Patches

It's always exciting when a new pattern is released, but in this case I was even more anxious than usual, because Patches was chosen for this year's Supersock World Championship. If you follow my blog, you will have heard about it last year, when it took place for the first time. The SWC is a knitting game on Ravelry and basically it's all about speed. Each of the six rounds takes approximately two weeks and knitters have the choice between two patterns. For round 2 that started yesterday, my Patches were chosen to be the 'high octane' (so the a bit more challenging) pattern and I'm thrilled the pattern has been well received. :)

The socks are worked from the cuff down with a heel flap and gusset. Some parts like cuff and toe and ‘interim rounds’ between the patches are worked in the round. However, the main feature are the patches placed on leg and foot which are worked in intarsia in the round technique. The idea is to place these patches randomly (although there are rules for SWC to keep it a fair game for all participants).

Since all segments - cuff, heel, toe and the patches - require only small amounts of yarn, Patches is the perfect pattern to use up small bits of yarn left over from other projects. And it's also a great opportunity to go wild on colours. I've very much enjoyed seeing the colour combinations folks have chosen for the pattern. It's amazing how different the pattern looks in different yarns.

The pattern, which includes a tutorial with pictures for the intarsia in the round method as well as design suggestions (for different sizes patches, the order of patches etc), is currently only available for participants of the Supersock World Championship. It will be released to the public after the end of the game, probably mid of September.