Designer: Tânia Neves

Translation to EN: Cristina Bensassy Costa

ALFA SOCKS

Motto:
Sitting aboard the Alfa Pendular train and gently cradled by the engine melody, as it glides over
the rails, I enjoy the fleeting sliding of the landscape while looking out the window that keeps
us apart.
Cushioned with gray clouds crying farewell to the winter, the sky brings me the inspiration to
create a new socks project which I name immediately «Alfa Socks».

(Designed by Tânia Neves – Bola de Pêlo Criações – Inspiration from a train trip aboard the
Alfa Pendular, on a rainy morning, in March 2016.

1 Inspiration by de Bola de Pêlo Criações – Tânia Neves (free pattern) ©2017

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 Tutorial:

Size: Adult M (medium size)

When casting on notice that different sizes have different number of stitches: To a small
adult (size S) you may need to cast on 56 stitches; To a large adult (size L) you may need to
cast on 72 stitches.

Materials:

Circular needles - 2,50 mm, cable length 20 cm.

Double pointed needles (DPNs) - 2,50 mm (to knit heel and toes)

Sock yarn 100 g -75% wool e 25% polyamide. (In this project, I used Pro Lana, Golden
Socks 4 Fach, Best of, color 910)

Stitch markers (total of five):
o Stitch marker 1 (at the beginning of the row)
o Stitch markers 2 and 3 - similar but different from stitch 1 (to restrict the
pattern)
o Stitch markers 4 and 5 – different from all the others (to the edge decreases in
the gusset)

Waste yarn

Wool or tapestry needle

Scissors

Though the socks in this project have been knitted in the round with circular needles with a
20cm cable length, you can always choose a different type of needles: DPNs (double pointed
needles) or circular needles with a long cable, using the «magic loop» technic, you just have
to adapt the tutorial to the chosen method.

Stitches:
Rib stitch
Stockinette stitch

Knowledge Level:
Knit and purl.
Knit and purl in the round with circular needles.
Decreases – K2tog (knit two together), P2tog (purl two together),SSK (slip, slip, knit).
Pick up stitches and Kitchener stitch or Grafting.

Abbreviations:
K– Knit
P – Purl
P2tog – purl two together
K2Tog – knit two together
SSK – slip, slip, knit – slip the first stitch knit -wise to the right-hand needle. Do the same with
the next stitch. Slip them back as they are and knit them together from the back loop (twisted
knit stitch).

2 Inspiration by de Bola de Pêlo Criações – Tânia Neves (free pattern) ©2017

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Sock measure:
leg – 20 cm
foot length – 22 cm

Pattern: “railway”

Chart 1

CUFF:
With the circular needles cast on 64 stitches, using long-tail cast-on.
Join in the round, place a stitch marker and knit the cuff with 3x1 rib stitch (3Kx1P) for 15
rounds.

LEG:
Knit one row placing the pattern at the front of the leg (K 23, place stitch marker 2, K next 17
stitches, place stitch marker 3 and K24).
After this row, you are ready to begin the pattern, which will always be knitted between the
center stitch markers, all the way through the chosen length (I have knitted 20 cm since the
beginning of the cuff).

HEEL:
Preparation:
With a 2,5 mm DPNs, K16. From the circular needle, slip to this same needle the 16 stitches
placed before the stitch marker 1 and before the recently knitted stitches. Now you have 32

3 Inspiration by de Bola de Pêlo Criações – Tânia Neves (free pattern) ©2017

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stitches on your DPNs that will be knitted back and forth, and another 32 stitches that will be
waiting on your circular needles or on a bit of waste yarn.
Turn.
S1 purl-wise and P the next 31 stitches.
Turn.

Heel flap:
On the right side, S1 knit-wise, K 1 * S1 purl-wise, K 1* repeat from * to* to the end of the
row.
On the wrong side, S1 purl-wise and P the remaining stitches in the row.
Repeat these last two rows 15 times (the heel flap has 32 rows).

