Posts Tagged with socks

Yarn:  2 skeins (181 yds/ea) of Quince & Co Chickadee in color Audouin – this yarn is 100% American wool, and it must be very tightly plied, because it was really springy!  As a result, it feels wonderful to knit with, and even nicer on my feet.  My only worry is how it will wear – because it’s tightly plied, it should wear well, but without any nylon in it, I wonder how it will hold up over time in socks.

Pattern:  Irish Oat socks by cabinfour – I made no modifications to this pattern and knit on the recommended US 3s.  This was the perfect sock pattern for me, because it has a little bit of nice detail in a simple cable, but not so much that it really slowed me down or couldn’t be memorized.  Plus, I find that there’s a lot of difference (in terms of my patience) in knitting socks in sport weight, as opposed to fingering weight – it moves so much faster (I finished both socks in three days), and I like socks that are a little thicker, anyway.

The only change I would make if I knit these again is I would make them at least an inch – if not two inches – longer at the cuffs (I knit the foot length to 7.5″ before starting the toe decreases, which is the perfect foot length for me).  I was worried that I wouldn’t have enough yarn, but I had over 30 grams left when I was done, so I could have easily added a few inches to each.

When it’s yet another hot and sultry August day around here, my mind speeds ahead to cold winter nights in front of the fire, and to cozy wool socks!

Pattern:  Hyak Socks

Yarn:  1 skein Cestari 2-ply worsted weight (100% wool) in natural medium grey (MC) and 1/3 skein Heirloom (100% American Romney) in Red Tomato

Needles:  US 4s and 5s dpns

Size:  medium / 9″ total foot length (a perfect fit for my size 8 foot) – I knit the leg 7″ (instead of 6″ as called for in the pattern), and still had a comfortable amount of yarn left over – any higher would be too tight on my calf, and leave me without enough yarn to spare.

The yarn feels pretty crunchy while you’re knitting with it – not in a bad way, I really enjoy that authentic wooly feel – but I wondered what it would feel like when I was wearing it on my feet.  After a thorough wet blocking, the socks feel yummy and warm, not the least bit itchy – particularly the Cestari, which seems to retain a little bit of lanolin.  After pulling these on, I can see why wool socks are the perfect cold weather accessory!

Socks really are my least favorite item to knit, but every once in a while, a combination of pattern and yarn overcomes my aversion . . . in this case, I love de rerum natura yarns, and these socks are knit on US 3s (I REALLY hate knitting socks on US 1s or 2s!) so I was willing to give it a go.

Pattern:  Cream by cabinfour

Yarn:  De rerum natura Ulysse (2 skeins Sel, just a few yarns of Confiture de rose)

Needles:  US 3s dpns

 I like how these came out, although even after blocking, the fabric still seems a little uneven to me – not a real problem  for socks, but it makes me wonder whether I should have gone down a needle size.  These are very basic, but I like how the pop of color makes them special, and the yarn does feel squishy and cozy on my feet

I have a TON of yarn left over – I ordered two skeins of each color, so I’ve got an entire skein of the fuchsia color, plus another skein that’s whole except for the few yards it took to knit the fair isle pattern.  Then, I’ve got a skein of the natural color that’s at least 3/4 full.  You could easily knit this pattern in the fuchsia color, with the natural as your fair isle, or do something totally different with it . . . de rerum natura yarn is perfect for so many things!  I love to share good yarny finds, so if anyone would like these skeins, just leave a comment to that effect and I’ll contact you for your mailing address and send these goodies your way!

Yarn:  Two skeins (230 yds/ea) Plucky Knitter Snug Worsted (70% merino, 20% cashmere, 10% alpaca), color Icey Audrey

Pattern:  Put Your Feet Up, by Plucky Knitter

Needles:  US 7 dpns for leg, US 4 dpns for foot

What can I say . . . my feet love them!  The stitch pattern and cabling is beautiful.  The fit around the leg is pretty loose, but they stay up fine, especially when pulled over pant legs.  I think I like them scrunched down best, at least when my toes are toasting in front of the fire!

