Progress and discovery

 The Sheepicorn socks have found a new pattern for the leg. I wanted to do something with a rainbow yarn that wasn't big enough to do two full pairs. I thought maybe two color cables, or color background with white cables, knew the wrangling of the yarn and floats would be a pain in the butt .... What to do, what to do... then I saw another sock pattern using Broken Seed Stitch.

 

That is perfect! I saw other patterns as well as just the instructions for doing the stitch. The person who posted the stitch instructions raved about how easy it was and how much they wanted to use it in other projects. So I went there with the yarn.

I was deciding between two yarns and realized that there would be a lot of white 'gaps' with the smaller ball. Going with the larger rainbow was the right choice. The stitch really is very simple in the round with the main color  (the white) being only knit and the contrast color doing the seed stitch. I love the coloring and the only problem so far is that it is a more spread out stitch. I did some slip stitch on the back of the ankle (technically the Achille's heel area) for a short distance before deciding on starting the leg.

The pattern in the round is this:

Row 1 MC (white) knit

Row 2 CC (rainbow) k1p1

Row 3 MC knit

Row 4 CC p1k1

Easy peasy simple as pie. 

 My first mistake was being too eager to start this and did not divide the rainbow yarn into two balls. Hoooboy was that ever a tangle!  

I figured it out though using a technique from an other sock project. When you get past the heel the balls should be small enough to just tuck into the sock while you work on the other one. Well this worked out perfectly so I put the colored yarn in the baggie and the two balls in the socks they belong to.

Current progress on it and couldn't be happier. Well could be happier if I had divided the second color but it's working out. I then saw the same person post the 'flat' version of the stitch and just glancing at it the first time it seemed like the same method. That's not right. The only difference was marking one row wrong side but no other directions.  This did not work. There were a few others that were confused about that also because you're working with two colors.

 

Here is what I tried to do. I had seen a hat pattern using three different colors of yarn with one main for the contrast for all of them. Cool idea.

 What I have is two colors of Vanna's Choice in brick and rust and one Basic stitch in saffron yellow. Ohoh... do a stripe of each but with each one do the color of the next row as the contrast and work it that way. Sweet! I could see it in my head. Now here's the problem, wanted to do it flat as a blanket, only stopped at 74 stitches so it's a test pattern.

 So, here's the problem with doing it flat. The colors end up at opposite ends of the row after adding in the contrast color. It will work just not as easily as in the round. So, once you get that first contrast row done in knit, you go back to the other end where the main color is waiting and work the k1p1to the end, both colors are now on the same end and ready to work a wrong side row. Pick up the contrast color and Purl the next row (which would normally be a knit row in the round). Go back to the other end and pick up the brick and do k1p1 to the end and both colors are waiting again on the right side. Note: you are on the wrong side for the seed stitch, make sure to check if you need to reverse to p1k1 in order to be opposite of the previous working row.

 

Long tail CO using circular needle 70 sts in Brick. #10.5 needles

WS Row 1: Knit

RS Row 2: Knit 

WS Row 3  K1P1

Attach C1 at end of Row 3

RS Row 4: C1 Knit

RS Row 5 Slide stitches to other end of needle, pick up Brick and k1p1 to end

WS Row 6: C1 Purl to end (both colors should be on the same end of the work

(I didn't start writing down what I was doing until I had already done one repeat so apologies if it isn't right)

 

So you see it actually has to be worked with two right side or two wrong side rows done concurrently. Much like doing knit one below with two colors it'll turn out okay just a lot of moving back and forth and keeping track of whether to do knit or purl first on the 'working' row. Contrast or lighter color is always the knit row. The 'main' color is the one that creates the V and bump stitches in the contrast. 

 

So doing it in the round is so incredibly easy, flat not so much. It also looks much better when using a tighter yarn like a cotton or mixed yarn. The fluffiness of the acrylic buries some of the stitches so it loses some of the definition in the contrast. 

 I will be using this stitch in future projects as long as I can find a suitable solid contrast. I have more than enough random pieces of yarn could just do some crazy socks or hats. So, many, ends, to, weave, in.....

Hope to have socks finished by November at least.