Jet Lagged

Jet Lagged Socks by Corrine Walcher

What is Being Made

Jet Lagged is a pair of knitted socks designed as a travel-friendly project. Created by designer Corrine Walcher during a trip spanning London, Paris, Rome, and Lisbon, these socks were conceived as a simple yet engaging knitting project suitable for crafting while managing jet lag and travel schedules. The finished socks are available in three sizes: Small (7" around), Medium (8" around), and Large (9" around) when measured unstretched.

Knitting Techniques and Stitch Work

The defining characteristic of Jet Lagged socks is the strategic use of slipped stitches that create visual contrast against a variegated yarn background. This technique adds textural and color interest to the finished garment without requiring complex colorwork or multiple yarn colors. The slipped stitches are worked as if to purl with yarn in back, a fundamental technique that allows the underlying variegated yarn to show through and create a distinctive pattern.

The primary stitch structure is stockinette stitch, worked in the round to create seamless, tubular sock fabric. The pattern incorporates standard sock construction techniques including decreases for shaping. Essential abbreviations used throughout the pattern include knit (K), purl (P), slip stitches (Sl), knit two together (K2tog), purl two together (P2tog), and slip, slip, knit decreases (SSK).

Materials and Gauge

Jet Lagged socks are designed to be knit with Dragonfly Fibers Dragon Sock yarn, a 100% Superwash Merino wool that provides 390 yards per 100-gram skein. The sample shown was knit in the colorway Horton Hears a Who. The variegated nature of this yarn is essential to the visual appeal of the slipped stitch pattern.

Construction requires a set of five double-pointed needles or two circular needles in size 2 US (2.75 mm), or needles adjusted to match the specified gauge. The pattern calls for a gauge of 8 stitches per inch when worked in stockinette stitch in the round. Achieving proper gauge is critical for obtaining the correct finished sock circumference.

Difficulty Level

Jet Lagged is classified as an intermediate-level knitting project. While the basic techniques are accessible to knitters with foundational skills, the project requires competence with circular needle or double-pointed needle techniques for in-the-round knitting, as well as familiarity with decreases and gauge management. The simplicity of the stitch pattern makes it an ideal travel project, as described by the designer, allowing knitters to maintain focus on their knitting without requiring constant pattern consultation.