A vibrant, hand-knitted chevron fabric featuring a repeating zigzag pattern. The chevrons move upward in sharply angled rows, with each stripe blending smoothly into the next through a radiant rainbow spectrum. Starting from deep purples and blues at the bottom, the colors transition through magenta, hot pink, red, orange, yellow, and into teal and green near the top. The texture of the stitches is clearly visible, adding dimension and a tactile quality to the fabric. The yarn appears to be hand-dyed, creating rich gradients and tonal depth throughout the piece.

Mini Muse & Me

The First of Many Socks

There’s nothing quite like casting off a tiny sock and watching a big grin light up a small face. Ace’s very first sock is officially off the needles, and he couldn’t be more thrilled. I still need to knit its twin, but I’m not worried about Second Sock Syndrome — I always find the second one flies by, especially when there’s this much joy driving the stitches.

A freshly finished hand-knit child’s sock in variegated blue, black, and teal yarn resting on a soft grey blanket. The sock is laid flat next to a faded purple leather knitting belt with neon green stitching and a purple keyboard in the background.
One down, one to go! This little sock came together in a flash — and in Ace’s favourite colours, no less.
Ace, an almost 4 year old black boy, grinning wide during a FaceTime call, hands clasped in excitement as he sees his first finished sock. He’s wearing a blue T-shirt with a yellow sun graphic and is sitting on the floor with small toys scattered around him. A cozy, modern apartment kitchen is visible in the background.
Sock joy! Ace’s reaction to seeing his first finished sock = pure sunshine.

I followed the Basic 4 Ply Children’s Sock pattern from Winwick Mum, tweaking it to suit Ace’s preferences. He asked for a short leg (no surprise there!), and I worked my own tried-and-true heel into the pattern. The toe took a bit of finessing; my row gauge tends to be tight, so I had to frog and re-knit with decreases every third round to hit the 4cm I needed for his footprint.

Speaking of footprints — Ace was thrilled with the novelty of having his foot traced!

Close-up of a black child's foot being traced on white paper with a red marker. An adult’s hands gently hold the foot and marker in place as the outline is drawn. The image is a screen capture of a FaceTime call; the image of a caucasian woman, smiling widely, wearing a purple t-shirt, glasses pushed up on her head, in front of a bright yellow wall is in the bottom right corner.
We started with the essentials — a footprint sketch to guide the sizing.

His mom outlined it carefully to get the sizing just right. He gave it a go himself too, and though we agreed that tracing your own foot is a bit tricksy, he quickly found his groove tracing a few of his toys instead. Smile: restored. Confidence: recharged. When you’re 3,000 km apart, combining analog and digital tools is a clever way to keep the stitches (and hearts) connected.

A crinkled piece of paper with multiple red foot outlines drawn on it. A traditional yellow measuring tape stands vertically over one tracing, showing a foot length of approximately 6 inches. An adult’s hand holds the tape measure in place.
Sizing up the sock: A 6.25 inch foot to fit with just the right amount of wiggle room.

After knitting so many socks for myself, switching to this mini version was both refreshing and heartwarming. These socks are just the beginning – for my Mini Muse, there will be many more to come 💙🧦

2 responses to “The First of Many Socks”

  1. Winwick Mum Avatar
    Winwick Mum

    I love this – and I love Ace’s smile! I hope he enjoys wearing his socks as much as you have obviously enjoyed knitting them :) xx

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    1. Wannietta Kirkpatrick Avatar
      Wannietta Kirkpatrick

      I can’t wait to see his reaction to them when he opens his pkg 🥰👦🏾💙

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