Marigolds are a very popular flower in the midwestern United States, as are sunflowers (the Kansas state flower). Like my Helianthus Mitts pattern, the Helianthus Socks pattern pairs handspun marigold dyed fiber with a stranded colorwork design featuring a sunflower. In addition, the project uses handspun black walnut (the Missouri State Nut) dyed fiber, another local source of dyestuff found in the Midwest that is easy to use as a natural alternative to chemical dyes.

For information on how the fiber was dyed and spun into yarn for this project, see the accompanying article “Easy Methods of Dyeing Fiber Naturally with Ubiquitous Midwestern Plants,” originally published in the Summer 2018 issue of Spin Off Magazine.The finished 3-ply yarns measured 13-14 ply wpi.

MATERIALS: 2-100g skeins of heavy fingering weight yarn in contrasting colors. MC should be equal to or slightly heavier than the CC. Shown above in hand-dyed, handspun 3-ply wool yarn. The sample used MC: 216 yds (74g) walnut and CC: 165 yds/39g marigold CC 3-ply yarn.
U.S. 2 (2.75 mm) needles, 2 circular, AND U.S. 2.5 (3.0 mm) needles, 2 circular (or size needed to obtain gauge):
Darning needle
Stitch marker

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