23/04/2023
Banana socks
Banana socks?
Like the well-known spiral socks, the banana socks belong to the genre of "tube socks" because they are knitted without a heel. The horizontal ribs with their "accordion" effect across the front leg and foot allow for the sock to adapt to the shape of the foot. Banana socks are a great project for anyone who wants to knit socks, but doesn't dare tackle the heel yet. The tubular shape also makes them more flexible in size, that is to say children's socks "grow" half a size. You'll soon find out, they make perfect sofa socks for the whole family or even guests.
In Germany, everyone is familiar with a four-liner of why bananas are curved. It jokingly suggests that this is because no one ever went into the jungle to correct the shape of the bananas. Unfortunately, this does not translate into English. And – you knew that already – the answer isn't correct either.
Bananas are curved because once developed, they no longer grow towards the ground, but towards the sun. They continue to grow against gravity, giving every banana its familiar curved shape.
This is quite different with banana socks. That they are curved – and thus so similar to bananas – is not because of the sun but due to the arrangement of two different rib patterns: vertical ribs on the back of the leg and under the foot, horizontal ribs on the front leg and instep.
Bananas
originally come from Asia. There they are said to have existed as early as the
7th century BC. Where banana socks come from, no one knows and yet they are
becoming increasingly prominent on social media.
How convenient that with this season a warm yellow shade has joined the color palette of our sock yarns, that is REGIA 6-ply (50g balls) and REGIA 8-ply (available as 150g balls), which we have – somewhat anticipating perhaps – named Banana.
So, if
you'd like to knit yourself some banana socks now, the instructions are very
easy:
Cast on the
number of stitches required for the sock size you are going to knit – see our
sock tutorial R0333 for help here – and work the cuff in a k2/p2 rib pattern
for as many rows as you like.
Then divide the number of stitches by two: continue knitting one half in the same rib pattern as before (k2/p2), the other half alternating every 4 rows as follows: knit 4 rounds, purl 4 rounds. For socks made of REGIA 6-ply or 8-ply, we recommend you knit only 3 rounds and purl 3 rounds thereafter.
Banana socks do not have a heel, because it would disturb the "banana style". In other words, you just keep on knitting. If you are unsure how long your banana socks should be, please use our sock tutorial as a guide - multiplying the "foot, length to toe " measurement by a factor of 2 worked perfectly for us.
Finally, work your preferred sock toe, such as the classic wedge toe, a star toe or a rounded barn toe.
