I’m definitely a fan of the Jaywalker socks, as you can see here and here. I made them with Koigu two other times, which was wonderful and delightfully soft. This version is made from Vesper Sock in the colorway Astro.
When helping me pack up my yarn room for my impending doom (I mean move), my friend Missy saw this yarn and remarked on its beauty. It had been sitting in my stash (wound even) for at least 4 years. I decided it was time to make it into something. I have habit of buying a lot of self striping or variegated yarns because I love them, even though they mostly lend themselves to a lot of plain stockinette. I first started knitting these in the Charade pattern, but I wasn’t in love with it, so I started over and made the Jaywalkers to give those colors and stripes the glory they deserved.
Vesper sock yarn comes in some amazing colors. It seems like this colorway is not currently available. I’ve heard she dyes in small batches and they’re snapped up quickly, so if you like the yarn, keep your eyes on the site or subscribe to their mailing list. I was a bit confused by the label. The yarn is 100 percent superwash merino, yet recommends hand washing. I checked with Missy to see if she would be amenable to caring for socks like that, and she said yes with no hesitation, so I forged ahead. If anyone has machine washed Vesper sock with luck, please let me know. Koigu is another yarn is superwash merino, and though the label doesn’t say it is safe to machine wash, I’ve had lots of success doing so. I don’t know Vesper sock well enough to risk it.
This is my first time using an afterthought heel. This kind of heel is mentioned all the time on the Knitmore Girls podcast, which I’ve been obsessed with lately. I didn’t want to interrupt the perfect little stripes in those Jaywalkers to make the heel flap. There are many different tutorials for afterthought heels available online if you’re interested in trying them. I think I will always love the heel flap for its inherent sturdiness a little more than the afterthought, but this heel was easy enough to execute, and it allowed for no color interruptions. It made a nice little bulls-eye with the colors.
Each pair of Jaywalkers I’ve made was knitted from the toe up so I could use the maximum amount of yarn. I find this especially important with yarns like Koigu that come in 175 yard skeins. I cranked these out in about a week. Now I’m on to some Staccato Socks for this week.
I love the pattern, the colors, the details …. everything about these socks! I have knitted for many years but I am petrified of knitting socks but now, after seeing these I really want to give it a try. I think I would want to go without shoes everywhere just to show off those socks 🙂
I’ve used some Aruacania Ranco, which is also superwash wool. It did say hand wash on the label, but I machine washed it. It didn’t felt that much, but I could definitely see the beginnings. I’m not washing those socks in the mahine any more!
I’ve used Aruacania Ranco, which is a also a hand-wash superwash sock yarn. I tried it in the machine, but it began to felt after just one wash. I’m not sure how something can be superWASH but not machine washable. Such a conundrum!
How cute! Love this colorway, and it looks great in that pattern!
I have never used an afterthought heel, but with these socks and that yarn it works so well. I love those colors and the jaywalker pattern shows them off so well, I will have to try this pattern out soon. Great job!
Love them and that pattern! I’ve heard good things about the afterthought heel as well. I will have to try one.
I love them! The colours are now exactly my cup of tea, but everytime I see another pair of your Jaywalkers, I feel that I definitely want to make one myself. 😀
I liked the Charade-Pattern a lot and still have to make the second sock for a friend of mine – but I know what you mean, they can become quite a bit boring very soon.
Thanks so much for the link to the other heel! I like mine, although I HATE making the heel flap … I’ll try it out.
Have a great day!
I’ve just bought some sock yarn for my mom and have been trying to find a pattern to match with it. I’ve had these in my queue for a while; may have to see of the match works!
Lovely lovely! And the bulls-eye effect is really cute.
How fun; they look like candy! I never really felt the need to do an afterthought heel before, but it absolutely makes sense with self-striping yarn.
These look pretty… like sweets/sticks of rock. My mom knitted a pair similar to these a while ago.
Gorgeous! My one pair of Jaywalkers are a little too tight at the heel but too loose at the ankles. Maybe this would help. Afterthought heels seem pretty nifty!
I LOVE sock yarn. I have a collection that would keep me in fresh socks for at least a month, if I ever knit any socks out of it. Which reminds me, I haven’t knit in WAY too long. Seeing your posts inspires me, unfortunately, it doesn’t free up any of my time. It’s ironic that I seem to have LESS free time now that I am unemployed.
Oh, what a perfect combination of pattern and yarn. I still have yet to make Jaywalkers, but I have a skein of lovely variegated Fleece Artist that is demanding to be knit into something lovely and uncomplicated, so I’m thinking this might be the right time.
So gorgeous!
♡ these socks!!
they look like perfect summer socks- almost reminds me of watermelon! fantastic job.
Wow, love them. Perfect for spring/summer. Great job!