While I always strive to match yarns and their dye jobs to appropriate knitting patterns, sometimes a spectacular yarn comes along and really lights up my creative fire more than most. This is definitely the case here: I came across this amazing yarn called “Under the Glacier” by Wendy Neuhofer at WN Yarns (one of my favorite Indie dyers!) and knew I had to design some Glacier socks. All the shades that you would see in a real glacier from icy colors to the more earthy gravel and bits of debris picked up on the bottom and sides of a glacier were all present in this yarn; how could I resist?

Great plan! But…how, exactly, do you knit a glacier? In a sock, no less? And if you use a pattern, how to keep it from being obscured by some relatively busy yarn? Lots of research ensued and I decided to focus on the tracks or trails that glaciers make as they carry their debris (moraine) with them. The tracks are generally pretty straight with, at most, a few curves or undulations. After some test knitting, I fell upon a straightforward pattern that generates opposing undulations of different widths. And of course, glaciers don’t scrape everything, there are always edges or sides where the glacier has not ground its huge weight into the earth so I left the back of the sock plain—no glacier track there!

Whew! After that was all worked out, this was a quick and enjoyable knit. The socks are worked top down with a standard heel flap and a wide toe. I used a different yarn for the cuffs and heels as I feel that that tames variegated yarn considerably. This pattern is appropriate for advanced beginner or intermediate knitters but is interesting enough to be enjoyable for expert knitters also. The stitch pattern is given as a chart and in written form. It is sized for men or women. I knit socks on 4 DPNs at a time; I have attempted to generalize my instructions for folks who use other needle set ups.

Yarn recommendations: While I have chosen glacier colors for this sock, you may certainly choose to use other yarns that would also be just as successful. Solids, tonals and light to medium variegated yarns with up to a medium amount of speckles would all work. Or you can get some of your very own glacier yarn from WN Yarns at https://wnyarns.ca

Materials:
Yarn: --Main Color as shown: WN Yarns fingering, 75% SuperWash Merino, 25 % Nylon, colorway:
Under the Glacier, 70 g, (325 yds)
--Contrasting Color as shown: Emma’s Yarn; Practically Perfect Sock: 80% SuperWash Merino, 20 % Nylon, colorway: Jackie O, 20 g, (80 yds)

Needles in size US 0 OR size needed to obtain the gauge
Stitch markers
Tapestry needle