Sun Spot Socks

Well, I promised you exciting sock news and here it is – a brand new pattern called Sun Spot Socks!

You might be thinking that it’s come out of the blue because usually, I’ve been telling you about a new pattern for a while and I might even have given you a sneak peek by now, but there’s a good reason why I haven’t with this pair.  Back in 2020, I was asked to design a pattern for the Flower Power Fund; this is the charity set up by Dr Sarah Holmes, a palliative care doctor at the Marie Curie Hospice in Bradford, who is also a sock knitter.  She started out by wanting to knit a pair of socks for each patient in the Hospice one Christmas and her fundraising efforts went onto include other members of the yarn community and a monthly limited edition yarn was produced by a number of yarn dyers … and then the patterns came along too!  You can read more here on the post to go with the Amory Socks pattern I designed in 2020.

Anyway, earlier this year, my friend Caroline who dyes the gorgeous Yarn Unique yarns (you can see my lovely Twilight Rainbow socks here) was asked to take part and she asked me if I would be interested in collaborating with her … you can see where this is going, can’t you? 🙂  And because the yarn and the pattern are a secret until the month they are released, this is why this is the first you’ve seen of the Sun Spot Socks!

The theme of Caroline’s yarns (yes, there are two!) is the sun and in particular, solar flares and the beautiful colours that they create.  This gorgeous yellow is called Solar Flare and it goes perfectly with the little round “suns” of the twisted stitches.

Source: www.yarnunique.co.uk

They’re created by knitting through the back loop of particular stitches – there’s nothing more complicated about them so as always, if you’re an adventurous beginner and you like the look of this pattern, I’d say give it a go!  If you’re brand new to socks, you can get help from my step-by-step Sockalong tutorials here.  This pattern is based on my Basic 4ply Socks shape so the tutorials will talk you through any unfamiliar sections and you’ll have a pair of Sun Spot Socks on your feet before you know it!

Caroline took some of the photos that you’ll see in this post and they show her yarns off beautifully.  I love this one …

Source: www.yarnunique.co.uk

I think it looks very space-like!

The black background also shows off the yarn so well … Caroline’s yarn pictured here is a 4ply sock yarn and as well as this colourway (Solar Flare), she has created a blue version called A Different Lens.  I didn’t know that solar flares could be blue but according to NASA who really should know about these things, they can!

Ah now, have I put you in the same dilemma that I was in when Caroline asked me if I would like a skein of the yarn?  How was I supposed to choose?!  Luckily for me, Caroline is very generous and now both of those colours live at my house 🙂

The golden Solar Flare is 4ply sock yarn (75% superwash merino and 25% nylon) and the blue A Different Lens is 4ply Silky Sock, a blend of 50% silk and 50% merino so that one probably won’t end up as socks on my feet although it is so beautifully soft that it might make house socks or bed socks for someone who doesn’t walk the dog in boots and has pokey toes like me!

Caroline has three yarn bases which she’ll be selling to raise funds for the Flower Power Fund:  Starry Sock (a sock yarn with 5% lurex for a bright sparkle, still super soft!), Sock Yarn in 4Ply and DK (75% SW Merino/ 25% nylon) and Silky Sock a 50% silk and 50% merino 4Ply.

You can see how A Different Lens knits up in the pattern here.  Caroline’s yarns have fabulous stitch definition so the twisted stitches really stand out.

You might have noticed from this photo that the heel flap isn’t your usual heel stitch heel flap.  This is an Eye of Partridge heel flap – it gives the same cushioned feel to the back of the sock but has a different texture; it’s easily knitted by off-setting the rows of the heel stitch flap, although if you’re new to it then you might find it easier to keep track of your rows so that you don’t lose count (ask me how I know this! 🙂 )

If you would like to buy Caroline’s yarns and/or a copy of the pattern, here’s how to do it.

All of the yarns are on the Yarn Unique website which you can get to by clicking here.

As well as the Solar Flare and A Different Lens colourways, Caroline will also have a limited number of printed copies of the Sun Spot Socks pattern which she’ll be selling through her website.

If you would like a PDF copy of the pattern which you can download and print for yourself, you can buy that through Ravelry – the project page is here, and if you’re not a member of Ravelry, you can use this button (it won’t take you onto the site):

You can also find the pattern on Payhip here.

£2.00 from the sale of the PDF patterns and £1.00 from the sale of the printed patterns will be given to Marie Curie UK for the month of June 2023.  You can find out more about Marie Curie and the work that they do here.  Sarah’s JustGiving page is here, her Flower Power Fund Instagram account is here and the Facebook page is here.

Edit: I’m thrilled to tell you that I’ve been able to donate £200 to the Flower Power Fund from the sales of this pattern in June 2023 – thank you so much! xx

Thank you very much if you choose to buy the pattern, and I hope you enjoy knitting it! xx