Ribbed For Her Pleasure Sock Pattern

As with my Minecraft Creeper Blanket Pattern, I wrote this pattern years ago — July of 2007, to be precise. It is actually the first knitting pattern I ever wrote. When I took down my old blog, the patterns went with it, and since then I have had request to re-publish some of my old work.

My Ribbed For Her Pleasure Sock Pattern is a very simple sock that, due to its repetitive nature, is great for working on in front of the TV, while on the bus, or while watching small children. It works well with most sock-weight yarns and showcases self-striping yarns beautifully. This is the updated version from 2011, when I fixed an error in the heel.

Ribbed For Her Pleasure Socks
Adult Women’s Size

Materials
– Two 50g (1.764oz) 152m (166yrd) balls of sock yarn, size 1 super fine
– One set of four size US 3 (3.25mm, UK 10) double point needles

Gauge
– Sock Yarn: 28 stitches and 36 rows = 4″ x 4″ (10cm x10cm) square on US 3 (3.25mm, UK 10) needles

Instructions
– Loosely cast on 60 sts. Divide into 20 sts on 3 needles. Join and work in (K2, P2) ribbing for 1.5″ (3.81cm).

– Work in (P2, K2) for an additional 3.5″ (more or less if taller or shorter socks are desired; make sure you have additional wool if you want taller socks).

Arrange heel sts:

– Slip 6 sts from end of 1st needle onto beginning of 2nd needle, and slip 6 sts from beginning of 3rd needle onto end of 2nd needle. This should give you 14 sts on the 1st needle, 32 sts on the 2nd needle, and 14 sts on the 3rd needle.

– Divide the 32 sts on the 2nd needle onto two needles of 16 sts each and leave for the instep.

– (P2, K2) the 14sts off the first needle onto the 3rd needle. Working on these 28 sts proceed as follows:

– Next row: (WS) K1. P12. P2tog. P12. K1. (27 sts on needle)

Make heel:

– 1st row: (RS) K1. Slip 1. Repeat across row ending row with K1.
– 2nd row: K1. Purl to last stitch. K1.
– Repeat these two rows for 2 inches, ending with 1st row.

Shape heel:

– 1st row: (WS) Slip 1. P14. P2tog. P1. Turn.
– 2nd row: (RS) Slip 1. K5. SL1. K1. PSSO. K1. Turn.
– 3rd row: Slip 1. P6. P2tog. P1. Turn.
– 4th row: Slip 1. K7. SL1. K1. PSSO. K1. Turn.
– 5th row: Slip 1. P8. P2tog. P1. Turn.
– 6th row: Slip 1. K9. SL1. K1. PSSO. K1. Turn.
– 7th row: Slip 1. P10. P2tog. P1. Turn.
– 8th row: Slip 1. K11. SL1. K1. PSSO. K1. Turn.
– 9th row: Slip 1. P12. P2tog. P1. Turn.
– 10th row: Slip 1. K13. SL1. K1. PSSO. K1. Turn.
– 11th row: Slip 1. P14. P2tog. Turn.
– 12th row: Knit. (16 stitches remaining in heel)

Make instep:

– Slip 32 sts for instep onto one needle.

– 1st needle: With RS of work facing and using the heel needle, pick up 13sts. Knit 11 of these sts, then purl 2 of these sts.
– 2nd needle: Slip the two purled stitches from the end of the 1st needle to the beginning of the 2nd needle. (K2, P2) the rest of the way across instep sts.
– 3rd needle: Pick up and knit 13 sts along other side of heel.

– Sts are now divided as: 27-34-13

– Knit 7 sts from beginning of first needle onto end of 3rd needle.

– Sts are now divided as: 20-34-20

– 1st round:
– 1st needle: Knit to last 3 sts. K2 tog. K1.
– 2nd needle: (P2, K2) to the end of needle, ending with P2.
– 3rd needle: K1. Slip 1. K1. psso. Knit to end.

– 2nd round:
– 1st needle: Knit.
– 2nd needle: (P2, K2) to the end of needle, ending with P2.
– 3rd needle: Knit.

– Repeat these two rounds to 13sts on 1st needle, 34 sts on 2nd needle, and 13 sts on 3rd needle (60 sts total).

– Continue knitting as in 2nd round until foot, from picked up sts at heel, measures 5″ (12.7cm). (Alternately, continue knitting until the needles sit at the first knuckle of the big toe when this sock is tried on the foot on which it will be worn.)

Shape toe:

– Slip 2 sts from start of 2nd needle onto end of 1st needle, and slip 2 sts from end of of 2nd needle onto start of 3rd needle. This should give you 15 sts on the 1st needle, 30 sts on the 2nd needle, and 15 sts on the 3rd needle.

– 1st round:
– 1st needle: Knit to last 3 sts. K2tog. K1.
– 2nd needle: K1. Slip 1. K1. psso. Knit to last 3 sts. K2tog. K1.
– 3rd needle: K1. Slip 1. K1. psso. Knit to end.

– 2nd round: Knit.

– Repeat these two rounds until 28 sts remain (divided 7-14-7). Break yarn and graft 2 sets of 14 sts.

Souvenir Yarn

My husband returned last night from a business trip to Den Haag in the Netherlands. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to accompany him, but I was there about ten years ago for a job interview, and I don’t feel as badly about missing out as I would have if it was a place I’d never visited.

When we found out that my husband would be traveling to Den Haag, he asked what I would like him to bring back. “Yarn,” I answered. I’m not a great fan of souvenirs, at least not the kind that will sit on a shelf and collect dust. Practical items are another matter, and I like to think fondly back on my trips whenever I use them. Yarn, for me, is also a great souvenir, especially if I can find something local that is hard-to-get back home. It’s also a great thing to have someone bring back as a gift. I think of the the person who gave the yarn to me when I knit it, as well as when I see the final project worn.

