I bit the sock-knitting bullet really firmly in 2020. I think I get it now. As a scarf and blanket knitter and crocheter, sporadically, since childhood, I was a ‘flat’ knitter. However, I wasn’t totally ready for knitting heels around corners!
Yarn Hell
During the austerity era in Ireland and the UK (2007ish), I needed to make some extra cash and I set up a yarn website. If you can keep a yarn site running, I am in enormous awe of you. You need all the weights, all the colours, to keep stock refreshed. So much effort. I stopped it quickly, but I was left with a huge amount of DK yardage to either use up or donate. I did both, but even so, everything I made was Double Knit for a long time.
Sock Trials
I was tempted but nervous to try sock knitting. The first couple of attempts (using free patterns) worked out pretty good. I used a tight but hairy sock blend that was in an online sale for my first ever pair and they are totally unforgiving. I’ve upped the quality of yarn ever since: buying appropriate sock yarn with some nylon blend (probably super wash). I want to extend the life and washability of my knits, but tend towards wool-based yarns.
Contrast & Weight
I thought it was time to start using a contrasting yarn for cuffs, heels and toes. I like that look. I had used a Stylecraft yarn for my Ben Nevis socks (click here) and chose a similar self-striping option as my main yarn for this new pair. I tossed things in the air for my contrast option and mixed in a brand of identical needle weight. Or so I thought. Oops.
In the picture above, the purple ombre is by Scheepjes – Noorse Sokkenwol Colour/Farbe 969 and Batch 11/762. The self-patterning yarn is, I believe, by Drops from the Fabel line – Colour 901 and Dyelot 22480.
Reading the Needles!
The Drops yarn has a suggested 3mm (US 2.5) needle size and the Scheepjes simply says 3-3.5… but whether that is US sizing or millimetres, is unclear to me. Hence my hope of mixing both to get a nice result. I’m crazy about the colour combination – they look great. However, as I knit, the difference is substantial. It’s giving an overblown/lofty cuff, heel and toe which might be fine with washing or by overlooking it if it’s comfortable… but I think I could have matched these weights much better.
Still, you learn by making and I’m learning every day! Hope whatever is on or under your needle(s) is fun!
Links
If you want to get something similar to the main yarn shown here, this Patons sock yarn is a very competitive price – click here.
Or if you want to go fancy, I like the shade of blue in this Knit Picks yarn, but I’ve not tried the yarn before.
[Affiliate links: I provide some Amazon links, but you never pay extra if you buy something]