A Study in Socks - Progress

The other day I wore one of the earlier socks I've knit. I can't recall exactly when I knit them, but it was early in my sock career. When I comb through the hand knits in my sock drawer, it's like an archeological survey of my education as a sock knitter.

The early layers, the furthest back in the drawer, rarely see the light of day. These socks don't fit. They're either too tight or don't fit correctly. When I was learning, I followed the instructions meticulously, but with a tension so tight you could bounce quarters off it. I was trying to prevent that pesky laddering problem between needles, and to create a fabric as tight and smooth as commercial made socks. The socks I wore this week were of this vintage, albeit later in the era. They fit around my leg and foot, but the toes and heels were off. The toe on one sock kept sticking out and didn't conform to my foot properly.

One other characteristic of this early foray into socks is the hit and miss quality of the yarn I used. I was experimenting and usually buying cheaper yarns. I hadn't discovered a blend that felt good on my feet.

The middle layers of sockitude begin to get more varied. As I gained experience I learned what size my foot was and how to adjust the toe and heel shaping for my foot instead of the pattern's ideal foot. The yarn became more varied. I tried self-striping yarns and bought the pricier commercial yarns. I was seduced by variegated yarns that look great in the skein but disappointed me when knit up. I also had a bit of a fling with Handmaiden Casbah sock yarn. This more adventurous era provided more learning opportunities in matching fiber blends with patterns, as well as lessons in gauge.

I learned which yarns felted if you looked at them in an agitated manner (I'm looking at you, alpaca blend). I learned that some yarns bloom when washed - and that this, combined with a lacey pattern means that your socks will grow a size or two. This is also when I experimented with a few different techniques: toe up, magic loop, two at a time (TAAT). I learned to relax my tension and tighten up the second stitch after changing needles, not the first, to reduce laddering. In addition - I learned cast on methods to ensure that the cuff of the sock wasn't too tight for my leg. In other words - I learned to step outside the strict instructions of the pattern to make socks that fit me. This may have also been the start of my enormous sock stash growth.

The outer layer of socks, the ones I reach for most frequently have all been made in the past two years. They fit perfectly. They are made of the "good" yarn in my stash: the indie dyers, Wollmeise, and Cascade Heritage. I realized that these yarns shouldn't sit unused in my stash. If I was going to spend 30 hours (or more) knitting a pair of socks, it should be with the good stuff. I began designing socks as an incentive to reduce my stash (hah!), so most of these socks are of my own creation. I even learned to enjoy knitting socks toe up! And there are a lot of socks missing from this layer - the socks I designed, knit and gave away to family and friends.

Perhaps it's just that time of year for reflection, but there's a lot to be said for looking back to see where you started and just how far you've come. We tend to focus on what we can't do (yet), but it's worth taking a moment (or three) to look at your accomplishments too. Well done, you!

Study in Socks - Your first time

You never forget your first time - knitting socks, that is. Usually because it is scary, frustrating, confusing and not quite as much fun as you'd imagined.

I always get a bit nostalgic reading people's posts on Ravelry about their first sock attempt. I, too, hated my first sock experience. I recall it vividly. I was using an Opal self-patterning yarn and some cheap metal DPNs. Because I wanted to replicate the nice firm fabric of a commercial sock and wanted to avoid laddering, I was knitting very, very tightly. So tightly that I literally had to struggle to push each stitch across the DPNs to knit them. Sometimes it took me a good 5 minutes to move those stitches from one end of the DPN to the other.

I was miserable. I put away the first sock in disgust and swore that sock knitting wasn't for me. Never again, I promised myself.

A year later, I got a sudden desire to try it again. As is usual, the desire struck when all yarn stores were closed and I didn't have the right kind of needles. But I fixed that the next day and tackled socks again, this time using wooden needles and loosening my knitting. A lot. The rest as they say, is history.

Lately I've been contemplating writing up a tutorial for first-time sock knitters to make their experience much more enjoyable than mine was. But then I found several pertinent threads on Ravelry with links to existing tutorials. Why reinvent the wheel? So I decided to gather up a list of resources for first timers.

