What's this obsession with feet and socks??? And what is a "fong"????

It's a "foot thong!"

I saw this really cool pattern for "The Fong!" on the "Island of Misfit Patterns" and wanted to make one:

Picture "borrowed" from the above source.

I had a tiny bit of Knit Picks, Felici, Coastal, left over from the below socks and cast on.

Well, the yarn didn't last long, so I put "The Fong!" project on hold, got out two more skeins of coastal and cast on another pair of socks. Just my standard toe-up, seed-stitch rib, run-of-the-mill socks.


But I made sure to bind off early enough to have enough yarn left over to finish "The Fong!" So here is another pair of (short) "Coastal" socks.


Okay, back to "The Fong!" I finished a pair, but am not sure, if it should go on the foot...


... or the hand. They can totally be used as little fingerless glove thingies as well. I can't wait to see if my daughter will prefer them on her hands or feet :).

I might make some more later, but I think they need a few alterations. First of all, I would but a little ribbing on both sides, to keep the stockinette from rolling up. Then I think the little between-the-toes part could be a bit wider, especially if you want to wear your fong with flip-flops. It's a cute idea though!

So while I was into kind of funky foot-wear (and I still had some of the yarn left), I also started a pair of "toe warmers."

Foto from Ravelry

And, of course, you guessed it... I ran out of yarn again. I finished one toe warmer, though I prefer the name "sockette," and started the second one, but didn't quite have enough. And Knit Picks doesn't make or sell the "Coastal" any more, so...

... I can either open up one of the fongs or finish the second sockette with a different yarn. Or leave it forever unfinished. Hey, it's happened before...

Sweaty (stinky) feet anyone???

I started another pair of toe-up socks a little while ago. Sort of as a stand-by, when I don't want to work on anything else. You know, the usual, Knit Picks, Felici, color: "Atmosphere," toe-up... I know I can do these socks, so when I need a successful knitting experience, I grab them.



But then I wanted to finish the socks, because I wanted to make them short so I would have enough yarn left-over for either these toe-warmers or footlets


or these ballet school dropout sockettes.


Note: these are the pictures that come with the patterns, not mine yet.

Aren't they both way cool?! My daughter has this really bad habit of wearing her shoes without socks (it's the in-thing these days). Since sweaty feet kind of run in our family, we just do better (and our shoes do better), when we wear socks. So I thought these would be great.

Anyway, so I rushed to finish the short socks and here they are:


I knit the instep part with my standard seed-stitch rib pattern. After the heel was done, I did the seed-stitch rib all around for maybe half an inch or so, then another half inch of plain knit, so the end would roll over. I like that. This time I used the purl cast-off somebody had recommended, and it really is pretty stretchy. My best one yet so far. Thanks!

Then, finally, I got to start the "sockettes." I got to the third line of the knitting instructions and already got stumped. I had to look up "kfb." The Knitting Glossary quickly came to the rescue. I love that site!

I made a few slight alterations as I went along and here is how I made the "sockettes" with Knit Picks Felici:

Cuff:
Cast 27 sts on dpns.
Rows 1-4: sl1, k to the last st, sl1 (this is supposed to create a little extra cuff that will fold over the shows to avoid blisters)

Heel:
Row 1: sl1, k2, *kfb, k3*, repeat from * to the last 3 sts, k2, sl1 (there are now 33 sts)
Row 2: sl1, k to the last st, sl1
Row 3: sl1, *sl1, k1*, repeat from * to the last st, sl1
Row 4: sl1, p to the last st, sl1
Repeat rows 3 and 4 18 times
Next row: sl1, *sl1, k1*, repeat from * to the last st, sl1

Shape heel:
Row 1: sl1, p16, p2tog, p1, turn
Row 2: k3, sl1, k1, psso, k1, turn
Row 3: p4, p2tog, p1, turn
Row 4: k5, sl1, k1, psso, k1, turn
Row 5: p6, p2tog, p1, turn
Row 6: k7, sl1, k1, psso, k1, turn
Row 7: p8, p2tog, p1, turn
Row 8: k9, sl1, k1, psso, k1, turn
Row 9: p10, p2tog, p1, turn
Row 10: k11, sl1, k1, psso, k1, turn
Row 11: p12, p2tog, p1, turn
Row 12: k13, sl1, k1, psso, k1, turn
Row 13: p14, p2tog, p1, turn
Row 14: k15, sl1, k1, psso, k1, turn
Row 15: p16, p2tog, turn
Row 16: k16, sl1, psso


Foot:
Get a 3rd dpn
Pick up 19 sts along the side of the heel
Turn around and work your way back across
Pick up 19 sts along the other side of the heel (total 55 sts)

Knit the next two rows until only 38 sts remain:
Row 1: sl1, k2, p to the last 3 sts, k2, sl1
Row 2: sl1, k2, k2tog, k to the last 5 sts, sl1, k1, psso, k2, sl1

Knit the next two rows until the sockette is 11cm/4.5 inches less than foot length, ending with row 1:
Row 1: sl1, k2, p to the last 3 sts, k2, sl1
Row 2: sl1, k to the last st, sl1



(Hint: After a while you can combine all sts onto one needle and continue knitting with two needles rather than three.)



Toe:
Repeat the next two rows until you have 65 sts:
Row 1: sl1, k1, kfb, k to the last 3 sts, kfb, k1, sl1
Row 2: sl1, k1, kfb, p to the last 3 sts, kfb, k1, sl1

Distribute the sts onto 4 dpns: 16, 16, 16, 17
K to the end of the 4th needle, sl the last st onto the first needle, and k that st tog with the first st on the first needle to join and start k in the round (total 64 sts: 16 each)
K 2 rounds


Toe decreases:

Round 1:
Needle 1: k to the last 3 sts, k2tog, k1
Needle 2: k1, ssk, k to end of needle
Needle 3: k to the last 3 sts, k2tog, k1
Needle 4: k1, ssk, k to end of needle

Round 2: k

Repeat these two rounds until you have 3 sts on each needle left (total 12 sts)
Bind off using Kitchener stitch.

(Note: I have not tested the revised pattern yet, but will hopefully do so soon. I kind of rewrote the pattern as I went along.)