk Legwarmers Eric's Path Knee-Highs Gries Path Socks Both Sides Now Knee-Highs Both Sides Now Socks and Anklets Katya's Fancy knoe-Highs KatyasFeney Anklets Celeigh Knee-Highe Geleigh Socks Swoothoort Kne-Highs Sweetheart Socks Art Deco Knee-Highs ‘Art Daco Socks Flore Knee-Highs Flora Socks Airy Mountain Knee-Highs Airy Mountain Socks Crarina's Lace Knoe-Highs Caarina’s Lace Socks andl Anklets Naughty and Nice Knee-Highs Naughty and Nice Socks Davidson Road Knee-Hight Davidson Roa Socks Fltterby Knee-Highs Flutterby Anklets Maid Marian Knee-Highs Maid Marian Socks and Anklets Counterpane Knee-Highs Counterpane Socks and Legwarmers Stalking Stockings Stalking Socks and Anklets Omar's Carpet Knoe-Highs Omar’s Carpet Sod Mary Wilson's Gift Knee-Highe Mary Wilsons Gift Socks and Legwarmers Dance Lite Jean Knee-Highs Dance Lite Jean Socks General Knitting Info Resources Index mation 5 6 24 26 29 36 39 40 a2 4a 9 53 54 7 58 62 64 68 75 6 4 86 or 2 96 98 yor 102 105 106 mm 18 m2 125 126 127 Introduction May would dearly like to own a pair, ae frightened off by the amount of knitting that seems to be required. However, there really isn’t a lot more knitting involved in a pair of knee-highs than there isin pair of socks. Think about it: The leg on a pair of ladies’ socks is usually berween people look at a pair of hand-knit knee-highs and, while they love the look of them and seven and nine inches. The leg on a pair of knee-highs is only around thirteen inches. That isa difference ofjust four to six inches. Ifyou were knitting the sleeve of a sweater, you'd barely be ed! Fora litle bit of extra knitting you get an awful lot of satisfaction Knce-highs ae the perfect garment for showcasing your skills and trying outa new technique. You may never have knit lace although you love the look ofit. A sweater or shaw! can be daunting: star So many stitches! So many rows! But in the time it rakes to knit a pair of knee-highs you can master a new technique, and you will have knit enough to know whether itis something you want to do again (or if you would rather cross the Himalayas on a yak in winter wearing only a bathing suit). Either way, you will own ment to be proud of. Socks are great for this as well, of eourse, but don’t look nearly as spectacular. Imagine attending your next knitting group or fiber festival wearing perfectly knit knee-highs, Quite often fiber-related events are held in the warm weather, when a sweater would be too hot to even contemplate, Knee-highs with a skirt, shorts or eapris are just perfect! In days gone by people attending festivals wore their very best clothing, including beautifal and complex hand-knit stockings. A bride knit them for her wedding, and for her husband. Knitters did their best work on these special pairs, showcasing theie skills. Family members and sweethearts alike wore them with pride. Even after cheap machine-made socks could be easily bought, the fancy work still eame out to play on special days, Modem times and customs gradually spread, and many people stopped these traditions, These beautifill garments languished at the bottom of trunks and the back of drawers, Fortunately, interest in these arts has revived, and become stylish once more. Knitters can again be a part of these traditions. Knit knee-highs for yourself, your family or your friends, Knit a pair of kilt hose, even ifyou don’t wear a kilt. Do you have a seeret longing to wear something wild and crazy, or filly and lacy? Frivolous knee-highs hidden tnder slacks or jeans are a harmless secret vice Some people worry about wearing out a pair of knee-highs and dread the holes that will appear in the feet (as they are bound to do). All that work, all those houes, and now they are ‘unwearable! If like me, you consider the term “damning socks” to mean holding them over the garbage can, saying “darn socks” and tossing them in, think about this; Run a strand of smooth contrasting yarn in and out through the stitches above the heel to k a straight line, Now gather your courage and cut the foot off just under this line. Pick up the live stitches, knit some ribbing and you have a pair of lovely, fitted legwarmers. Or, after cutting the feet off, pick up the live stitches and knit new feet in a complimentary or contrasting yarn. For very litle effort, your knce-highs will have a new life and all that work won't be wasted Knitters also worry about fiting knee-highs to their legs. Included in this book isa general ormula to help you decide which size isright for your leg The human body is based on percentages Ifyou know what size sock fits your foot properly your leg measurements are likely directly related to this, which takes a lot of guesswork out of sizing So, gather your knitting needles and yarn (and your courage, ifneeded) and give knitting kknce-highs a try! brief chapter there is a plethora of information I about knitting knee-highs. Over the next several pages you'll learn about making knee-highs, fitting knee-highs and converting patterns from sock to knee-high and from knee- high to several different sock styles. If you have never knit a pair of knee-highs for yourself, I recommend knitting. pair from the formula on page 12. If you knit stripes as suggested, you will have a very handy references in fact you will have a pattern right there on your legs! Any adjustments you make can be easily tracked by the stripes. You'll find a lot of information in this chapter, but if you're too excited about the patterns in the next chapter to pause here and learn more, let me send you forward with these words of advice: Knit a swatch in the round to get an accurate stitch count, and also to check that you have some stretch to the fabric at the gauge you are getting, Use sufficiently long needles. The ones ‘you normally use to knit socks just might not be long enough to hold the large number of stitches at the top ofa knee-high. ‘There is nothing worse than having the end stitches pop off and unravel. Swatch, swatch, swatch! Especially for colorwork patterns. And remember, while a firm fabric is desirable, it must have stretch, Ifyou aren’t sure of the leg length for a pair you are knitting as a gift, try knitting the ribbing at the top extra long. The recipient can then roll the top down for a cuff. You can make a note of how much roll back there is for the next pair you knit for them. Did I mention you really should swatch?

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