Malabrigo Mechita in 227 Volcan

Now, my husband isn’t a knitter, and he for the most part could care less about nice yarn — although, through exposure to me, he is learning. I am trying to convince him that it’s a good idea to go to a yarn shop employee and say, “My wife is a knitter, I have a budget of $X, she likes local wool and knits a lot of socks, could you please help me find her some yarn as a gift?” Although the employee may have a few more questions to help narrow things down, this will save him an inordinate amount of time wandering through the shelves. Unless his whole plan is to browse because, deep in his heart of hearts, he actually really likes yarn and this is a deeply satisfying experience for him — but I sadly don’t think that’s it.

Before he left, I Googled for a nice shop that was within a reasonable distance of his hotel. He ended up going to Cross & Woods Crafting Parlour. He tells me that he knew I’d like the place as soon as he stepped inside. Not only was it filled with lovely crafting supplies, but there was a table where ladies were sitting and knitting. He overheard them discussing the different ways one could hold one’s needles, how awkward it is to try a different style, and complaining that everyone else’s style is just inherently wrong. Since I’m pretty sure that I’ve had this exact conversation with my knitter friends (indeed, my grandmother and my grandmother-in-law couldn’t watch me knit because it made them want so badly to correct how I was holding my needles), I think I would have fit right in.

Unable to find a yarn that had been produced, spun, or dyed locally that he thought I’d like, my husband instead brought me back Malabrigo Mechita in 227 Volcan. (Malabrigo’s actually from Uruguay.) It is a beautiful soft yarn, although it’s not tough enough for socks, which is my general go-to for thinner yarns. Their website recommends this yarn for “shawls, scarves, garments, accessories, baby and kids items, lace, cables, [and] textured stitches.” I will have to spend some time browsing Ravelry for ideas and that, with a mug of hot cocoa in hand, is my way to spend a perfect winter evening.

Minecraft Creeper Blanket

I originally posted about my Minecraft Creeper Blanket on my old blog back in 2013. I written anything new for that blog for years, and I just assumed nobody had looked at it in equally as long. As it turns out, someone had been trying to follow the pattern I’d posted — and then I took it down! So I am re-posting my old entry. I plan on doing this with more of my old work, subject to requests, so if there’s an old post you’d like to see, just ask.

On July 16th, 2012, I almost lost my little brother to a house fire. The fire started in the room where he was trying to sleep away a flu, and he was lucky to get out alive and relatvely unhurt; he suffered some mild burns and smoke inhalaton. My parents, of course, threw a couple of things in a suitcase and started the drive to Halifax to take care of my brother in the hospital (he was there for almost a week) and then help him once he was out. With two young children at home, I couldn’t manage a 16-hour drive and indefinite hotel stay on practially no notice, but it didn’t mean that I didn’t want to be there. He’s my baby brother, man. I couldn’t just sit on my hands and do nothing. As it became more and more obvious that, between the fire damage and the water damage from puttng the fire out, my brother had lost just about everything, I started to wonder if there was anything I could make for him. Sure, the insurance should pay to replace most of the essentials, but what about those personal touches? That’s where the idea for this blanket was born.

For those not into such things, the blanket pattern is based on the face of a Creeper, which is a bad guy in the game Minecraft. I chose the design simply because I know that my brother loves the game. Perhaps I should have played the game before I knit the blanket, because I found out that the whole point of this villain isn’t so much that it kills your character (there is minimal penalty in this game for dying), but that it destroys the creations that you’ve spent a long time building. You know, like a house. I swear I didn’t know this before I knit the blanket. This doesn’t seem to bother my brother much, or maybe he takes it as ironic. At least I hope so…

This is what a Creeper looks like in game:

Source: D+PAD

It took me six months of knitting to finish the blanket. At first I thought it would be ready for my brother’s birthday, then Christmas… In the end, it was a delayed Christmas present that I gave him in February. I swear I tried to make the Christmas deadline, but I still had at least 25 squares to go by the time December 25th rolled around. I mean, it took me almost a month to sew all 100 squares together. I now have a HUGE respect for anyone who undertakes this kind of project on a regular basis. My hat is off to you, sir or madam.

It’s amazing how all that work folds up into such a small package.

Here is the pattern that I designed if you’d like to try to knit the blanket yourself. I knit it as simple stockinette stitch squares, cast on 25 stitches and knit until they were square. This makes a blanket that is big enough to generously cover a single bed, or barely cover a double. I’d give you exact dimensions, but the blanket is already with my brother in Halifax. I tried to find an acrylic yarn (brother has pets, it has to be easily washable) with as many shades of green as possible to make the Creeper appear authentic. This is the best selection I could find.

The legend as follows:

Minecraft Creeper Blanket

Yarn: Loops & Threads Impeccable yarn from Michaels
Needle Size: 5 mm (8 US)
BL = Black (01040), 20 squares (2 balls)
TG = True Grey (01044), 11 squares (1 ball)
F = Fern (01222), 17 squares (2 balls)
FO = Forest (01243), 20 squares (2 balls)
G = Grass (01223), 10 squares (1 ball)
DF = Deep Forest (01242), 10 squares (1 ball)
SF = Soft Fern, (01221), 12 squares (2 balls)
Square Total: 100 squares, approx. 1200g
Border: 2 rows of single crochet around edge in Forest (01243), approx. 50g (1 ball)
Total yarn required: 11 balls

If you try this pattern yourself or if you need more information before you give it a shot, please let me know!