Knitted Sleeping Sock

These socks are knitted with white and blue wool in a diamond pattern, and in rounds like a stocking. Begin at the upper part of the sock; cast on 103 stitches with blue wool on pretty thick steel knitting-needles, and knit 20 rounds of the diamond pattern as follows:--

1st round: Quite plain.

2nd round: Purled; both these rounds are worked with blue wool.

3rd to 6th rounds: Knitted plain with white wool.

7th round: With blue wool; knit 3, draw the wool through the next stitch of the 2nd round worked with blue wool, draw it out as a loop, keep it on the needle, knit again 3 stitches, and so on. 8th round: With blue wool; the loop which has been taken up on the preceding round is purled off together with the preceding stitch. Repeat the 3rd and 8th rounds [315] twice more; the loop of one round must be placed between those of the preceding one. Then knit with white wool 31 rounds, alternately 2 stitches knitted, 2 stitches purled, then work the foot in the diamond pattern in the same way as usual for a stocking. The heel is formed by leaving 23 stitches on each side the seam stitch, and knitted backwards and forwards in the diamond pattern.

At the toe decrease so that the decreasings form a seam on both sides of the toe. This is obtained by knitting the 3rd and 4th stitches of the 1st needle together; on the 2nd needle slip the 4th stitch before the last, knit the next stitch and draw the slipped stitch over the knitted one; decrease in the same manner on the other 2 needles of this round. Repeat these decreasings exactly in the same direction and at the same places, so that there are always 4 stitches between the 2 decreasings at the end and at the beginning of 2 needles; they always take place after 3 or 2 plain rounds, and at last after 1 plain round. The remaining stitches are knitted off 2 and 2 together. To complete the sock, the outline of the sole is marked by working slip stitches with blue wool in crochet all round it; work also slip stitches on the selvedge stitch of the heel. The stocking is finished off at the top with a double round of loops in blue wool, worked over a mesh four-fifths of an inch wide.