This is the kind of pattern that will be less commonly knit up in modern day. To me, it felt like a reminder that while we talk of the men that went of to war in terms of heroes, some of the ones that returned had their lives and bodies permanently altered.
It is no news that during the Great War, many men lost limbs as a result of injury, be that shrapnel, a gunshot, a mine or any other sort of explosion or even something as an infection. There was also a phenomena called ‘gas gangrene’, a type of gangrene for which the trenches were an unfortunately great breeding ground.
While these injuries were horrific, with these ‘socks’ the men that had been wounded were offered a little much needed comfort. The red cross provided two variations of this pattern. One larger one for the thigh, and one smaller one for the arm or lower leg
Abbreviations and terms:
- K1; Knit one
- P1: Purl one
- Sl1: Slip one stitch onto the other needle
- Psso: pass slipped stitch over
- Knitting plain: knit stitch/garter
Materials :
- For Large:
- Size 4mm or US 6 double pointed needles or circulars
- Around 75g of DK wool. No colour is specified
- For Small:
- Size 4mm or US 6 double pointed needles or circulars
- Around 60g of DK wool. No colour is specified
Instructions:
Large:
Setting up – Cast on 84 stitches
K2, p2 for 10cm or 4 inches/
Knit plain for another 22cn or 8 ½ inches.
Narrowing –
Row 1: *K5, sl1,k1, psso*, repeat ** until end of round
Row 2 – 4: Knit plain
Row 5: *K5, sl1, k1, psso*, repeat ** until end of round
Row 6-8: Knit plain
Row 9: *K4, sl1, k1, psso*, repeat ** until end of round
Row 10 & 11: Knit plain
Row 12: *K2, sl1, k1, psso*, repeat ** until end of round
Row 13, 15 and 17: knit plain
Row 14, 16 and 18: *K1, sl1, k1, psso*, repeat ** until end of round
You should be left with 12 stitches. Graft these together with the Kitchener stitch
Small:
Setting up – Cast on 72 stitches
K2, p2 for 10cm or 4 inches/
Knit plain for another 22cn or 8 ½ inches.
Narrowing –
Row 1: *K5, sl1,k1, psso*, repeat ** until end of round
Row 2 – 4: Knit plain
Row 5: *K4, sl1, k1, psso*, repeat ** until end of round
Row 6 & 7: Knit plain
Row 8: *K2, sl1, k1, psso*, repeat ** until end of round
Row 9, 11 and 13: knit plain
Row 10, 12 and 14: *K1, sl1, k1, psso*, repeat ** until end of round
You should be left with 12 stitches. Graft these together with the Kitchener stitch
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