Please see end of this Notes field for errata, FAQ and links to video demos.

Please also visit my blog and my YouTube channel for ongoing updates and video demos.

Tachyon is a clocks sock worked from the toe up. Given that clocks socks are typically worked top down, I think of this sock as stitches traveling back through time. The clock hands wiggle around as they make their way up the foot, each one meeting its counterpart at the ankle and then continuing up the leg together.

This pattern debuts three sock-specific techniques I have recently developed. Each of the following links takes you to a free tutorial on my blog.

• A method for picking up and working edge stitches that leaves a smooth seam (“My Edge”); note this technique is a critical component in both of the next two:
• A banded toe (“Banditoe”), and
• A toe-up flap & turn heel (“Jeny’s Square Peg Heel”).

If you, like me, can’t resist putting your own personal touch on the things you knit, Tachyon is well suited to a choose-your-own-adventure approach. You are the boss of your knitting!

This pattern is written for visual learners. I developed this pattern format especially for highly visual, quirky brains like mine. Because it’s my party!

1. The charts look like the real thing. I used Stitch Maps for the charts; Stitch Maps generates charts that are not based on a grid, but rather give you a true sense of what your fabric will look like.
2. The written instructions are easy to parse. Instructions are given in a tabular rather than paragraph format, so you can more easily spot how the stitches in each round translate to the charts, and to the end result.
3. Each size has its own file. When I’m knitting a thing, I only need the instructions for my size. Having all the numbers, charts and instructions for all sizes all together creates so much cognitive noise for me that I can’t visualize what I’m making. So in this pattern, each size has a standalone file. (If you purchase any one size, it’s free to acquire the files for all the other sizes.)

FAQ
How do I determine my size?
Is negative ease incorporated into the pattern?
To determine your size, measure your foot circumference at the narrowest point (just past the ball of the foot, at the start of the arch). Decide how much negative ease you want in the width of your sock (for me, 1” is the right amount) and take note of the unstretched circumferences for each size (6, 7, 8, 9”). Pick the size that most closely accommodates your desired amount of negative ease. For reference, my foot has a 9” circumference and size M (8” unstretched) is the right size for me.

For negative ease along the length of the foot, the pattern instructions already incorporate negative ease. The simplest way IMO to determine, without measuring, where to transition from the foot to the heel is to work to the point where you would normally start increasing for the gusset. For me, that’s where the unstretched sock reaches the middle of my arch, and stretches comfortably to the front edge of my heel pad. That’s about 1 inch of negative ease.

But if you are a numbers geek, here are the specifics. The first number range is the distance from where you stop working the (sock) foot, to the back of the (body) heel:
Size XS: 2-2.5” = 0.4-0.8” neg ease
Size S: 2.25-2.75” = 0.5-0.9” neg ease
Size M: 2.5-3” = 0.5-1” neg ease
Size L: 2.75-3.25” = 0.6-1.1” neg ease

What’s JMCO?
JMCO = Judy’s Magic Cast On. It’s an invisible cast on that is great for socks. Judy has a video here, and I have an illustrated tutorial on my blog here. (Note I do JMCO a little differently than Judy… I like to start on the bottom needle.)

For any other abbreviations you don’t recognize, feel free to ask me or Google. :)

Errata:
There were several errors on size Large. V5 corrects these errors. (Sizes XS, S and M are all v4.)

1. Text twice incorrectly referred to Round 23 for each foot, where it should have said Round 24.
2. The stitch counts for the right foot, 2nd column from right, were are undercounted by 1. (total stitch counts were correct tho)

All sizes, in the heel section under “Work the Heel Turn,” Row 4 (WS) reads “Sl 1 p1 wyif” -- that p1 is supposed to be a pw.