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Entrelac
Yes, yes, you wouldn’t think it if you saw me bobbing around now, but when I was younger (much younger) I used to have ballet lessons, and I studied dance at university. ‘Entrelacé‘ was variously purred, sometimes barked (depending on if that day’s teacher was a cat or a dog – she could be both depending on what mood you caught her in) as an instruction in those classes. My very limited GCSE French would demystify this term to the less grandiose ‘interlace’; Entre-lacé = to inter-lace, to interweave.
In a roundabout way, this brings us to my new adventure in knitting techniques – entrelac – an interweaving pattern of slanted knitted sections that give the appearance of basketwork on the diagonal. An almost 3D effect of puffed up quilted diamonds.
Of course, if you are going to swathe any part of your anatomy in a patchwork of diamond motifs, why not take inspiration from the jesters of old and turn yourself into a member of the commedia dell’arte and make like a harlequin? And who’s going to better provide you with that riot of colour but Lord 37 Colours Is Never Enough, Kaffe Fasset.
Kaffe Fassett crazy colour in 'Zany' - 4-ply sock yarn by Regia
So, armed with what is not exactly the subtlest of yarns I embarked upon my crusade to make the world most caustic-looking socks. A pair of ’oh, no mummy, make that lady’s jeans a bit longest, the slight raising of the hem as she walks – it burns my eyes!‘ pair of foot coverings. The shade above is aptly named ‘zany’ and the resulting socks will hopefully not disappoint in reflecting that moniker:
Harlequilt socks
As diamond after diamond slowly climb in tiers towards the next adventure of ‘my first heel flap’ I have to admit that I am looking forward to the stockinette foot portion, which I am sure will zoom by and set me with a bit of respite, ready for another slowly progressing interweaving of diamonds and a second harlequin’s sock.
The Annetrelac sock pattern is available to purchase from interweave knits
I love that sock! Now I want to make them, if I have enough balls left of my Kaffe Fassett Regia once i’ve finished my blue jeans wrap. They look fantastic :-)
Ooh, I’ve always wanted to try entrelac but have so far always convinced myself that it’s far too complicated and will take far more concentration than I’m willing to give. I think I’ll have to rethink that position now, after seeing your socks. They look so fun!
I haven’t ventured into entrelac territory yet (so many knitting techniques to master!) but these socks are amazing! I am always drawn to Kaffe Fassett yarn as well. Lovely, lovely!
The colors are fantastic!
Love the fact that the colors are lining up perfectly. Makes me want to try this.
Oh! That’s so beautiful. I’m a novice sock knitter, stuck on the heel of my very first, very green sock. But you’ve now inspired me to give it another go. Thanks
I have made the Entrelac Market Squares bag, but I have yet to try the technique in a sock. Yours are lovely!
Wow – socks and entrelac – total respect!
That is an excellent use for the yarn – love the way each little square is a different colour as though it was designed just to knit this pair of socks.
I LOVE them! they’re so bright and happy and the entrelac actually makes the changes in colour LESS garish – i think probably because it does look like little patchworks (did you fudge them or have they really lined up so perfectly?)
Ooh, i don’t know, they’re still pretty much ‘in your face’! The colours have lined up by pure chance, but they aren’t all full blocks – there are some that are half/half on the other side a couple in the picture if you look closely enough (one orange/purple block near the needles, for example)
I love the colours!!!
These are gorgeous. I used to think entrelac wasn’t for me, but a few projects (such as this one) have changed my mind.
Gorgeous! But one question, please. Do I see that you had to kinda stitch the entrelac to the cuff of the sock? If so, why and how did it work out that way?
hehe – no – it does look like that doesn’t it? It’s a trick of the changing colours of the yarn. The last round of 2×1 ribbing is purple. The ribbing is done over 72 stitches, then you decrease to 48 stitches before starting the entrelac portion. At the very moment I started the decrease round, the yarn changed to red, and it is a single round of knit stitches (well, *k1, k2tog* to be precise) then the entrelac beginning triangles started in orange, blue then purple, so by he time it got back to purple you have the purple of the ribbed cuff and purple of the triangles, separated by the single line of nit stitches which seem quite far spaced, due to the decreasing. I thought ‘yuck’ at first, but actually I quite like it now. the socks remind me of a sewn quilt (hence the project title ‘Harlequilt) and I think the little red ’stitches’ look quaint
Oh , they’re totally adorable! Thanks for taking the time to reply.
i have fallen in love w/entrelac and am glad to see you giving it some time on your blog — i see it mentioned so rarely, which is a shame because it is waaay more fun and easy than it looks. don’t you think?
OMG, I love those socks. They are so colorful and fun (exactly the way socks should be!)!