Pattern:  School Girl Socks by Cabinfour

Size:  Knit foot to 7″ before beginning texture (for a total length of 9″)

Needles:  US 3 dpns

Yarn:  Quince & Co Chickadee, color Egret – the pattern calls for two skeins, but I finished up with only one skein, with a few yards to spare

My only modification was to knit a S1k1 pattern for the heel, which in retrospect, I don’t think I like as well on this sock as plain stockinette, but I thought it might wear better.  These are a satisfyingly quick knit – I finished both on the (admittedly long) plane ride home from Turks & Caicos.  It would be fun to knit them in a whole variety of Quince & Co’s beautiful colors and wear them in the spring

The pattern is from the Audrey collection, using less than one skein (250 yds) of Snoqualmie Valley Yarn.  Lately, I’ve really gotten into sourcing and knitting with local, American-grown and milled, and/or single-breed/single-source yarns, and I’ve seen Snoquamie at Tolt Yarn & Wool before, so this pattern was the perfect opportunity to give it a try.

The yarn is a light DK mix of BFL and Clun Forest Wool, and it knit up quickly on US 6 dpns. I really liked the yarn, but the fit of the socks is pretty loose, so I blocked them lightly until they were just damp, and then tossed them in the dryer – just five minutes at a time!  After a few five-minute sessions, it felt like the stitches (which were really open) and the overall size had tightened up just a little, for a little better – and more snug – fit.

If I was to knit the pattern again, I would experiment with knitting on US 3s or 4s, to see what I got in the way of a tighter, denser fabric and a closer fit.  While these are never going to be thin, wear-with-all-your-shoes socks, I like even my thicker house socks to fit well and to feel durable enough to wear . . . well, around the house

I still have half of a skein leftover – if anyone is interested in trying out this yarn on the Audrey mittens, hat, or socks, let me know and I’d be happy to send the yarn and pattern to you!

I’m not a big sock knitter – I think the combination of having to knit the same pattern twice, and the fact that no one really gets to see the FO when you’re wearing it, plus the fact that you’re usually knitting socks on REALLY tiny needles, all work together to push me toward other projects.  However, I thought that this would be the perfect project for a Father’s Day gift for my dad.

The yarn is fabulous – Knit Picks Felici Sport (75% super wash merino, 25% nylon) self-striping.  I’m so disappointed that it’s been discontinued!  I was only able to get my hands on two skeins of Ecology colorway through a destash on Ravelry.  I used the Simple Skyp pattern and knit men’s size medium, with a 10″ total foot length and 28 repeats (instead of 24) for the leg length.  I was worried that they would be too big because my dad has smallish feet, but now that they’re done, they fit me pretty well, so now I’m worried that they’ll be too small . . . the yarn and the stitch pattern are both very stretchy though, so I think it will be okay.

This yarn makes me actually want to knit socks – it’s so soft and squishy, it feels wonderful when you’re knitting it and when you’re wearing it!  Also, to me sport weight is the perfect sock weight – it knits up pretty quickly on US 2s, and it feels substantial without feeling bulky.  I really like the self-striping colors, too – it keeps me from getting too bored.

The only downside is that, if you were knitting any larger size, you’d have to break into a third skein – I finished these up, but with mere yards to spare from the two skeins (165 yds/ea) that I had.

I like the look and feel of the finished socks, and the skyp pattern provides just enough detail to make them interesting; plus, it gives them some added stretch, without having to knit a rib stitch for the entire sock.  I think it would have looked cool to make the heel and toe a solid color, but I didn’t have any good coordinating sport weight, and certainly none that felt this soft!  Now to see if (a) my dad likes them, and (b) how well they wear . . .

These are a great one-evening project – socks that deliver immediate gratification!  The pattern is TV Time Socks, knit up from one skein of Brown Sheep Burly Spun (100% wool) in color Dewberry Dream.

I knit size women’s 5-8, with a foot length of 6 3/4″ (before beginning the heel – total foot length is 9 1/4″).  The pattern called for US 15s, but the largest dpns I had were US 13s, so I used those, and I think it was a good thing, because the socks came out plenty big – I wouldn’t want them any bigger! – and feel nicely tightly-woven.

I used the K2 P2 ribbing option for the entire leg portion of the sock, to keep it stretchy, and knit 29 rows of the ribbing before binding off, which brings it about 1/3 of the way up my leg.

I’m not usually a big sock knitter, but there was something about these colors that I couldn’t resist.  I love the bright, saturated colors of Spud & Chloe, particularly their fingering weight Fine yarn.  These socks are knit in colors Lizard and Popcorn, and my only disappointment was that one skein of Lizard wasn’t enough and I had to use up just a little of a second skein.

