pattern launch | betsy butterfly socks
Today I’m launching my prettiest socks yet, the Betsy Butterfly Socks.
These socks were inspired by a lovely sock set dyed by Shannon at Blue Fern Yarns called Betsy’s Socks and so of course I had to make a pair of socks that would scream BETSY. I hope I’ve achieved that, I think perhaps I have.
You can buy the pattern on Ravelry or Etsy and if you keep reading you will find out how to purchase using a discount code if you aren’t already on my mailing list.
Betsy’s Socks set from Blue Fern Yarns
I had for a long time wanted to use the ‘applied bows embroidery’ technique from Pam Dawson’s 1976 book, A Complete Guide To Knitting.
As the name suggests, the applied elements of the pattern are actually bows but when Betsy first saw the socks she immediately gushed over the pretty butterflies and so that was that really, especially because I could totally see her point - must be something to do with the way I sew!
I made the socks fairly short, not complete shorties but I only wanted enough leg length to be able to show off two rows of butterflies plus Betsy suits a shorter sock anyway.
The pattern is written over 60 stitches on 2.25mm needles using the magic loop sock knitting method (other methods can of course be easily used).
In production
I also made a second pair so that I could include both the shadow wrap heel (my new favourite) and the traditional heel flap and gusset heel (my old favourite). This pair was going to be for me and I prefer a heel flap and gusset on a shortie sock (I’m not sure why) and I used some plain white sock yarn, HjerteGarn Aloe Sockwool in the colour White (100) because I wanted to work multi-coloured butterflies on my socks.
For this pair I also used DK weight sock yarn for the butterflies which turned out to be much easier than holding fingering weight double but I will stress that if you used DK weight yarn for your bows/butterflies then do make sure that it has some nylon in it or is a similar composition to your sock yarn so that you don’t have problems when washing.
All the yarn details can be found on the purchase pages on Ravelry and Etsy.
Rainbow butterflies
Holly Blue Butterfly
Betsy took one look at the rainbow butterflies and announced that she wanted that pair too, a tough decision but I couldn’t deny her especially as the socks bear her name.
At one point I was going to call them the Holly Blue Socks which is a super pretty breed of blue butterfly here in the UK, but after the rainbow pair were finished I decided to revert back to the original working name of Betsy’s Butterfly Socks even if it’s a bit basic - I always have a working name for all my patterns and this usually (but not always) changes when I launch them.
As usual the officially launch took place via my mailing list and that is the only place where you get early notification of product launches and a launch discount.
The pattern includes the written pattern together with a detailed description of the applied embroidery technique and a simple chart. The pattern has been tested extensively and tech edited too.
I’ve also included for the first time a new subscriber discount. So if you want to purchase the pattern then sign up for my newsletter first and I will send you a new subscriber discount code which will be valid to use with this pattern (or any of my patterns) for one time only. You can subscribe by filling in the box below noting that it’s completely free and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Perfect rainbow loveliness