If you know someone who wants to try knitting socks, this might be a good place for them to start looking for help. Or, if you know of any resources that should be listed here, by all means, let me know.

Socks, for the first time (advice and reference links):

• As long as at least a few people have successfully knitted the pattern: Stop over thinking. Just follow the pattern one stitch at a time. It will all make sense in the end. Just trust the pattern.
• Silver's Sock Class: This was what I used for my first sock.
• Easy Peasy Socks for First-Timers, by Stacey Trock. This is the tutorial I would have written. I love her sense of humor and straight-forward style. For example,
• "heel flap
  For the heel flap, you will only work the 20 sts that are on the first needle. (yes, this
  means that some parts of your sock will get longer, while other stitches sit around
  looking lonely. Don’t feel bad for those stitches. They’ll get to do exciting stuff later on.)"
• Socks 101, by Kate Atherly
• The Humble Sock goes Toe Up, by Nikki Burns
• Learn to Knit Socks, by Staci Perry.  You do have to pay $8 for the pattern, but it includes a series of Youtube videos showing each difficult part step by step, and people say she is a phenomenal teacher.
• Just your basic baby sock, by Patti Pierce Stone. Many people recommend learning on a baby size sock so you finish it faster and thus don't get discouraged by how long it takes.
• Lucy Neatby offers a free workshop-style sock pattern on her website. Just register and look in your Notebook under free patterns.

And the mother-lode of information for first time sock knitters: Links and resources for beginning sock knitters from the Sock Knitters group on Ravelry.

This isn't a comprehensive list. There's Youtube videos, websites and blogs all over the Web with handy info. Mayhap I'll keep updating this list as I find new resources that I think will be helpful.

A Study in Socks - Yarn Choice

There are so many ways to approach this topic. Do you choose the yarn first or the pattern? Does it make a difference? Does fiber content matter? Why does it matter? Colors: solid, variegated, tonal, self-striping, self-patterning?

I'll do a blog post on each of these questions, but I'll try to boil it down to some essentials here with regard to fiber characteristics. Just enough to get you thinking about your choices.

Which came first, the yarn or the pattern?
It depends. Have you found a sock yarn that you absolutely love and now you just need to figure out what it wants to be when it grows up? Or did you see a pattern on Ravelry (or elsewhere) and now you just have to knit it, but don't know what yarn to choose.

The only certain thing is that you should consider the characteristics of one when choosing the other. Not all sock yarn is created equal and not all patterns knit up the same.

What do I mean by this? Let's take a look at this sample of sock yarns that I chose from skeins I have at home and talk about two main characteristics: loft and twist.

There are a few characteristics I'd like to point out here. The first is fiber content. As you can see, I prefer my sock yarns to have a bit of nylon in them for durability. But just because they all have merino and nylon in them doesn't mean they will knit up the same.

Sample 1
Let's look at the odd kid out (get it: kid - mohair...from a goat...lousy pun). Fiber #1 has mohair in it as well as merino and nylon. This makes it fuzzier than other yarns without mohair. This is called the halo. Alpaca and mohair are fuzzier fibers, giving yarn a halo. As a result, items knit with these fibers will have less stitch definition; patterns will be 'softened' and won't appear as crisp as with other yarns. I don't recommend knitting an intricate design with a yarn that has lots of halo. Your hard work won't show up as nicely.

Sample 2
#2 is a nice plump yarn with more loft than the other yarns. Loft refers to the amount of air between the fibers. The yarn is bouncy and has a nice twist which you can easily see in the photo. Because of the loft and thickness, this yarn is not the best suited to lacy patterns unless you use very large needles. Yarn overs and other lace stitches would get lost in the plumpness of the yarn if you were knitting socks.

Sample 3
#3 has a nice tight twist as compared to the other yarns. In addition, it is a bit thinner too. This yarn shows great stitch definition and is well suited to cables, twisted stitches and more detailed patterns. If knitting socks, it will make a nice firm fabric. It would also show lace off nicely due to the tight twist. The yarn might feel a bit harder on your hands while knitting with it, but it softens upon washing.
I used this yarn to knit my Intertwined socks, which show off the cables nicely and have a firm fabric between the cabling.

