Growing up, I was never a huge fan of cartoons. I tended to split my TV time between the Food Network and Disney Channel (your girl was (read: is) a hardcore High School Musical fan) instead. Nevertheless, despite my usual lack of interest in cartoons, I did give Phineas & Ferb a go when it first came out and… I loved it. It’s a very nostalgic show for me: it’s… kind of ridiculous, but hugely comforting, funny and also the songs are outrageously catchy, even now.

When the pandemic hit, everyone was in lockdown and my health was at an all-time low, Disney+ launched. I remember being so excited to have all of my favourite films and shows at my fingertips, but, surprisingly, I was most excited to be able to rewatch Phineas & Ferb and relive the comforting, low-pressure entertainment of my childhood. I watched the whole series from start to end, getting in an episode or two every day while I ate breakfast.

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one. Phineas & Ferb saw such a huge resurgence over the past 5 years that Disney actually revived the show for a further 2 seasons: the first of which was released on Disney+ today (which, obviously, I have already watched: I’ll share my spoiler-free thoughts at the end of the post!).

I was so excited by the news of the revival that I made these Perry the Platypus-inspired socks. Perry is my absolute favourite character from the show (I mean, he’s everyone’s, right?) and I had this random idea for a pair of socks that were subtly, but also not-so-subtly, Perry. So I made them and I love them.

A little note here: Today’s instalment is… slightly different to the usual Project Knitwear posts, because this project was (semi) self-drafted. I’m not confident enough at writing clothing knitting patterns/grading sizes yet, so I’m not sharing this project as a pattern per se, but you will find a detailed tutorial in this post (with plenty of info on how to convert your favourite sock pattern into these Perry Socks), so you can make your own if you fancy!

Table of Contents

• The Yarn
  • Fyberspates CoopKnits Socks Yeah!: Mini Review
  • Yarnsmiths Merino Sock: Mini Review
• Tutorial: Making a Perry Sock
  • Folded Stockinette Cuff
  • Stockinette Leg
  • Ruffle
  • Heel
• Stockinette Foot
  • Toe
    • Rounded Toe: Tutorial
• Final Thoughts

The Yarn

When I was choosing the yarn for this project, the most important consideration for me was the colour. Perry the Platypus has such an iconic colour palette and I really wanted these socks to be immediately recognisable as Perry-inspired socks, so the colours were really important.

In the end, I used a combination of Fyberspates CoopKnits Socks Yeah! and Yarnsmiths Merino Sock for this project. In the Fyberspates yarn, I used the shades Topaz (113) and Citrine (118). In the Yarnsmiths yarn, I used the shade Rich Brown (2K079). I would have used the Fyberspates for the ‘hat’ part of the socks too, but the range just didn’t include a brown shade similar enough to Perry’s fedora, so I opted to use the Yarnsmiths instead. I used less than one skein of each shade.

If you remember, about 8 months ago, when I was preparing to make my Pumpkin Strange Brew Sweater, I shared my final colour choices at the end of this post and mentioned that I’d realised I could use the Yarnsmiths shade, that I just happened to have left over from a super secret special project, for the main body of the jumper. 8 months later, I can finally share that this was that project! Finding the perfect shade for Perry‘s little hat led to me finding the perfect shade of brown yarn for my magnum opus from last year: isn’t that such a fun, full-circle moment?

Fyberspates CoopKnits Socks Yeah!: Mini Review

Ohhhhh, I love this yarn. I’d never used it before this project and while I did, 100% choose it because it had the perfect, Perry-esque shades, I’m so glad that I did! It was a dream to knit with, the colours were perfect (a really nice mix of flat colour/a slight mottle, for depth!) and it worked super well for the (very minimal) colourwork in this pattern. It’s soft, but not too soft: it still feels pretty hard-wearing, which is important for a sock yarn!

As a bonus, I didn’t get any colour rubbing off on my fingers when I knitted with this yarn (even with the teal shade, which has been a colour I’ve had problems with before, in other yarns (see my Gnomewarming post)), which is a huge win!

