These were first. These were first, way back in 2009, when I absolutely did not know what I was doing. Back when sock patterns tended to come in one size and dictate what sort of needle you should use and assume you knew how to turn a heel and decrease for a toe. Back when I wrote patterns in word processing software and created charts as spreadsheets and took pictures with flash because I didn’t know any better.

And of course I got better with practice, because that’s what people do! And as I improved, I tucked all of those earliest patterns safely away so they couldn’t cause problems for anyone or make me feel bad about what I didn’t know when I started. But oh…oh I kind of missed them. Because the socks themselves were awfully fetching! And it hardly seemed fair to keep them locked away just because I didn’t know what I was doing when I was new.

When I realized I was coming up on the fifteen year anniversary of my first pattern, it seemed like the perfect time to revisit old friends. So here they are again in a brand new iteration. They’re not exactly the same as that original pattern (so if you see a picture of the originals, don’t be alarmed by the differences). Instead they’re what I’d knit now having spent the last fifteen years knitting and writing patterns and answering sock questions.

Now the socks come in lots of sizes and gauges, and the pattern has all sorts of little reminders to help with any potential sticky spots, and it gives you options for keeping that lovely bit of fancy business at the top of your foot or moving it down closer to your toes or even for working the whole foot in the same pattern as the leg. Because those are the sorts of things patterns should do! And now this one does. Here’s to fifteen more years!

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