William Smart Socks

Greetings! It's rained 20 says in a row here in Portland and I'm entertaining the idea of building an ark. Lacking ark-constructing skills, I may just knit instead.

William Smart Socks!



The story:

Even though father’s day has only been an official holiday in America since Richard Nixon made it so in 1972, there is no shortage of silly junk marketed as appropriate gifts for pop. Making your dad hand-knit socks lets him know he’s worth the time, effort and yarn invested. It says you care enough about him to not get him a tie with a golf tee motif.

My own papa is famous for reading, questioning authority, and attracting a hand totaling 12 in blackjack. I wouldn't dare buy him such a tie. But I digress... let me tell you about my latest sock design!



Details:

Sizes (4): 1. Women’s Small, 2. Women’s Medium/Men’s Small, 3. Women’s Large/Men’s Medium, 4. Men’s Large

Foot circumference:
7 (8, 9, 10) inches 17.5 (20, 23, 25.5 cm) unstretched. Will stretch to fit 8 (9, 10, 11) inches 20 (23, 25.5, 28 cm).

Gauge: 32 sts/48 rows = 4" in st st

Needles: 1 set US #1/2.25mm 32” circular needles (magic loop), 2 sets of 24” circulars or double pointed needles, or size to get gauge.

Yarn: Fingering-weight yarn that gives you proper gauge. I’m using: Zwerger Garn Opal Uni Solid 4-ply [75% Wool, 25% Nylon; 465yd per 100 gram ball]; color: 1416: 1 ball.

Notions: Tapestry needle, cable needle.

Please note that because of the cables, this pattern uses more yarn than a plain sock.



Backstory:

While mother’s day has been a holiday for around 100 years, father’s day has only been official in America since Richard Nixon made it so in 1972. The first father’s day is believed to have been observed on June 19th, 1910 in Spokane, Washington. A young woman named Sonora Smart Dodd attended a mother’s day sermon at the Central Methodist Episcopal Church on a Sunday in May, 1909. She was inspired by the message and immediately thought of her own father’s sacrifices. Sonora’s dad, William Jackson Smart, was a Civil War veteran. When his wife died, he took over the parenting of all six children.

Sonora spent a year arranging a tribute to her father in the spirit of the first mother’s day, organized by Anna Jarvis. Anna handed out carnations for mothers, and Sonora handed out roses for fathers. A red rose honored a living father and a white rose was worn in memory of a deceased father. Sonora even traveled around town in a carriage, delivering roses to folks who were house-bound.

Dodd supported the newly growing commercialization efforts of the holiday. In this way, father’s day evolved differently from mother’s day. Anna Jarvis used to protest the commercialization of her mother’s day, where Sonora Dodd personally endorsed organized efforts to increase commercial potential.

The concept of father’s day as an official holiday was slow to catch on. Despite support from YMCA and YWCA, the public thought of it as a joke. Congress refused to make the holiday official, even though President Wilson supported it in 1916. Coolidge tried in 1924 to make father’s day a holiday but it never gained momentum. President Johnson proclaimed the third Sunday to be father’s day but it wasn’t until 1972 that it became a national holiday thanks to Richard Nixon.

Oh yeah, this pattern includes a bonus puzzle of cryptograms: Father’s day crypto-quotes!



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