German Stockings

At last, the German Stockings!

Details:
Pattern: German Stockings by Cookie A
Needles: 1.5 Knit Picks, combination of DPNs and 2 circulars
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Chino

Notes: I ended up ripping after the first 5 or 6 inches on the first sock because it was just too big, and reknit one size down for all measurements. Looking back, I wish I had gone down a needle size instead, or maybe in addition to, reducing the number of stitches. The cables would have traveled farther across the foot, and the overall look would have been more detailed and intricate. They did move along pretty quickly on 1.5s, though, I'm used to 1s or 0s for socks. I did modify the pattern so that the cables on the right foot cross in the opposite direction from the cables on the left foot.

This was my first experience with Lorna's Laces, and, comparing it with my in-progress Swirl Sock, I prefer working it on smaller needles. I used maybe 2 1/3 hanks. The first hank was solid tan, the second hank has some hints of green in it, and number 3 was solid tan even though I purchased them at the same time and from the same place. So the left sock is solid with some subtle green stripes on the toe, and the right sock is the opposite. It's probably something that only I would notice, but I think it makes them look a little dirty.

My only other issue is getting them to stay up. I ran elastic thread around the top and bottom of the ribbing on both socks, and still they sagged. So I knitted two strips of garter stitch, 8 stitches wide, and joined them in tubes when they were just long enough to stretch around the widest part of my calf. The garter stitch kind of matches the twisted rib cuff, and there's a lot less tugging the socks back up, although the problem isn't completely alleviated.