Doctors Without Borders

Doctors Without Borders Socks by Phyll Lagerman

Project Overview

These are knitted socks designed by Phyll Lagerman and created to support Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), an international medical humanitarian organization. The Unique Sheep created a special colorway for this project, donating 50% of yarn profits to MSF, the organization that received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999.

Craft and Techniques

This project uses the knitting craft with intermediate-level difficulty, making it suitable for knitters with foundational skills who are ready to tackle more complex stitch patterns and shaping. The socks are worked using double-pointed needles, a traditional technique for creating seamless, tubular garments like socks.

Key knitting techniques employed in this pattern include:

• Stockinette stitch as the primary fabric base
• Decreases using knit 2 together (K2tog) and slip, slip, knit (ssk) methods for shaping the sock structure
• Purl stitches for textural variation and ribbing
• Slip stitches with yarn positioning (WYIF—with yarn in front) for edge and joining techniques

Materials and Specifications

The pattern calls for 1 skein of Verve yarn from The Unique Sheep in the Doctors Without Borders colorway. This yarn is composed of 100% superwash merino wool, weighs 100 grams, and provides 400 yards of yardage. The yarn weight is 4-ply, a medium-weight yarn suitable for detailed stitch definition.

Additional materials include:

• Double-pointed needles in US size 1 (2.25mm) to accommodate the fine gauge required for these socks
• A row counter to track progress through the pattern

Gauge and Sizing

The pattern is worked at a gauge of 8 stitches per inch in stockinette stitch, which is a relatively tight gauge appropriate for 4-ply yarn and creates a durable, well-fitted sock. The finished size is adult medium.

Pattern Abbreviations

The pattern uses standard knitting abbreviations including K (knit), P (purl), St(s)/Stitch(es), WYIF (with yarn in front), Sl (slip), Ndl(s)/Needle(s), Dpn(s)/Double-pointed needle(s), K2tog (knit 2 stitches together), P2tog (purl 2 stitches together), and ssk (slip 1 stitch, slip 1 stitch, knit through front loops).

Format

This pattern is provided as a downloadable PDF, allowing crafters to access the complete instructions digitally and print them as needed for reference during the knitting process.