For a sock knitter, ankle socks are the ultimate in instant gratification. The long section of a sock that is the leg can be a bit of a slog, and usually it’s the foot where the sock seems to fly. So by eliminating the slog, the entire process seems to become faster -- almost like skiing down a mountainside at top speed.

The name for these socks was inspired both by the speed at which they knit up and by the stitch pattern, which reminded me of the marks left on the snow by skis. If Wikipedia is to be believed, a schuss (or schussboom) is a straight downhill on skis. I imagine that when you finish these socks, and appropriate exclamation would be “SchussBOOM!”

These shortie socks are designed to fit the whole family and use a traditional heel flap and gusset construction, though with a twist: The position of the gusset decreases is moved to under the heel for a snug fit.

To knit these socks, you need to know how to:

• work flat and in the round,
• pick up stitches along an edge,
• work basic decreases (k2tog, ssk, p2tog),
• slip stitches, and
• use Kitchener stitch to graft live stitches.

The stitch pattern on the instep, which is garter based and involves elongated stitches, is both written and charted.

Tech editing by eledixon