Trenchwork

A family member has been having circulation problems and needed something cozy to help warm up a bit. Voilà:

One pair of legwarmers and bed socks. (As usual, the photo is on Flickr. Click for a larger view.)

Materials:

Legwarmers: ca 10 balls (165m/50g ball) Bambino babyull (superwash merino baby yarn); knitted with two strands using 3 and 3.5mm circs.
Socks: ca 5 balls Dale Freestyle (80m/50g ball; 4 red, 1 blue) superwash wool. The heavier weight on 2.5 and 3mm circs made for a larger sock but should also make for a little extra warmth.

Patterns:

None to speak of. I had a basic ribbed sock pattern to start with at some point, but it fell by the wayside. The heel is a simple slip-knit pattern, and the toe a rounded one. The toe is blue because I ran out of red and wasn’t quite clever enough at estimating yarn amounts. Had I realized it sooner, I’d have done the heel in blue as well.

The legwarmers have no pattern at all. They’re a straight 2×2 rib for 3 inches on 3mm circs, then increase 10 stitches (for a total of 90) while switching to stockinette stitch and 3.5mm needles. Knit away in the round until you get to where you want the top ribbing, then rib 2×2 for three inches, decreasing 2 stitches if necessary to make the ribbing even. The legwarmers are very long, and rather loose. The red panel is centered on the knee, and the ribbing is loose to allow for swelling ankles. If need be, they can always be worn over pants.

As an aside, the photo is taken with a new toy. DH decided that my little 2mp Nikon needed to be replaced, and the local shop had the Nikon Coolpix P4 8mp on a major sale. So, courtesy of a rather generous fellow, you now get lots and lots of pixels. (grin) The colors are pretty accurate here, although I have to say that it really does make the red pop. I’m going to have to do some experimenting and see if it does that with all reds, or if it’s just this red and this shot in this lighting.