I do wish that there was a slightly bigger range of shades: particularly in the brown department, because I would have loved to use this yarn for every part of this sock design!

Price-wise, I’d consider this a mid-range yarn: it’s not as cheap as the Yarnsmiths or, for example, DROPS, but it’s not crazy expensive either: I definitely think it’s worth the price, anyway!

Yarnsmiths Merino Sock: Mini Review

At the time, this was my first time using Yarnsmiths Merino Sock (even if, now, I’ve actually made a whole colourwork jumper in it!). I really enjoyed knitting with this yarn— it’s very smooth and soft, and the colour is super even and rich (plus, Rich Brown was the perfect shade for Perry‘s hat!).

The shade range of this yarn is super comprehensive: I can definitely see myself coming back to this yarn for a multitude of projects, particularly when I have a specific colour in mind.

My only qualm with this yarn was that it fluffed up a lot when, for lack of better words, I messed around with it? If you knit it plainly (as I did for the ruffle on this sock and for the whole of my Pumpkin Strange Brew Sweater), it’s absolutely fine: smooth and even with defined stitches. However, when I used it to make the folded cuff at the top of these socks, there was something about the folding and knitting-together process that it just didn’t like and it did fluff up quite significantly at that point. I can’t explain it and, honestly, it doesn’t even look that bad now, but it was something I definitely noticed as I was making these socks, so it is something to keep in mind!

Price-wise, this yarn is slightly more expensive per ball than the Fyberspates yarn, BUT the ball is twice as large (100g vs 50g), so it does actually work out cheaper (and I think it’s very reasonably priced!). I also purchased this yarn while it was on sale to celebrate its release, so I actually got it an even more reasonable price, which was an extra bonus!

Tutorial: Making a Perry Sock

As I mentioned, this post is not a set pattern for these Perry Socks, because, to be honest, the world of pattern-grading still seems like a completely foreign concept to me at the moment! Maybe, one day, as I learn more and gain confidence in my pattern-writing abilities, this could be something that I can share with you, but, for now, I thought I’d just give you the basic details on how I made my socks and share some tips on how to convert your favourite sock pattern into these Perry Socks.

Overall, the Perry Socks are made up of the following features:

• Folded stockinette cuff
• Stockinette short leg
• Ruffle
• Shadow-wrap heel (or heel of your choice)
• Stockinette foot
• Rounded toe (or toe of your choice)

The folded cuff + ruffle are worked in brown yarn, to mimic Perry‘s secret agent hat. The main body of the sock (leg and foot) is worked in teal yarn, to mimic Perry‘s, well, body. The heel and the toe are worked in orange yarn, to mimic Perry’s tail and bill, respectively.

For reference, I made these socks for myself and I’m a UK size 6. I have quite narrow (and very flat) feet, so I tend to make socks on a slightly smaller needle than patterns suggest, to help them ‘hug’ my feet and stay on. For this project, I used a 2.25mm needle and cast on 64 sts. I used the Magic Loop method throughout, but you could also use short circulars (just be aware that the stitch count will increase significantly when you add the ruffle, so you might want to use longer needles for that stage).

Folded Stockinette Cuff

I’ve made this type of cuff on socks before (see my 1989 (Taylor’s Version) Socks) and I really love how it looks (and how well it stays up on my feet!). It’s super easy to do, you just follow these steps:

• Start with a provisional cast-on.

I use a crochet provisional cast-on, but you can use whatever provisional cast-on you’re comfortable with. As I mentioned, for my narrow, UK size 6 feet, I used a 2.25mm needle (and a 2.5mm crochet hook, because it was what I had to hand) and cast on 64 sts. You can adjust this as needed for your size.

• Join to work in the round.

I used the magic loop method for these socks, but you can use small circulars instead, if you prefer.

• Knit 28 rounds.

