I'm already looking forward to the coziness of bundling up this fall, and nothing is more comforting than a soft pair of hand-knit socks. If you find yourself in the Pacific Northwest this coming weekend, August 6-9, check out the Sock Summit 2009! In the spirit of this knitting extravaganza, this week's How-Tuesday is a project from Judy Sumner's Knitted Socks East and West. The designs in this exquisite book are inspired by patterns of Japanese culture. Sumner writes, "What fun it would be to discover country after country of new stitch patterns!" I love the idea of traveling this summer through my craft projects. You can download the PDF of the Tatami Socks here, or follow along below, courtesy of STC Craft/A Melanie Falick Book.

Purchase Knitted Socks East and West

I have been knitting for sixty years and collecting stitch dictionaries for much of that time, but a couple of years ago, I discovered something new. I found mention of a Japanese stitch dictionary on an online knitting list and, my curiosity piqued, I sought it out. I'd seen Japanese knitting magazines and had even taken a class on reading Japanese patterns, but I had never seen stitches like the one in this book. I had a shelf full of stitch guides, but this one opened my eyes to a whole new realm of possibilities. The stitches were extraordinarily beautiful and exquisitely crafted. Poring over the pages, I couldn't help but wonder where they had come from, and how long they had been around. Whose mind had seen something — a flower, or a butterfly — and been able to translate it into the ornate and complicated pattern in front of me? In the process of writing this book, what began as a foray into Japanese knitting turned into a crash course in Japanese culture. 

These socks are named after the woven straw matting called tatami that is used as a floor covering in Japan. The main stitch pattern of this sock, while obviously knitted, looks woven. Today tatami are quite common in Japan, but when they originated in the seventh century, they were a luxury reserved for the wealthy; the lower classes covered their dirt floors with fabric mats. The tatami had two layers filled with rice straw and decorative fabric bindings.

In this pattern — one of the least complicated in this book — the woven "tatami" effect in the body of the sock is created with a simple six-stitch and eight-round repeat that requires only knits, purls, and the center double decrease. I sized my Tatami socks for adults and children. Both versions are worked from the cuff down, but on the adult version, the tatami stitch pattern is repeated twice on the instep. On the child's, it is repeated only once since the foot is much shorter.

Sizes
Child (Adult)

Finished Measurements
5 1/2 (7 1/2)" Foot circumference
6 (9 3/4)" Foot length from back of heel
5 1/2 (10)" Leg length to base of heel

Yarn
SR Kertzer On Your Toes Bamboo
(75% bamboo / 25% nylon; 100 grams / 328 yards): 1 skein #ON260805 Seashell Multi

Needles
One set of five double-pointed needles (dpn) size 2 (2.75 mm)
Change needle size if necessary to obtain correct gauge.

Notions
Stitch marker

Gauge
25 sts and 38 rnds = 4" (10 cm) in Stockinette stitch (St st)

Stitch Patterns

Pattern A (Child only) (multiple of 4 sts)
Rnds 1-4 and 6: *K2, p2; repeat from * to end.
Rnd 5: *K2tog, yo, p2; repeat from * to end.
Rnd 7: *Yo, ssk, p2; repeat from * to end.
Rnds 8-11: Repeat Rnd 1.

Pattern B (Adult only) (multiple of 4 sts)
Rnds 1-4, 6, 8, and 10: *K2, p2; repeat from * to end.
Rnds 5 and 9: *K2tog, yo, p2; repeat from * to end.
Rnds 7 and 11: *Yo, ssk, p2; repeat from * to end.
Rnds 12-14: Repeat Rnd 1.

Pattern C
(multiple of 6 sts; 8-rnd repeat)
Rnd 1: *K3, yo, s2kp2, yo; repeat from * to end.
Rnds 2, 3, and 4: *K3, p3; repeat from * to end.
Rnd 5: *Yo, s2kp2, yo, k3; repeat from * to end.
Rnds 6-8: *P3, k3; repeat from * to end.
Repeat Rnds 1-8 for Pattern C.

