FOs #... ? / 2023: My Crystal Socks and Rose des Sables Headband from Issue 10!

Hi lovelies! I kind of completely dropped the ball on putting FO posts out there, but as you all very kindly let me know through our "what do you want to read on the blog" survey, you actually really like them, so we have some catching up to do!

We're starting with two FOs that have actually quite recently only been finished – if by recently we mean the end of 2023. They're both from Issue 10, and were both a delight to knit!

Crystal Socks by Izabela Grzybek in woollentwine Ovis

First up: One of the most fun socks I've knit in quite a while! I knew I wanted a pair of Crystal Socks in my sock drawer the minute I saw the design proposal, and while they'll be living in my sample box until the winter as I need them for a yarn festival as a sample, I am already looking forward to wearing them.

The socks are knit cuff down, which is not my usual style for knitting socks (very much a toe-up sock knitter!), but it was surprisingly lovely to knit socks differently for a change.

You start with a bit of twisted ribbing which then gently transitions into the twisted stitch pattern on the front of the foot. The pattern is inspired by crystal vases with their geometric cuts, and I was surprised at how memorizable (is that a word?) it is! After a few repeats of the chart, I was all set and didn't need to look at the pattern anymore.

The combination of the textured stitch pattern on the front and soothing stockinette on the back of the leg makes for a really wonderful knitting experience. A bit involved, a bit meditative – best of both worlds!

The Crystal Socks are designed with a heel flap and gusset, but with a super fun twist: You work the gusset decreases on the bottom of the foot! Not only does this make for super fun knitting, but it also keeps the crystal vase pattern on the top of the foot really neat and tidy.

Overall, I really enjoyed knitting them, and I'm sure I will love wearing them! I will recommend to go down a size or possibly two for these if you like a snug fit for your socks: They are designed with zero ease in mind, so a little bigger than most sock patterns. I usually knit a size 3 (with our standard sizing from the magazines), and went with a size 1 here. If you are a smaller size and want to make them even smaller, you could omit some of the stockinette stitches on the back of the leg and foot.

The Crystal Socks were originally designed for woollentwine's Corriedale Sock, but as Jule has put that particular yarn on hiatus, I went looking for a substitute from her selection. Turns out, she had a custom sock yarn spun up – Ovis – which works super well for this design! I used the colorway "Heather". It's slightly woollier than the Corriedale Sock, but shows off the stitch pattern really well. I'm pretty sure that they will wear super well as well!

Rose des Sables Headband by Caroline Blay in Holst Garn Supersoft and De Rerum Natura Bérénice

My second FO from Issue 10 is a lovely, sweet project you can whip up in an evening or two: Caroline Blay's Rose des Sables headband.

I have a couple of hats for the colder months, but I don't like wearing them when my hair is up in a ponytail or bun. As that is the case more often than not, I wanted a headband for bike rides and walks! Plus, I really liked the pattern pictures of me wearing Rose des Sables :)

The pattern itself knits up really, really quickly - I think I was really done in two evenings. You do a provisional cast on and work one half of the headband in a lovely, intuitive lace pattern (even easier to memorize than the Crystal Socks one!). When you've finished the first half, you put the stitches on hold, and then get the stitches from the provisional cast on back on the needles.

You repeat the lace pattern for the second half, so that it gently curves around your head, which I thought was a wonderful design idea! When you're done, you graft the stitches together for the front. Then, you work a little strip of stockinette stitch, wrap it around the grafted seam, and graft it so that it sits on top of the headband for a sweet little bow-like finish. Done!

I really, really adore my headband – but I chose the wrong size. I remembered that the sample (which was a size 2) sat quite snuggly on my head, and so I worked up a size 3 without swatching. It turned out to be a bit too big, so I'm planning to either sew it up at the back or take out one or two lace repeats and graft it back together. Nothing a few minutes with a pair of scissors and a darning needle can't fix!

In terms of yarn, the original yarn the headband was designed for (El Robledal de la Santa's Moherino) is sadly still not available again, so I went to the studio to look for a good substitute. I decided on Holst Garn Supersoft in Sage Blue which is a gorgeous heathered blue-ish green with grey flecks in it, held together with De Rerum Natura's Bérénice in Sauge.

The yarns worked super well for the pattern! I love how the colors play with each other, and they make for a wonderful lightweight, yet warm fabric.

Tell me: What have you knit from Issue 10? I'd love to hear about it in the comments down below!