2020 Advent Socks

For a few years, I’d heard of people knitting self-striping socks during Advent.  Eventually, I learned where this special yarn came from – The Cozy Knitter.  I bought it at the first opportunity last year, which I’m pretty sure was in the summer.  Yep, I was not going to miss out on Advent socks in 2020!

The Yarn

The Cozy Knitter has been dyeing Advent self-striping yarn for several years.  Here’s how the yarn works….  Each day is a new stripe so all you have to do is knit a stripe a day.    So, if you keep up, at the end of Advent, you have knit a pair of socks.  How cool is that?!   

Knitting

Since this was self-striping yarn, I wanted vanilla socks – pure and simple.  And so I fell back on my favorite pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks.  

I splurged when I ordered the yarn and got the coordinating mini skein in the natural colorway.  And the more I knit on the leg, the more I realized I wanted to try my first afterthought heel.  As terrified as I was of cutting my yarn to insert the heel, my curiosity won and I decided to try it. 

Details

Pattern:  Basic Top-Down with Heel Flap by Charlene Schurch (Sensational Knitted Socks)

Yarn:  The Cozy Knitter Bliss

Colorway: 2020 Advent Stripe

Needles: US 1 (2.25 mm)

Made for: me

Time to Completion: 6 weeks

I enjoyed these socks so much that I just kept knitting and knitting on the tube during the month of December (I think I was putting off the afterthought heel business).  Usually, I do not prefer a high leg, but I decided that this pair of socks would be the highest one yet!  

For the heel, I watched a tutorial from The Crazy Sock Lady and followed along with her, which was super easy to do.  The hardest part of picking up the stitches.  I didn’t have a tiny needle with which to go about this (I’ve since ordered some) and this gave me a lot of frustration.  I’m a super tight knitter and this just wasn’t easy.  After that, it was super easy and I didn’t have any holes in the knitting at the join or anything!  I still can’t decide which heel I prefer.  I may have to knit another pair of socks with the afterthought heel before I decide!

These socks were lovely and such a good way to count down until Christmas.  Knitting that stripe everyday was almost a meditative experience for me.  It was so relaxing and joyful….  I just may have to make these socks every Advent!