Heel turn:
On the right side, S1 knit-wise, K 181, SSK, K 1, turn.
On the wrong side, S1 purl-wise, K7, P2Tog, P1, turn.
On the right side, S1 knit-wise, knit until one stitch before the gap between stitches, SSK, K1,
turn.
On the wrong side, S1 purl-wise, purl until one stitch before the gap between stitches, P2Tog,
P1, turn.
Repeat these last two rows until you have knitted all the stitches (18 stitches overall).

Picking up the stitches held on and finish the heel

Knit one row (on the right side).
Use your DPN to pick-up 17 stitches from the left edge of the heel and, to avoid a hole, pick-up
an additional stitch between the edge of the heel and the beginning of the instep.
With another DPN, knit the 32 stitches held on that are creating the instep, following chart 1.
To avoid a hole, pick up an additional stitch between the end of the instep and the beginning
of the edge of the heel with another DPN, and pick up 17 stitches from the right edge of the
heel.
With the same DPN you have used to pick up the last 17 stitches, knit half of the heel stitches
(there should be 9 stitches).
Slip back all stitches from the first needle to the circular needle, place stitch marker 4. Go for
the front stitches on the second needle including stitch markers 2 and 3, place another stitch
marker (5) and place back the stitches from the third needle. Place stitch marker 1 back and
knit across as follows.

Heel Side decreasing (Gusset):

Knit one row adjusting it to the «railway» pattern if necessary.
Begin the edge decreases and knit across the gusset, every other row, until you get the initial
64 stitches, repeating these two rows:
1. Knit until 3 stitches before marker 4 (instep); K2Tog, K1. Knit next (32) stiches following
the design. Slip stitch marker 5, k1, SSK and knit to end.

1
To knit this model in different sizes, at this stage you should knit half the stitches on the needle plus 2. That is, in
size S, you should knit 16 stitches and size L should knit 20 stitches.

4 Inspiration by de Bola de Pêlo Criações – Tânia Neves (free pattern) ©2017

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2. Knit next row with no decreases, always following the pattern on the instep.
Repeat the last two rows until you get 64 stitches.
Remove markers 4 and 5.

FOOT:
Following the pattern, knit the required length (I have knitted 30 rows). Remove
markers 2 and 3.

TOE:
Toe shaping:
Once again with DPN’s, knit a row, dividing the stitches (16 stitches per needle). Remove stitch
marker 1 and make sure that the beginning of the row is located at the middle of the sole
stitches.
Begin side decreases. You will decrease 4 stitches per row, knitting every other row as follows:
Needle 1 - Knit until 3 stitches before the end, K2Tog, K1.
Needle 2 - K1, SSK, knit to end.
Needle 3 - Knit until 3 stitches before the end, K2Tog, K1.
Needle 4 - K1, SSK, knit to end.
Knit one row with no decreases.
Repeat 5 times the last two rows (one with decreases and another without) until you have 40
stitches.
Repeat for 5 times only the row with decreases until you have 20 stitches all over 4 needles.

Ending the toe:

Knit the stitches on the first needle and distribute all on only two needles (one with the sole
stitches and the other with the instep stitches).
Cut the yarn off, leaving a 30 /40 cm long tail.
Bind off one stitch at the beginning and at the end of each needle, slipping two stitches to a
support needle, slip the first stitch over the second and return the stitch back to the main
needle. Now you have 8 stitches on each needle.

Graft toe stitches using Kitchener stitch. Weave in ends.

***
«Art is one way of commit to life! »
Let the creativity fulfill our soul and let it flow from our hands so that, with love and
affection, we can create, more and more, a wonderful, magic and unique work.
Happy knitting!!! Good inspirations!!!
Thank you all
***

NOTE: This model is for strictly personal use or fo forr charity purposes. Although instructions and patter
pattern free,,
n are free
text,, charts and photos), adaptation, transla
reproduction is expressly forbidden, (including text translation,
tion, commercialization or
authorization..
any use other than the above, in whole or in part, without my express authorization

5 Inspiration by de Bola de Pêlo Criações – Tânia Neves (free pattern) ©2017

Blog: http://boladepelocriacoes.blogspot.pt/
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