The next pattern I’ve chosen to knit from New Directions in Sock Knitting is Jennifer Leigh’s Tilt-A-Whirl design (page 44).
These ingenious socks draw upon Elizabeth Zimmermann’s arch-shaped foot and Cat Bordhi’s unusual construction for a pair of nearly indestructible socks. The foot is knitted in a thick, reinforced fabric that provides support and cushioning that will withstand the most punishing wear and tear. A diagonal rib pattern punctuated with yarnovers provide ventilation and stretch in the leg.
Jennifer knitted her socks with colorful Noro Silk Garden Sock, which beautifully highlights the different knitting directions. For my version, I’ve chosen For my version, I’ve chosen Arctic Qiviut Qiviut Sock Yarn (35% qiviut, 40% superwash merino, 15% bamb00, 10% nylon; 375 yards [342 meters]/100 grams) in a colorway called Grizzly Brown. I plan these to be the ultimate in cozy slipper socks!
Although the instructions say to use two 16″ or 24″ circular needles, I’ve chosen to use a 40″ needle and use the magic-loop method of working in rounds. I hope this doesn’t pose a problem later. I’m using a size U.S. 3 (3.25 mm) needle and will follow the third size to fit my U.S. size 9-ish feet.
So far, I’ve casted on and worked 4 rounds without a hitch!