Hanging on by a string: And Then There Were None

I first read this Agatha Christie novel back when it was still called Ten Little Indians. And the plot has always stayed in my memory.

So when one of the Ravelry sock forums issued a design challenge with a literary theme, the idea for this sock design leapt to mind as I was literally falling asleep. It excited me so much that I couldn't fall asleep until I got out of bed and wrote out my idea and starting sketching it out.

“And Then There Were None” is a cabled pattern inspired by the Agatha Christie novel of the same name. In the novel, ten people who had been involved in the death(s) of other human beings but either escaped notice or were not subject to legal repercussions, are tricked into coming to an island.

Although they are the only people on the island, and cannot escape due to bad weather, each guest is killed in a manner seeming to parallel the deaths described in the nursery rhyme “Ten Little Indians”.

Mirroring the novel, the sock begins with 10 strands of cabling which intertwine and divide as they meander down the leg. Beginning on the back of the leg and one by one, the individual strands of cable are cut off, “killed” as it were, just like each guest on the island.

The final 3 strands of the cabling continue down the foot, cutting off one by one near the toe, until only 1 is left: the murderer of the other 9 people. Then, it too is cut off – in the story the murderer himself dies on the island.

Can you spot the ‘guilty’ cable without reading ahead in the pattern?

10 little sock patterns

This pattern is perfect for the cable-holic. There are 5 or 6 different size cables used, with the front and back cabling being different. You will be forced to think while you knit this. And if you weren't a cable expert before this sock, you will be after you finish.

E-book Details:
This pattern is part of an e-book series, The Agatha Christie Series, Volume 1. Follow along as I create designs inspired by Agatha Christie novels.

This e-book represents a significant savings over purchasing the patterns separately. And the earlier you buy, the more you save.