Pattern review by Stella Lange
Nightingale by Morag McKenzie of Vintage Purls
First released as the second kit in her Vintage Purls Winter Sock club 2009 now available as a pattern for sale on Ravelry.com for $NZD6.00.
Inspired by a vintage crochet pattern from 1915, Nightingale is a stranded sock worked with birds, one in flight and one perched amongst foliage. It looks amazing, is truly beautiful and in all honesty is much less complicated to work than it appears.
At first glance these socks are at once enticing and scary. They are after all knee high colour-work socks with pictures worked on them, but in fact the pattern is so clearly written that working them is straightforward.
The original kit was supplied with a skein of dark background colour and slightly variegated foreground colour – and when worked using those yarns visually looks more complicated as if the knitter has been inspired by traditional fair isle work and used a large range of different colours. Several versions on Ravelry have been knit with a more solid foreground; two dramatic combinations are pink and black by pSTATqueen and lime and black by Evucis. I knit mine in pale mauve and Midnight navy a slightly less dramatic combination.
The pattern;
Morag writes a very professional pattern, she includes a welcome and a little bit of history on the source of the pattern and her design choices. Her website VintagePurls.co.nz hosts her online shop and provides free information and copyright free vintage patterns. Here is a designer who knows about history, art history and perhaps most interestingly, knitting history.
As usual this is a quality pattern, very clearly written and presented, with full colour photographs of the front, back and heel and toe details. I found those very helpful as I worked through the instructions; I could see where the pattern was taking me. There is a great deal of technical detail provided, yarn requirements, gauge, finished sock and fit size, and abbreviations and increase instructions. Unlike most designers Morag also includes information on how to modify the sock for a custom fit, and explains how she presents the pattern so knitters can easily work it in their preferred way be that magic loop, two circulars or traditional double pointed sock needles (dpns). This is more information that is usually presented with most sock patterns, but Morag provides more. Her preference is for designing and knitting toe up socks and for those unfamiliar or new to starting with the toe, there are links provided to two different cast on methods.
The pattern is presented as a combination of written instructions and charts, and there are a lot of charts, one for the toe indicating the increases, two that make up the repeating bird motif on the top of the foot and the instep, a chart for the back of the leg, and a chart to indicate how to position the leg increase. In addition there are ‘finishing’ charts to resolve the bird repeat at the top of the sock – two finishing points are suggested and it is left up to the knitter to decide if they want short, mid length or knee high socks. There are also left and right versions of the charts so you end up with a mirrored pair, how cool is that? The pattern provides for a lot of choice by the knitter so they get just the sock they want. It all sounds very complex, but in use it is very straightforward and clear and easy to follow.
Knitting the sock,
I received this sock as a kit in July of 2009 … but didn’t cast on until April 2010, some 9 months later. I hesitated because it looked difficult, tricky, complicated. I wish I had not waited so long … despite looking complicated it is a very straightforward sock to knit. Yes it took me, and others a few attempts to work the striped toe in a neat way … but that was more to do with me mastering colourwork and stranding yarn evenly around the ‘corners’ than the pattern.
Once I had worked out how best to tension the yarn floats as I carried the yarn from the front to back needles, knitting was fairly easy. Oh yes there is a chart, and a need to sit and focus on the charted pattern, so this is not a sock that went to knit-night, or parties, it was a sock that I liked to sit and work at in quiet calm moments. I used a magnetic chart keeper to track my progress on the charts but know that others use post it notes or rulers to mark the line they are working on.
I asked around amongst others who had knit Nightingale and the response was ‘this pattern is well written and the socks looking much more complicated than they actually are to make. The charts were clearly displayed and I found them easy to follow. I’ve had numerous people ask about the socks when I have been wearing them out and about (all positive).’ I’d have to agree, this is my third pair of knee high socks and I love wearing them peaking out of the top of leather boots in winter. For Nightingale I’m going to have to invest in some navy shoes that show off more of the bird colour work than boots do.
What did I change?
Almost nothing, inspired by alternative versions on Ravelry I worked mine in pale mauve pink and dark midnight navy blue sock yarn by Vintage Purls. I had a few false starts as I tested different colour combinations.
I used the method of ‘magic loop’ so one long 80 cm circular needle, I chose a Harmony KnitPro 80cm circular needle, I like circulars for colourwork as it is easier to strand across the corners, the slight grip of the harmony wood prevents over tight stranding. I did make a point of being consistent with which yarn I carried on ‘top’ and which I carried ‘under’ as I stranded. How you carry the yarn can affect the tension on the two yarns, and changing how they are carried can show up in more uneven finished work.
I knit mine on 2.25mm needles … because that is my standard size for knitting socks, the pattern is written for 2.5mm or whatever gives you gauge. I didn’t work a specific gauge swatch … I cast on and knit the toe and used that as a fit guide. I knit the sock as a knee high, with two full repeats of the bird chart up the foot and leg, and worked a deep 1×1 striped colour work cuff. I didn’t work the facing detailed in the pattern as I was running very short of the background yarn, I only had 3gm left. I’m tall and don’t have small feet, someone smaller than I might would have more yarn left over for the faced cuff. Instead I used the contrast colour to work 3 rounds of 1×1 rib and cast off loosely in rib. I did work the last 3 cm of the cuff on 2mm needles just to tighten the top edge a little and draw it in to fit better. I did find as I knit that some small areas at the edges of the bird chart were prone to slight puckering, as the stranding relaxed after I knit, but that slight puckering disappeared completely with blocking and wear.
So can anyone knit Nightingale?
Yes, especially if you have done a little colour work and are confident with following charts. Would I knit another one ?.. Yes, in fact I’m wondering what other colour combinations would work … but I’m also hanging out for a colour work sock in this year’s Vintage Purls sock club! This time I won’t hesitate so long. If you are not keen on knee high colour work socks, I highly recommend her other sock patterns, and all have the same clarity in the pattern instructions. In total I’ve knit 6 Vintage Purls patterns, Nightingale, Tami, Garnet, Blue Sky Baby, Honey and Toasty, and I’ve queued many other Vintage Purl patterns.
Stella has kindly shared her project page here – check it out for more lovely photos.
Bio
Stella is a long time knitter based in Dunedin, she has been active in the internet knitting community since 2006, blogs at www.knitknitfrog.blogspot.com, and is Knitfrogknit on Ravelry. Currently a member of 3 knitting groups, she is really excited right now because of funding to attend a hand knitting conference in the Shetlands in September 2010 to present a paper on 4 items of hand knitting held in the Otago museum. Socks have worked their way off her needles since early 2006.