Leg

CO 36 (48) sts. Divide sts evenly among 4 needles [9-9-9-9 (12-12-12-12)]. Join for working in the rnd, being careful not to twists sts; place marker (pm) for beginning of rnd. Begin Pattern A (B); work even for 11 (14) rnds. Knit 1 rnd.
Next Rnd: Change to Pattern C; work even until piece measures 4 1/4 (8)" from the beginning, ending with Rnd 4 or 8 of Pattern C.

Heel Flap

Set-Up Row 1 (RS): K9 (12), turn.
Set-Up Row 2: Slip 1, p17 (23), working all 18 (24) sts onto 1 needle for Heel Flap, and removing marker. Leave remaining 18 (24) sts on 2 needles for instep.
Row 1: Working only on 18 (24) Heel Flap sts, *slip 1, k1; repeat from * to end.
Row 2: Slip 1, purl to end. Repeat Rows 1 and 2 seven (ten) times.

Turn Heel

Set-Up Row 1 (RS): Slip 1, k10 (13), skp, k1, turn.
Set-Up Row 2: Slip 1, p5, p2tog, p1, turn.
Row 1: Slip 1, knit to 1 st before gap, skp (the 2 sts on either side of gap), k1, turn.
Row 2: Slip 1, purl to 1 st before gap, p2tog (the 2 sts on either side of gap), p1, turn.
Repeat Rows 1 and 2 one (three) time(s), omitting final k1 and p1 sts in last repeat of Rows 1 and 2-12 (14) sts remain.

Gusset

Next Rnd: Needle 1: Knit across Heel Flap sts, pick up and knit 9 (12) sts along left side of Heel Flap, M1; Needles 2 and 3: Knit across sts on instep needles; Needle 4: M1, pick up and knit 9 (12) sts along right side of Heel Flap, k5 (7) from Needle 1. Join for working in the rnd; pm for beginning of rnd-50 (64) sts [16-9-9-16 (20-12-12-20)].
Next Rnd: Needle 1: Knit to last 2 sts, skp; Needles 2 and 3: Knit across sts on instep needles; Needle 4: K2tog, knit to end-48 (62) sts remain.
Decrease Rnd: Needle 1: Knit to last 3 sts, skp, k1; Needles 2 and 3: Knit; Needle 4: K1, k2tog, knit to end-46 (60) sts remain [14-9-9-14 (18-12-12-18)]. Work even for 1 rnd. Repeat Decrease Rnd every other rnd 5 (6) times-36 (48) sts remain [9-9-9-9 (12-12-12-12)].

CHILD SIZE ONLY
At the same time, when 12 sts remain on Needles 1 and 4, continuing with Gusset decreases on Needles 1 and 4 as established, change to Pattern C across Needles 2 and 3.

Foot

CHILD SIZE ONLY
Work even until 1 vertical repeat of Pattern C has been completed. Change to St st (knit all rnds) across all needles. Work even until Foot measures 4 3/4", or 1 1/4" less than desired length from back of Heel.

ADULT SIZE ONLY
*Next Rnd: Needle 1: Knit; Needles 2 and 3: Change to Pattern C; Needle 4: Knit. Work even until 1 vertical repeat of Pattern C has been completed.*
Next Rnd: Change to St st. Work even for 1 3/4".
Repeat from * to * once. Change to St st. Work even until Foot measures 8 1/4", or 1 1/2" less than desired length from Back of Heel.

Toe

Decrease Rnd: Needle 1: Knit to last 3 sts, skp, k1; Needle 2: K1, k2tog, knit to end; Needle 3: Knit to last 3 sts, skp, k1; Needle 4: K1, k2tog, knit to end-32 (44) sts remain. Knit 1 rnd.
Repeat Decrease Rnd every other rnd 3 times, then every rnd 0 (3) times-20 sts remain (5-5-5-5). Knit to end of Needle 1.

Finishing

Break yarn, leaving long tail. Transfer sts from Needle 1 to Needle 4, and sts from Needle 3 to Needle 2. Using Kitchener st (see General Techniques, page 140), graft Toe sts. Weave in ends. Block lightly.

Thanks to Judy Sumner and the folks at Stewart Tabori & Chang for sharing this project with us.

Read more knitting-related posts. More crafty project downloads can be found in our How-Tuesday series on the Etsy blog. And did you know that you can buy Supplies on Etsy?