You can increase/decrease the number of rounds to increase/decrease the length of the cuff (i.e., the depth of Perry‘s fedora). It’s a very flexible method: just remember that the finished cuff will be half the height of this knitted section (because you’ll be folding it in half)!

• Pick up the stitches from the provisional cast-on on a separate needle.

You should use the same size needle as you’ve been working with for this, so for me, that’s a 2.25mm needle. Make sure to count the stitches after you’ve picked them up: you should have the same number as your cast-on/the stitches you’ve been working with (so, in my case, 64).

• Fold the cuff in half.

You might need to perform a little needle gymnastics for this, but you just need to fold the cuff wrong sides together, so that the two sets of needles are sat alongside each other.

• Knit the stitches from both needles together.

One-by-one, knit the working stitches and the stitches from the cast-on together.

To do this, hold the needles with the stitches on parallel to each other, then insert your working needle knitwise into the first stitch on the front needle, then knitwise again into the first stitch on the back needle and knitting the two stitches together. Repeat this all the way around, until you have a folded cuff.

Stockinette Leg

After you’ve worked the folded hem, you can work the leg. These are short socks, so there’s not too much knitting in the leg, but I did make mine longer than I usually would for short socks, because the ruffle takes up a little bit of space (and you don’t want the ruffle getting in the way of your shoes, either!).

To work the leg:

• Knit 1 round in the same brown shade as the cuff.

This extra round helps to make sure that the transition between the ruffle and the cuff is super seamless, without any of the teal shade poking through into the hat.

• Change to the teal yarn.

We’re into the body of the sock now, so it’s time to use the body colour.

• Knit 24 rounds with the teal yarn.

As I mentioned, this is more rounds than I would usually work for a short sock, but it’s important to allow space for the ruffle.

Ruffle

The ruffle is added to the sock just below the cuff, once the leg has been knitted (though you could also add it later, once you’ve finished the whole sock, if you prefer). The ruffle is formed with a series of simple, frequent increases.

To make the ruffle:

• Pick up and knit every stitch from the joining row of the cuff.

That is, the row where you knitted the working stitches together with the stitches from the provisional cast-on. Pick up one stitch in every stitch, so that you have the same number of stitches as your cast-on (so, in my case, 64).

• Work increases to create the ruffle.

The ruffle is made through an alternating sequence of increase rows and plain knit rows. I used a left leaning increase (LLI), because I find it the easiest/neatest increase for this project, but you can use M1L/M1R if you prefer (just make sure to use the same increase each time, and don’t use an increase that ‘uses up’ a working stitch (e.g. kfb), as this will throw off the stitch count).

The distribution of these increases will change based on your stitch count, but this was mine:

Round 1: k all.

Round 2: *k4, LLI* to end.

Round 3: k all.

Round 4: *k5, LLI* to end.

Round 5: k all.

Round 6: *k6, LLI* to end.

Round 7: k all.

Round 8: *k7, LLI* to end.

Round 9-10: k all.

Round 11: *k1, LLI* around.

Essentially, you’ll want to have doubled your starting stitch count by the end of Round 8, and then doubled that new figure by the end of Round 11.

So, for my 64 stitch socks, I worked 16 increases every increase round (so I had 128 stitches after Round 8 and 256 stitches after Round 11), but if you start with a different stitch count, you will need to adjust this.

• Cast off

I used this crochet cast off for the ruffle, because I wanted a super neat edge, but you can use your favourite, bind-off: just make sure to pick one that looks pretty!

Heel

I love a Shadow Wrap Heel: I find them super easy to knit, super neat in appearance and, as seems to be my main criteria with socks, they seem to stay on my feet very well. However, you can use whatever heel pattern you prefer/are used to for this: just make sure to work the heel in orange yarn, as the heel is supposed to mimic Perry‘s orange tail.

If you do want to try the Shadow Wrap Heel, I like to follow this tutorial by EarthtonesGirl on YouTube, which is incredibly clear and easy to follow along with (plus, the tutorial contains clear instructions on how to adapt the method to your specific stitch count!).

