Ugly Duckling Socks Will Warm Your Heart and Your Feet

Last Updated on October 21, 2020 by lydiaf1963

It’s happened to every yarn lover

We have all been seduced by yarn. We love the colors so we buy it and sometimes it’s on sale. We’re confident we will find the perfect project. But no matter what we do, the end result isn’t quite what we expected. For my socks I used a merino fingering weight yarn that I bought ages ago, when I was a knitting knewbie.

Silly me, I thought I’d want to try lace knitting, so I bought 3 skeins of a superwash merino lace yarn that was on sale. I’ve used it in several projects: a shawl, a buff, another pair of socks and made cording with my knitting mill. I still have more yarn left!

Mosaic Knitting Breaks the Yarn into Color Blocks

Designer Karen Aida decided to deal with her weird yarn by using mosaic knitting to interrupt the unattractive pattern. I first came across the Ugly Duckling socks in this pin. The pattern is available for free on Ravelry.

Mosaic knitting is method of using slip stitches to make a pattern. It’s most often used in color work, but there are textured stitches that can also be made. The advantage of using mosaic knitting for color work is that only one color is used at a time. You carry the yarn with you up the side (or in this case, within the tube of the sock) switching colors as required by the pattern.

To make Ugly Duckling Socks You’ll Need

My finished pair of socks weigh just under 90 grams. If you have between 50 and 75 grams of each yarn, you should have plenty.

• variegated sock weight yarn
• coordinating sock weight yarn
• appropriately sized knitting needles (I used 3mm DPNs)
• stitch marker(s)
• yarn needle
• scissors or snips

Making the socks

The pattern is charted, with clear indications of where the slipped stitches occur and when to change yarn colors. For this pattern you change colors every two rounds. Once you’ve completed a couple rounds you’ll find it easy to remember. Since the socks are worked with plain stockinette stitch they can be a quick knit.

The heels were a new type of short row heel for me. I didn’t care for them. My yarn was so dark it was difficult to keep track of where I was. After frogging my attempts several times, I ended up using stitch markers to help me. They are a bit loose on my narrow feet. Next time I’ll use a different type of heel.

The toes are a standard wedge

One day, when I’m feeling cocky, I’ll remove the current heels and replace them with an afterthought heel.

I like how the mosaic pattern forms the blocks. You could use any yarn you please to pair with your oddly variegated yarn. Since I still have plenty of the green yarn left I could use a light color as the contrast and get a completely different look. No matter what you choose, the results will look great!

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It’s time for the August Pin Challenge! The purpose of the Pinterest Challenge is to motivate us to not just pin, but to make it happen! This month’s challenge is Fall, so I picked a pair of socks to keep my feet warm as the weather cools. The fun part about this challenge is we’re free to interpret however we like!

For more Pinterest inspired projects from this month’s Pinterest Challenge hosts, check out the links below ↓

My Pinterventures • Cookies Coffee and Crafts
Farm Girl Reformed • Slices of Life
Decorate and More with Tip • Purple Hues and Me
Life Beyond Kitchen • Mom Home Guide
My Family Thyme • EyeLoveKnots • Our Good Life
Pretty DIY Home • Elle Marie Home • Create with Cynthia

Now, let’s see what the other hosts have created ⇓⇓