Design and Socks Sock Techniques - The basic pattern for a sock knitted from cuff to toe can be adapted in any number of ways for a truly original sock. Stitch Techniques - Master the basic techniques and learn to read charts to create a unique sock. Sock Design - Easily learn to create your own designs. Patterns Glynis - These are the perfect socks for trepid knitters interested in lace, because they are much simpler than they appear! Eunice - These short-cuffed socks have cables, lace, jogs and an interesting pattern to transition to the slipped-stitch heel. Sunshine - Bright and perfectly peachy, these socks are straightforward with simple vertical repeats. Devon - These playful socks have stitches divided asymmetrically for the heel and instep so that one repeat on one side is cut in half. Vilai - The stitch pattern for these socks was inspired by a Japanese book and named after Cookie???s mother. Angee - You will love to knit these crazy colorful pair of socks that feature an interesting textured pattern and a wonderfully funky bright orange. Wanida - The simple and elegant diamond pattern for these socks was tricky to design, but when knitting them it will seem like they just instantly fall into place. Sam - These socks start out daring and adventurous with a bit of traveling cables and texture, but then transition easily to a simple stockinette foot. Bex - These unique socks will keep you interested. The stitch pattern is staggered horizontally, and the top of the foot cuts into some cables that are converted to plain stitches. Cauchy - A famous mathematician Cauchy (koh-shee) known for the inequality principle, inspired these socks with a simple knit/purl combination to form lines that resemble those inequality signs. Rick - Mirrored for contour shaping, these socks evoke racing stripes by combining fun diagonal lines with twisted rib. Milo - Made up of smaller parts of simple knitting, these socks will easily impress with how complicated they look. The cable down the back echoes the larger cables throughout. Lindsay - The perfect comfy textured socks! Combining garter stitch with a stockinette wedge makes the stitch count vary from round to round and the vertical stripe is an interesting visual element. Kristi -Learn to cable without a cable needle will help you knit these quickly! These socks use a large twisted-stitch panel, which is staggered and mirrored within each sock across the pair. Kai-Mei - These socks combine various elements such as a ribbed cuff and a sweeping lace pattern that starts at the gusset stitch pick-up. Shifting the gusset decreases to one side of the lace panel causes it to angle across the top of the foot, demonstrating that the path taken need not be traditional. Abbreviations Glossary Sources
Cookie A. has designed socks for Knitty and the Blue Moon Fiber Arts Rockin' Sock Club as well as for her own pattern line, which debuted in 2007 and was an immediate hit. She has appeared on Knitty Gritty and has taught workshops around the country and at Blue Moon Fiber Arts Camp Cockamamie, the Spindlicity Cruise to Alaska, and Sea Socks 2008. She sells her patterns at TNNA and Stitches, and they are distributed internationally. She lives in Mountain View, California.
Physically this is one book, but its contents can easily be divided into two sub-books. First, you get a mind-bendingly thorough design and technique master class. And second, you get a collection of 15 gorgeous, innovative, and extremely tempting sock patterns. In the first half of the book, Cookie reveals an array of invaluable design secrets. We're not just talking about toes and gussets here, although she outlines those with great clarity. Likewise, she explains afterthought heels in a way that makes me want to cast on and experiment right now. We're talking things like inverting stitch patterns so that you can knit them both in the round and in right-side/wrong-side rows. Also, converting and re-charting flat stitch pattern charts into charts you can follow in the round. Cookie writes with intelligence and passion, and assumes the same degree of intelligence and avidity in her reader, which makes this book an extremely refreshing read. She has a gift for explaining things we may already know instinctively, but in a way that finally gives us an "a-ha!" moment of true revelation. These are small things, like how we should decrease cable stitches when transitioning from cables to stockinette in order to prevent puckering in the fabric. Cookie then proceeds to deliver 15 original new designs. Her socks are not simple stockinette affairs,they tend to have the stunningly ornate and sculptural detail of a Gothic cathedral. While these may look complicated, they are entirely achievable by any knitter who knows how socks work, can read a chart, and has a little patience. Cookie A's sock patterns have been so popular that I know expectations were very high for this book. Having spent some time with it, I can say that the book meets and exceeds every expectation I had. This is a brilliant and valuable book that every avid sock knitter will want to own.-Knitter's Review An exciting book that will take the average sock knitter beyond their normal realm. The projects are quite challenging so I think it would be more useful for readers who can already knit socks and would like to move to the next stage. The projects and tutorials are extremely well presented and clearly laid out, with plenty of photos and a lot of helpful advice. It is definitely great value for money with lots of useful information and an array of challenging projects.-Craft Business Thought you knew everything about sock knitting? Think again! This book takes the craft of socks to a whole new level, exploring the principles of sock pattern symmetry, cables that travel off the grid, and how to make your own designs work hard for their yarn. It's advanced, almost mathematical stuff, yet clearly and carefully explained - this is incredibly rewarding knitting.-AllAboutYou.com One of the most hotly-anticipated knitting books of 2009, Cookie A's first book is an excellent introduction to both knitting and designing socks, as well as being packed with her typically intricate designs. [This] is a book of two halves, and unlike most pattern books not only encourages you to branch out - to make changes, to create your own designs, to innovate - but teaches you how to go about it. The first 50 pages delve into the elements of sock design. Cookie keeps the pages clutter-free and informative, packing them with details which will interest sock knitters of all stripes: for budding designers, the glimpse into her process and technical information is invaluable, while for knitters keen to develop their skills the technical information about different sock toes and heels or reading charts is clear and well-presented. While the book is worth a look for the technical information alone, the 15 patterns are both varied and interesting, using a wide range of skills and stitches. As Cookie comments in the introduction, "Any technique that can be used in a sweater can be done on a smaller scale in a sock. They provide the perfect learning ground for knitting design." Knitting socks is the ideal way to learn new techniques, and we hope that her beautiful, elegant designs will encourage knitters to dive in, try a cable, and prodjce a pair of lovely and unique socks.-Simply Knitting
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