Stockinette Foot

After you’ve worked the heel, it’s time to knit the foot. Just like the leg, this part of the sock represents Perry‘s body, so you should switch back to the Teal yarn at this stage and use it for the whole foot, right up until you reach the toe.

The foot is super simple: it’s just worked in rounds in plain, one-colour stockinette, until you reach your desired length. For me and my size 6 feet, this was 71 rounds, but this will obviously change based on the length of your foot. I find a sock ruler very helpful for measuring this: just knit until you’re about 5 cm/2 inches away from your foot length (to leave room for the toe!).

Toe

All that’s left to do now is work the toe! You can use your favourite toe method for this, but I am a big fan of a rounded toe (instructions below). Just make sure to use the orange yarn again, as the toe represents Perry‘s bill!

Rounded Toe: Tutorial

Before you start, make sure your stitches are distributed evenly across your two needles.

Rounds 1-4: K all.

Round 5: *K1, SSK, knit to last 3 stitches on needle, K2tog, K1* twice.

Rounds 6-8: K all.

Round 9: *K1, SSK, knit to last 3 stitches on needle, K2tog, K1* twice.

Rounds 10-11: K all.

Round 12: *K1, SSK, knit to last 3 stitches on needle, K2tog, K1* twice.

Round 13: K all.

Round 14: *K1, SSK, knit to last 3 stitches on needle, K2tog, K1* twice.

Repeat Round 14 until you have roughly 1/3 of your starting stitch count remaining, spread over the two needles (for example, my starting stitch count was 64. On each needle, therefore, I had 32 stitches. 32 doesn’t divide super evenly by 3, so I split it into 10, 12 and 10. The 10 stitches on either side will be decreased, the 12 stitches in the centre will remain as the centre of the heel. To get to that stage, I’ll work Round 14 a total of 7 times, which will leave me with 12 stitches on each needle, in the centre of the heel, and 24 stitches total).

Once you’ve done that, you just need to graft the remaining stitches together to finish off the toe. I find this tutorial from Tin Can Knits super helpful for this.

After that, you can weave in all the ends and give the socks a gentle block (I’d recommend using a colour catcher when doing this, just to make sure the bright colours don’t bleed into each other and ruin all of your hard work!).

Final Thoughts

This was a super long post (I swear, I’ve been desperately trying to waffle less on here recently, but, alas, I’m a waffle-er at heart!), but I hope it’s been helpful if you’re planning to make your own Perry Socks, interesting if you’re a fellow knitter, or even just entertaining if you’re neither of the above!

Phineas & Ferb means a lot to me, in the way that only fond memories from your childhood can, so these socks feel like a little piece of nostalgia that pair my inner child’s joy with my adult self’s knitting ability, which feels weirdly magical and very wholesome.

I’m super happy with how these socks turned out: this was definitely a project where I had a flash of inspiration, in the form of a hazy, sock-y image, and just committed to making that image a reality (and it is always one of my favourite experiences when that goes to plan!). They’re exactly how I imagined them and I love that, in shoes, they seem fairly casual and unobtrusive, but, then you take off your shoes and it’s like: Bam! Perry! I guess that’s like the opposite of that meme-able gag from the show, where Doofenshmirtz only recognises Perry when he’s in his hat: here, there’s only the hat to recognise at first.

ALSOOOOO, I promised I’d share my (spoiler-free) thoughts on the new series!

As nostalgic as it was to return to the show, I was a little underwhelmed by the new episodes: they just felt a little bit chaotic (and, dare I say, too over the top/vaguely unhinged?) for me. Some of the changes in voice actors really threw me: I know it’s unavoidable when there’s such a large a gap between seasons, but it was still a bit jarring. Also, I was a little disappointed that none of the songs stuck with me that much: maybe they’ll grow on me over time?