I knit on US 1s and got a nice finished fabric.  I used the popcorn for the first 12 rows at the top of the sock, two stripes on the leg of the sock and again on the foot, and the heel flap and heel turn.  My go-to pattern any time I knit socks is Purl Soho’s Perfect Fit Socks – true to its name, I find that it gives the best fit, probably because it’s ribbed all the way down the leg and foot of the sock, to the toe.  Because I like my socks to fit snugly, I knit for size Women’s 7 (9 1/4″), even though my foot is closer to a size 8.

The fit turned out good, but I still don’t feel like they’re snug enough – it might be the composition of the yarn, maybe because there’s no nylon in the mix (this sock yarn is 80% wool, 20% silk)?

I actually didn’t mind knitting these – even on US 1s, and even when I had to make the second one  However, I think that one pair of socks every once in a great while pretty much does it for me – even though I’d love to knit this exact same version in more of the Spud & Chloe colors, I just can’t stomach that much more of the same.

Usually I can’t bring myself to knit socks – needles are too small, project takes too long, you have to knit it all over again to make the second sock, and then – no one can see your feet to appreciate them!  This was a great project, though, because boot socks are much-needed this winter — everyone is wearing boots, particularly rain boots — and, knit on US 6s, these socks went together in a snap.

The pattern is homespun boot socks from Purl Soho, and the yarn is Madelinetosh Tosh Merino in colors Cloak and Gossamer.  The only problem with the project is that I purchased two skeins of each color, as recommended, but although I knit the smaller (women’s) size, and knit the foot length only 7 1/2″ before starting the toe decreases, I still had to dip into the second skein of each color – but only for a few yards!  So, I ended up with two almost untouched extra skeins.  If I wasn’t so sick of knitting socks after these four, I’d use the remaining skeins to knit a final pair in stripes – oh well, maybe in a few months.

I usually avoid knitting socks – I think because they take so darn long, they’re on such tiny needles, and then, no matter how carefully you wash and care for them, they end up looking worn pretty quickly.  Plus, hidden under your pants and in your shoes, no one but you gets to appreciate your handiwork!

However, I occasionally make an exception, and I liked this simple pattern and loved the yarn.  The pattern is published by the Purl Bee, called simply Perfect Fit Socks, and I liked how it was ribbed the entire sock -which makes for a better fit – and how the socks were a little longer up the calf.  The real draw, though, was the yarn – Anzula Cloud in color Toffee (lace weight), 80% super wash merino, 10% cashmere, and 10% nylon.  At 575 yards, I still had a fair amount left – I guess I could have made the socks even longer.  I knit on the recommended US 1s and I knit women’s shoe size 7, making the cuffs one inch longer (9″ instead of 8″).  I’m glad I went with the smaller size – the socks feel a little loose, and I actually wear closer to a shoe size 8.

The final product is beautiful, but I always hate having to knit that second sock!  I guess I should learn the method of knitting two socks at once, but if one sock at a time seems to take a long time, I can’t imagine how slowly it must seem to go when you’re knitting two at a time!

Okay, here’s the truth — I hated this project. The whole way through, every bit of it. The pattern was a freebie on Purl Bee, but I used different yarn – their suggested yarn was Manos del Uruguay silk blend, and I thought that Lornas Laces Shepherd Sport (100% superwash wool) would be more practical. I used US 5 dpns and colors Natural and Ysolda Red (one skein each, didn’t even come close to using them all up).

The project was incredibly slow – you have to switch yarn colors every two stitches, the entire striping portion, and this made for really slow going. It was one of those projects where I made myself do a certain number of rounds every evening – I couldn’t stand to sit and do much of it all at once. I finished the second sock only out of sheer stubbornness, because of all the work that went into the first one . . .

The real disappointment is that, after all that work, they don’t even fit well – Purl Bee isn’t kidding when they say that this stitch pattern doesn’t make the socks very stretchy, I would say not at ALL stretchy, and since there’s no heel (it’s just knit as a tube), even with size medium (my shoe size is 7 1/2 – 8) I can barely yank the thing over my heel, but then the toe fits fine – even a little loose. If I went up to size large, the portion around my ankle and around my foot would be baggy, but I guess at least I could get it over my heel.

This project would have been a lot more bearable in a bigger gauge yarn – would have made the socks feel more like bedroom socks / slippers, too. Or, it would have been interesting to knit them really large and then felt the finished product. Regardless, the pattern needs to be reworked so that the stitches allow for more stretch, otherwise there’s no way to get a good fit – even a minimally decent fit – over both heel and foot.

My final word: Don’t bother with this one unless you make substantial modifications. But you can bet I’ll find some way to wear them – at least once! – after probably 20+ hours (if not more) of sunk costs