I’m Not Kitten You, These Cat Socks Are Tres Chic
Continuing with the animal accessory theme, today I’m delighted to present your new favorite pair of socks — they’re practically purrrrfect. These knitted socks are available as a free pattern from Ravelry member Geena Garcia, and she’s put a little twist on the pattern: instead of making the same sock twice, she has reversed the colors to make a yin-yang effect. The cats perfectly balance each other and you have a fun pair of socks to show off. Of course if you’d rather lose the yin-yang look, you can most definitely make the colors the same throughout each sock, but where’s the fun in that?
The pattern comes highly rated from other Ravelry members, and is on the easier side of knitting patterns, though you will need to be familiar with intarsia, short rows, and ribbing. If you’re an intermediate or advanced knitter, you should already be comfortable with these techniques, and if you’re an advanced beginner ready to take on a small challenge, you can refer to video tutorials on YouTube or ask a knitting friend for help through the tricky parts.
These kittens will fit small to medium feet, though if you’ve adjusted patterns in the past, it would be simple enough to make these for larger feet. The socks make a great gift for all the cat lovers in your life, including veterinarians, animal shelter volunteers, kids, or friends and family members fond of pop culture kitties like Garfield, Felix, or Heathcliff. You can change the colors to accommodate these fans, maybe adding in some black and orange variegated yarn for Garfield and Heathcliff. You could also model these socks and the recipient’s favorite furbaby, which would make this the ultimate meaningful gift.
To make your own pair of these cute-as-kittens socks, you’ll need to gather the following: 250 yards of fingering weight (14 wpi) yarn (Geena Garcia used Frabjous Fibers Cheshire Cat for her socks), US size #1 knitting needles, and a pair of scissors. You’ll need to check your gauge before beginning, as these socks need to fit without falling off of your recipient. You can check the gauge by knitting 32 stitches over 40 rows. The square should equal 4 inches.
The free pattern comes as a PDF download from Ravelry, which you can save to your computer, print out, or store in your Ravelry library if you’ve already got an account. You can also follow Geena and see what other patterns she has available. The PDF comes with a list of materials needed, a note about the gauge, written instructions, and a graph for the kitten part of the socks.
The end result? The cat’s meow in stockings. You can show them off by themselves or with a cute pair of Mary Janes. You can also wrap them in animal print to present to a friend, or you can simply curl up on the couch and enjoy them all by yourself (or with your favorite kitty on your lap).
If this makes it on your to-do list, you can save the free PDF pattern from Geena Garcia by visiting Ravelry and downloading or printing the pattern. And if you don’t have an account on Ravelry, join for free and browse thousands of free patterns immediately.