However, there were two specific episodes that I really enjoyed: Agent T (for Teen) and No Slumber Party. Agent T (for Teen) felt like a really good, new addition to the show and overall plot: it felt exciting and different to the other episodes, but in a really good way that still felt true to the essence of the show. No Slumber Party felt like a real return to the best of the previous seasons: nothing too crazy or out there, but very iconically Phineas & Ferb: I really enjoyed it.

Gemma

xxx

Today’s post is another pattern release, but we’re switching crafts for this one! While my Santa Baby Blanket was a crochet pattern, these embroidery hoop ornaments are knitted. I’ve actually been knitting longer than I have been crocheting, but I am much less confident when it comes to playing around with it and creating new designs! Luckily, these embroidery hoop ornaments are SO simple to make that they barely even warrant a pattern. You know those patterns that are so easy to remember you can keep them in your head? Yep, this is one of those.

Today, then, I bring you the pattern for my…

🪡🧶EMBROIDERY HOOP ORNAMENTS🧶🪡

These embroidery hoop ornaments are really easy to make- you essentially just knit a piece of fabric that you stretch into a 3-inch embroidery hoop, just like you would regular fabric. Then, you gather the edges of the fabric to pull them in and use sewing thread to stitch a small felt circle to the back, to cover the back. I like to add a small amount of stuffing into the ornament, to help the felt sit more evenly (and to make the ornament more plushy!). Once you have the bauble made, you can just thread a ribbon through the top, ready to hang it! It’s super quick, simple and easy.

To go to the Ravelry pattern page for this design, click here.

The great thing about these embroidery hoop ornaments is that they use sock yarn- so they’re perfect for using up the little oddments of yarn that are inevitably leftover when you finish a pair of socks. You only need a small amount of yarn for each bauble, so it’s a great stash-busting project.

There are also plenty of ways to personalise these ornaments: I’ve left mine plain, but you could add colourwork designs to the initial piece of knitting, or you could embroider onto the fabric using a small amount of contrasting yarn. If you wanted something more subtle, you could even embroider onto the felt backing. The world is, quite literally, your oyster!

In terms of difficulty, these hoops are super easy to make. For the knitted section, once you know how to cast on/off, work in stocking stitch, knit/purl front and back and, finally, knit/purl two together, you’ll be fine. You will also need to have some basic hand sewing skills, to attach the felt back.

Table of Contents

• Materials and Tools
• Pattern Notes
• Abbreviations
• Pattern
  • For the knitted fabric:
• To assemble the hoops:
• To hang the ornament:
• Final Thoughts

Materials and Tools

For the knitted piece, you will need:

• 8-10g of any 4-ply/fingering yarn.
• 2.25mm needles.
• Darning needle.
• Scissors.

To assemble the ornament, you will also need:

• 3-inch embroidery hoop.
• Felt, for the backing.
• Sewing thread (in a matching colour to your felt).
• Toy stuffing.
• Hand sewing needle.
• Ribbon, for hanging.

Pattern Notes

• Notes on gauge:

Your gauge will vary slightly based on the specific sock yarn you use. Therefore, I haven’t listed an exact gauge- you just want to make sure that the knitted fabric is dense enough that it will not be too see-through when it is stretched across the hoop. Use whatever needle size you need to achieve this.

Abbreviations

• St(s) = Stitch(es)
• St-st = Stocking stitch
• KFB = Knit front and back into the same stitch (increasing one stitch)
• PFB = Purl front and back into the same stitch (increasing one stitch)
• K2tog = Knit 2 together
• P2tog = Purl 2 together

Pattern

For the knitted fabric:

Cast on 15 stitches.

Row 1: KFB, knit until 1 stitch remains, KFB (17 sts)

Row 2: PFB, purl until 1 stitch remains, PFB (19 sts)

Repeat rows 1-2 five more times (39 sts)

Row 13: KFB, knit to end of row (40 sts)

Row 14: PFB, purl to end of row (41 sts)

Repeat Rows 13-14 five more times (51 sts)

Work in st-st for 12 rows (51 sts)

Row 37: K2tog, knit to end of row (50 sts)

Row 38: P2tog, purl to end of row (49 sts)

Repeat rows 37-38 five more times (39 sts)

Row 49: K2tog, knit until 2 stitches remain, K2tog (37 sts)

Row 50: P2tog, purl until 2 stitches remain, P2tog (35 sts)

Repeat rows 49-50 five more times (15 sts).

