Branch Line Socks free pattern :::::: Blogtober 2022 : Day 21

Fancy a new cast on for the weekend?  The Branch Line socks might be right up your street!

Earlier this year, I was asked by UK Hand Knitting if I would be interested in designing a pattern for their very first Yarnstravaganza event.  UK Hand Knitting is a not-for-profit organisation which promotes hand knitting and associated yarn crafts, and also supports independent retailers, and Yarnstravaganza was a week-long celebration of yarn shops during September 2022.

I’ve known Juliet and Bronagh (Ravelry links) from UK Hand Knitting for quite some time now.  They are both excellent knitters and designers in their own right and both very passionate about the yarn industry and keeping the connections between knitters and yarn shops strong and healthy.  I am always happy to support yarn shops as I think they offer so much more than yarn for sale so I didn’t have to think very hard before I said yes!

The idea behind Yarnstravaganza was that it would be a week where yarn shops would put on events and workshops, offer discounts, even organise yarn trails and most of all, encourage people into their shops to chat, find out more about the yarns on sale and discover that knitting doesn’t always have to be a solitary activity.  It’s such a good idea.  Our bricks and mortar shops need all the support they can get – but they can offer so much support in return and I think that after the long lockdowns we have had and how difficult it has been for some people to get back up to speed with going out and about again even now, it’s exactly the right time for this.

As well as all the shop events, there were also going to be two free patterns which were available exclusively through the yarn shops during the week (the other pattern is a crochet bag) and that’s what Branch Line was designed for – and here are the socks!

Now, there are a couple of things that you’ll notice straight away.  The first is that this and the following photos are not professional on-feet photos.  This is because these were not socks for a pattern of my own and I knew that UK Hand Knitting would want to take their own photos but I hope you can get a sense of the pattern from these pictures.  I’m really glad I snapped them before sending the photos off or I’d have nothing extra to show you!  Secondly, you’ll notice that I am not knitting with West Yorkshire Spinners yarn for a change, and that’s because this pattern was commissioned using Stylecraft Head over Heels, James C Brett Funny Feetz, Cygnet Truly Wool Rich, King Cole Footsie and Rico Superba Cashmeri Luxury Sock yarn.  I do use other yarns occasionally! 🙂

Branch Line was designed to be a pattern that could be worn by anyone and knitted by anyone who’s ready to tackle a pattern that includes increases and decreases … which, if you’ve ever knitted a pair of my Basic 4ply Socks means you!

The rib from the cuff extends down the sock and the lines of rib converge until there are just two rib sections which run down the rest of the leg and the foot.  They remind me of train lines meeting at junction points – and hence the name, Branch Line!  The lines are created by increase and decrease stitches, there are no cables involved in this sock although it might look as if that’s how the pattern works, and once your lines meet to form the final two rib sections, it’s simple knitting for the rest of the sock.

The pattern is repeated on both sides so you see the lines converge on both the front and the back of the socks.

The heel is a Ribbed Heel Stitch heel flap and gusset – a Ribbed Heel Stitch heel flap is something that I invented a good few years ago to make a stretchier heel flap as sometimes the regular heel stitch flap can be a bit tight for people with wider feet.  I think this gives a really good fit, even on larger feet (I’ve tried it out on UK size 14 feet and they’re quite big!), and I’m confident that these socks should fit pretty much everybody.

The yarn that I used on my sample socks is Stylecraft Head over Heels in the shade Amazon.  It was the “busiest” of the striped yarns that were available when I started working on these socks and I knew that if the pattern worked for this yarn, it would work for any striped yarn.  The pattern will also look fabulous in variegated and solid colours too.

This is what the pattern looks like in some of the other yarns that the pattern was commissioned for …

Top left is Stylecraft Head over Heels in the shade A Walk in the Country; top right is King Cole Footsie (not sure of the shade, it could be Christmas Fruit); bottom left is Rico Superba Cashmeri Luxury Sock in Purple and bottom right is Cygnet Truly Wool Rich (I can’t find an individual shade for this so it may have been striped by the knitter using different yarns).

Now that Yarnstravaganza is over, UK Hand Knitting and I still wanted the Branch Line pattern to be available so it is now sitting proudly on the charity hand knitting patterns page of the UK Hand Knitting website and you are able to download it for free if you would like a copy.  You don’t have to knit the socks for charity, but if you are a charity knitter then the page is a really good resource as it’s got a fair few patterns on there that you might find useful.  You might also want to find out where your local yarn shop is if you don’t know already and see what they have in store that’s not just yarn.  There could be a whole new community waiting for you!

Branch Line Socks pattern

Download your copy by clicking here.

You can also click the picture below and that will take you to the UK Hand Knitting website.

Do let me know what you think if you decide to knit a pair of Branch Line socks for yourself or for someone else.  Now that I’ve been looking at the pattern again, and remembering how much I enjoyed revisiting my Carousel Socks pattern, I’m thinking that I might need to cast on a pair of Branch Line that I can keep for myself!

Thank you again for being with me this week, October is certainly hurtling by and we’re now 3 weeks into Blogtober 2022.  It’s been a joy to read your comments and find out what you’ve been up to – here’s to the last full Blogtober week!  xx