Sock Specs
Of course, I gave you photos of the finished socks, then told you nothing about them. Not too clever...
If I could do it over: Well, I'd buy 3 skeins of yarn to start with. Other than that, I'm pretty happy, as is he. I still need to rip down and add length, but I honestly think he would be OK even if I didn't. I don't think I'll ever make him socks again exclusively as a commuting project though; they just took too long. Part of the fun of sock knitting is the quickness with which they can be finished, and I dragged this out too long.
Pattern: An amalgamation, really. I used the Seed Stitch Rib stitch pattern from the Globetrotter socks, by Jodie Danenberg. However, I didn't follow the actual pattern; I used my regular toe-up short-row everything construction method from Sensational Knitted Socks. I only had two skeins of the yarn, and wanted to maximize, hence the toe up. As it turned out, I needed the third skein anyway.
The Seed Stitch Rib is a great stitch pattern for socks; a little more interesting than garter rib, and with a little more stretch to boot. The top ribbing is 1-1/2" of a regular 3x2 rib. After much trial and tribulation, I ended up with 80 stitches cast on, for a nice tight fit on a size 11 men's foot.
Yarn and needles: Patons Kroy Socks, 75% washable wool, 25% nylon. Color Gentry Grey (54042), assorted dye lots. Once I rip out and add some length, I suspect I'll be at almost exactly 2-1/2 skeins. It is not the softest yarn in the world, but I'm fairly sure it will soften up after I wash it; the gauge swatch did. Also notice the HUGE nylon content; they should wear like iron, and will probably last as close to forever as possible. This yarn is quite heavy for a sock yarn; a normal person would probably use size 1 or 2 needles, but I knit loosely, and almost always need to size down. I also like the foot of my socks to be knit as tightly as humanly possible. I did the foot on size 0 needles, and the leg on size 1. On my second go-around, I will probably do the top ribbing on a size 0 as well. As they are now, the ribbing is not much tighter than the stitch pattern, and I worry BBMM will forever be tugging up his socks. These are his first pair of hand-made socks, and I'd like them to be perfect. They will, after all, be my size template for all future socks for him.
Yarn and needles: Patons Kroy Socks, 75% washable wool, 25% nylon. Color Gentry Grey (54042), assorted dye lots. Once I rip out and add some length, I suspect I'll be at almost exactly 2-1/2 skeins. It is not the softest yarn in the world, but I'm fairly sure it will soften up after I wash it; the gauge swatch did. Also notice the HUGE nylon content; they should wear like iron, and will probably last as close to forever as possible. This yarn is quite heavy for a sock yarn; a normal person would probably use size 1 or 2 needles, but I knit loosely, and almost always need to size down. I also like the foot of my socks to be knit as tightly as humanly possible. I did the foot on size 0 needles, and the leg on size 1. On my second go-around, I will probably do the top ribbing on a size 0 as well. As they are now, the ribbing is not much tighter than the stitch pattern, and I worry BBMM will forever be tugging up his socks. These are his first pair of hand-made socks, and I'd like them to be perfect. They will, after all, be my size template for all future socks for him.
If I could do it over: Well, I'd buy 3 skeins of yarn to start with. Other than that, I'm pretty happy, as is he. I still need to rip down and add length, but I honestly think he would be OK even if I didn't. I don't think I'll ever make him socks again exclusively as a commuting project though; they just took too long. Part of the fun of sock knitting is the quickness with which they can be finished, and I dragged this out too long.
A little shout-out to Herrschners at the end here (and no, I NEVER though I would utter those words). I bought the original two skeins from them, and when I ran out I called them to see if they would match dye lots. They said no. I tried another number; they said no too. However, both of the customer service reps I spoke to said I could send them a swatch of the yarn, and they would try to match it up for me. It seemed odd to me that they would do this, when they wouldn't match dye lots, but I did it anyway. I sent them a fairly large swatch of yarn, an original ball band, and a groveling letter. About a week later I hadn't heard anything, so I called. They said a new skein had been sent the day before. I got it fairly quickly, and it matched PERFECTLY. I was a little worried, and the first sock I knit every other row with the old and new yarn for about 8 rows. Invisible. On the second sock I took a flyer and just started knitting with the new stuff. Still completely invisible. I never actually checked to see if they happened to send the same dye lot, but either way they did a fantastic job color-matching.
Labels: FO's
