Marni’s Freestyle Knitted Footies

I recently found the Knitted Pom Pom Sock knitting pattern on CreativeBug.com and adjusted the stitches to fit my needles and yarn. For my project, I used three skeins of Schoppel-Wolle Edition 3, a fine Merino 100% virgin superwash wool from Germany. I purchased this yarn from Maker’s Mercantile in Kent, Washington, where the team was kind enough to allow me to browse and buy onsite. Although they no longer have a physical store, they have a showroom. Initially, I purchased their Shift Cowl Kit but decided to try making socks instead. I’m thrilled with the result! I paired them with my new Paonia clogs from Chacos, gifted by my oldest daughter, and I love the look and comfort.

If you’d like to use this type of yarn for socks or make a pair of booties, here are the project details:

Yarn

I mixed and matched the three skeins of Schoppel-Wolle Edition 3 I had. I tried to keep the heels and toes similar to match them.

Needles

I used two lengths of “Zing” double-pointed needles in size 2 US (2.75mm), one 6-inch, and one 8-inch set. The smaller needles were perfect for the toe! You can purchase them from an Etsy shop based in the UK that I like: https://www.etsy.com/listing/525147582/knitpro-zing-double-pointed-knitting

Pattern

The original pattern by Wendy Bernard is available on Creativebug.com. This is a great way to learn if you’re new to knitting socks. Wendy’s video tutorial is easy to follow and well done. If you want to explore more of her work, Wendy has written a 2-book series of knitting patterns.

My Adjustments

Because of my needles and yarn, I had to adjust the number of stitches. For my US Size 8 women’s foot, I cast on 56 stitches. The socks are knit in the round on three needles, making it easy to track where I was. The 2nd needle (28 stitches) is on the top side of the foot. The 1st and 3rd needles (14 stitches each) make up the bottom side of the sock. I ended the pattern just before Kitchener stitched the toe with 16 stitches (8 stitches on two needles). And as you can see from the photos, I skipped the footie pom poms.

I highly recommend trying sock knitting if you haven’t already. Once you get the hang of it, it’s a fun and easy small project to take wherever you go.