Short socks, or footies, as some like to call them, are great for summertime (or anytime, really) knitting. They're small, super-portable projects, and there are so many designs to choose from.

Kelley is working on the Rose City Rollers pattern by Mara Catherine Bryner. 

Rose City Rollers by Mara Catherine Bryner

Isn't that a cute pattern? Kelley's socks aren't shown here, but they can be seen in the video further down. She's using the Alpaca Direct exclusive Coeur d'Alene Yarns Sasquatch Multi in the color Pixie, a beautiful gray and blue speckle. This fingering yarn (also available in a tonal version) comes in 450-yard skeins, so if you knit the small size Rose City Rollers, you can get two pairs out of one skein! 

Coeur d'Alene Sasquatch in Pixie

As always, Kelley added her own little touch. In this case, she found a pattern for a heel tab to add to the back of the sock. This is such a great idea! The heel tab helps keep the sock from slipping down into the heel of your shoe. The pattern, Heel Tab for Short Socks by Amanda Steck, is available on Ravelry.

Here's some closeup pictures of the heel tab Kelley put on her socks! 

Here, Kelley shows you how she incorporated the heel tab into her Rose City Rollers. (She also added a ribbing stitch pattern to her socks!)

I love Kelley's advice about picking up stitches for her sock gusset—it's so elegant, and you don't get those pesky holes along your gussets.

Here's Kelley's completed socks

If you don't like a gusset style heel, there are many heel styles to choose from. We're big advocates of modifying patterns to custom fit your body!

The Rose City Rollers are a really cute and easy pattern to knit. Make them two-at-a-time like Kelley did, and you'll have a pair to wear in now time at all!

Mara also has a pattern for a kid's version of these socks, Rose City Rollers Littles. How adorable is this?

Rose City Rollers Littles

We hope you'll make some shortie socks this spring and summer. It's a great way to use up your sock-yarn stash, or buy some new yarn to play with!

Cheers,