ARTEMIS SOCKS.

Last November Annabel approached me with a collaboration idea. She dyes yarn with natural dyes such as avocado and madder, and she wanted me to try some of her sock yarn kits. I had been playing with a new sock design idea in my head, so I asked her if she liked the idea of me writing a pattern especially designed using her yarn. Fast-forwarding a couple of months, and the Artemis sock pattern using Annabel Williams naturally dyed sock yarn is finally ready for publishing!

You can download the pattern via Ravelry or Loveknitting.com. I hope you like it as much as I do!

The socks are knitted from cuff-down using a contrasting color for cuffs, heels and toes. Even though the socks were designed for sock kits, you can use whatever leftover sock yarn for the contrasting parts, or just knit the socks in one color only. The choise is yours and the possibilities and color combinations are unlimited.

The socks have a reinforced slipped stitch heel, a round, French heel construction and gussets for the perfect fit. The cable pattern is quite complicated so I wouldn’t recommend this as your first cable pattern, although there’s nothing that you can’t work out if you have even the most basic knowledge of knitting cables. I would rate this as intermediate (or maybe even adventurous beginner).

The name Artemis is a celebration of all female makers as well as Annabel’s talent for natural dyes. Artemis was the Greek goddess of animals and wilderness. The intertwining cables remind me of her symbols, stags and bows, and the brownish colors make me think of fawns and other forest fauna. Did you know Annabel dyed both these colors with avocado? The variety of colors you can get from avocados (and other stuff from nature) is pretty amazing!

Annabel has been busy dyeing yarn for her next shop update and she has even been putting together beautiful sock sets for you to create your own version of the Artemis socks. Here’s some inspiration for you: