TARDIS Socks
And the reveal… My TARDIS Socks are complete!
For those of you who have never seen the classic, long-running BBC television show Doctor Who, the TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension In Space) is a space/time ship that The Doctor (a Time Lord!) uses to jet about the universe getting into misadventures with his – usually female – companions. Inevitably he saves time and reality from impending doom tidely within 45-minute episodes. The TARDIS happens to look like a British Police Box and, unlike my socks, is larger on the inside. It’s amazing. And I love it. And I love my socks.
The TARDIS with the Tenth Doctor and his companion, Rose Tyler. Probably copyright BBC or something. Please don't sue me.
As far as sock construction goes, the lettering and windows are done in stranded colorwork, and it’s my first time using the technique. I was surprised by how simple it is with a two-color pattern, though I’m sure advanced fair isle is maddening. I shortened the textured leg pattern – made with long slipped stitches, by one repeat – so while The Doctor’s TARDIS has three panels down the sides, my socks only have two. Alas, they fit better this way.
As with all good socks (in my opinion) these are top-down, with a flap heel and a Kitchener grafted toe. The yarn is KnitPicks Comfy Fingering Weight (75% Pima Cotton, 25% Acrylic) in Planetarium, Black and White. Though not very stretchy, I really enjoyed working with this yarn and the socks are extremely soft and comfortable, not to mention machine washable. It took one and a half skeins of the blue and barely any white and black, so I have some left to stash (TARDIS coffee sweater???). For needles, I used HiyaHiya US 1 32″ circulars for the plain blue sections and Addi Turbo US 1.5 32″ circulars for the colorwork sections, all magic-loop.
A best thing about these socks is that they were knit almost entirely while I instantly streamed episodes of Doctor Who on my Wii. Though I must admit, I threw in a couple episodes of Torchwood, just for variety.
Sockilism 