Cast off, leaving a 45cm tail for gathering the fabric.

To assemble the hoops:

Start by drawing around the inside of the embroidery hoop onto some felt.

Cut out the circle, using the pen line as a guide. Set aside.

Loosen the embroidery hoop. Lay your knitted fabric, right side facing up, on top of the inner circle of the hoop.

Place the outer circle of the hoop on top, making sure that the stitches are running horizontally. Press the outer hoop down over the knitted fabric and the inner hoop.

Tighten the hoop a little (you might find it helpful to use pliers for this), then start to pull the edges of the fabric to stretch it across the hoop. It will never be as taut as a typical embroidery fabric, because the yarn has more stretch to it, so you just want to get it smooth and even. Be firm, but gentle- the outer hoop may pop off if you are too forceful (not much of a problem, but it does mean you’ll have to do the stretching all over again).

Once you’re happy with the fabric, tighten the hoop as much as possible (again, you’ll probably want to use pliers at this stage). This will keep everything neat and secure.

Now you need to gather the edges of the knitted fabric, to ‘hide’ them away. Thread a darning needle with the 45cm end from the cast off edge and stitch a loose running stitch around the perimeter of the fabric, close to the edge. You don’t need to be too perfect here!

Once you’ve stitched the whole way around, pull the thread to gather the fabric as much as possible. Once it is fully gathered, work a stitch or two to secure the gathers. You don’t need to bother sewing in the cast on/off ends, because they will be hidden beneath the felt backing, anyway, so just tuck them into the space between the front fabric and the gathers to keep them out of the way.

Now, it’s time to add the felt backing.

Cut a length of sewing thread (about 50cm) and tie a knot in the end. Use a hand sewing needle and the thread to stitch the felt circle to the back of the knitted fabric. I’m not the best hand sewer, so I’m sure there’s a professional way to do this, but I just made little stitches, perpendicular to the edge, all around the circumference of the felt, alternating between running the needle under the knitted fabric…

… and running the needle under the felt.

Honestly, you can do it however works for you- the matching thread will conceal a multitude of sewing-related sins! Once you’re about 4/5 of the way around the circle, add some stuffing underneath the felt.

This will help the felt to sit nicely, but it will also make the ornament extra soft and plushy!

Once your ornament is stuffed and backed with felt, you can fasten off the thread and cut off any excess.

To hang the ornament:

Now you need to add a ribbon to hang your ornament from! To do this, cut about 30cm of ribbon and fold it in half. Thread the doubled ribbon through the space at the top of the ornament, so that the loop is at the front and the two ends are at the back.

Bring each end around to the front, guiding them underneath the metal part on each side.

Holding the loop to keep it at the right length, tie the two ends together at the front of the ornament.

Bring each end around to the back of the ornament and flip the whole thing over, so that you are working from the back.

Tie the ends in a double knot, pulling the second knot as tight as possible to secure it, before cutting both ends off, close to the knot.

And there you have it, a hanging ribbon to hang your ornament up by!

Final Thoughts

And there you have it- my super-easy Embroidery Hoop Ornaments. The knitting part is really simple (and easy to remember- everything happens in groups of 12 rows!). If you’re not overly confident with hand sewing, assembling the bauble might seem a little daunting, but it’s really not bad at all when you get the hang of it. Plus, it’s the front of the baubles that really matters, so go easy on yourself with the stitching!

I hope you’ve enjoyed my second pattern (and first ever knitting pattern!). As I mentioned earlier, you can also find this pattern on Ravelry. I’d love to hear if you give it a try- let me know in the comments down below!

Gemma

xxx