Have you ever knit a Princess Sole?

The Crow Moon socks featuring a princess sole and a garter stitch, short row heel

Have you ever knit a pair of socks with a princess sole before?

A Princess Sole is where you purl the stitches for the underside of the sock rather than knit them. This means that instead of walking on the side of the fabric that has the ‘purl bumps’ you instead have the smooth stockinette fabric against your foot.

Some people who have sensory issues with handknit socks find that this type of sole suits them much better. For myself, I don’t normally find it to be a problem except occasionally with a yarn that has a very firm, high twist.

Either way, it is a useful trick to have in your sock knitters bag of tricks. Although I feel as though I should give you fair warning and say upfront that it does mean you’ll spend more time purling in the round than you might like.

Purling the sole stitches is a straighforward practice although it does take a little bit of getting used to, especially if you are a longer term knitter used to doing a traditional sole. And if you have delicate tootsies it might well be worth a try.

Crow Moon Socks

£6.50

Fair warning up front - these socks involve a lot of purling. But what price comfort?

These socks feature a Princess Sole, whereby stitches on the sole of the foot are purled rather than knit. This creates a smooth fabric on the inside of the sock which some people find to be a lot more comfortable when walking.

If you have ever been bothered by the purl bumps on a handknit pair of socks, these might well be worth a try.

The Crow Moon Socks are knit from the toe up, featuring a simple textured pattern which blends well with the purled texture on the sole and back of leg.

In addition this is carried through into a garter stitch, short row heel.

MATERIALS

Yarn: 1 x 100g sock yarn.

Malabrigo Sock 75% super wash wool, 25% nylon 100g/385m/421 yds - colourway Eggplant.

Needles: 2.5mm needles suitable for magic loop.

Gauge: 32sts and 44 rows to 10cm (4") in stocking stitch on larger needles.

Finished size: M (L): 20 (23) cm/8 (9”) circumference, designed to fit with approx 2cm/0.75” ease.

Notes: This design is worked with a princess sole - where stitches on N2 (the sole of the foot) are purled. This creates a smooth fabric on the inside of the sock which some find to be more comfortable.

Add to cart

The Crow Moon socks are designed with a Princess Sole in mind and have a slipped stitch demarcation between the purled sole and the textured upper part.

The Slipstream Socks

Slipstream Socks - link to purchase

These toe-up socks were originally published as the Socially Distant Socks two years ago, at the height of the Covid epidemic when no social gathering was complete without the words ‘socially distanced of course’.

Times have moved on and although I loved the socks, I didn’t like the name and the reminder of some very difficult times. I was also unhappy with a little aspect of the stitch design so I took the opportunity to re-work them and also rename them at the same time.

They are now the Slipstream Socks - because with these regular stitches they really do slip quickly off the needles, and the regular smooth ridges really reminded me of the patterns that water makes as it smoothly slides around obstacles in it’s way.

The yarn is the beautiful Eden Cottage Yarns Brimham 4ply in the Pumpkin Seeds colourway