Sample 4
This yarn has a nice even twist, with a touch more loft than Sample 3 beside it, but not as much as #2. I used this yarn in my Leafy Lace socks and I think it shows off the lace stitches nicely. And with the nice twist, that isn't as tight as #3 it will provide great stitch definition too. It is also a tad softer to the hand than #3, despite having the same fiber content. This is because it has more loft than #3.

Sample 5
This one falls between #4 and #2 on the loft and twist spectrum. As you can see, there's a bit of fuzz to it and the twist isn't as easy to see. It should still provide nice stitch definition though. A good, middle-of-the-road yarn.

Sample 6
A bit more loft than #5, with a nice twist. The fuzz on this yarn isn't necessarily due to fiber content like #1 with its mohair. Some yarns are just more prone to fuzzing with handling as you can see if you compare this yarn with numbers 3 and 4.

There are also sock yarns with a bit of silk or cashmere in them, making them nice and soft. The silk would add some sheen to the color as well. Silk is often called "Nature's nylon" and can add strength to a sock yarn. And I haven't talked about different wool blends: Blueface Leicester (BFL), generic wool, and so on. Different wools have different levels of softness to them. There really are so many factors that can influence how a yarn will behave when knit up; I won't try to cover them all in one post.

So what does this mean to your sock knitting? Try to think about what kind of yarn would be suited to your pattern to give you the results you want and vice versa. For lacy patterns, avoid yarns with a lot of halo (fuzziness) and consider how the loft (amount of air in between fibers) will fill in the holes when using smaller needles for socks.

If you have a pattern that is very detailed, pick a yarn with a tighter twist to show off the stitch definition to its best advantage.

So how to decide? That's where Ravelry comes in handy. Ravelry is great for seeing what others have knit, either with the yarn you have or the pattern you have picked out. Take a look at the projects completed with the yarn you have (or want to buy) and see how they turned out. Does the pattern look good? Is it visible and clear? Or, if you have a pattern you really want to make, then take a look at what yarns people have used? Which yarns do you think look the best?  Look past color at this point and just think about how well the pattern/stitches turned out.

Of course, the proof is in the pudding, as they say. When it doubt, swatch it and see if you like how it looks.

A Study in Sock - The basics

A Study in Socks - the  previous Introduction was here.

If you're not new to sock knitting, you can go grab a cup of your favorite beverage and go do some knitting - you probably know all this. Or hang around and keep me honest. Jump in if I've forgotten anything.

If you're new to sock knitting, grab a cup of your favorite beverage and read on. These are the basics about sock knitting.

We'll talk about 3 things:
1. The parts of a sock
2. The direction of knitting
3. Adjusting sock sizes

Parts of a Sock

Swirl Socks pattern.

First - let's decipher some of the jargon. It'll be hard to decipher patterns if you don't know the language they're written in.

Cuff - This part of the sock is usually done in some kind of ribbed pattern, which provides the stretch and cling to help keep your socks from falling down. Common ribbing used on the cuff is 2x2 ribbing or a 1x1 twisted rib (where the knit stitch is knit through the back of the loop). The cuff is usually 1-2" long, although it looks shorter when stretched on your leg.

Leg - Well, it's the part that covers your leg. This is where the pattern usually begins. I say usually, because sometimes you might want to just continue the ribbing all the way down the foot for a nice stretchy and simple sock. Yes, technically ribbing is a pattern too. The point is - this is where you can be creative.

Heel flap - This part is not knit in the round. It's knit back and forth, creating a small rectangle that covers the heel of your foot. Some knitters reinforce the heel flap with nylon reinforcing thread to help prevent the heel from wearing out, but it's not mandatory to do this.

Heel/Heel turn - "Turning the heel" creates the part that cradles the sides and bottom of your heel - transitioning from knitting the leg to knitting the foot of the sock. The heel turn is usually done with short rows.

Gusset - The gusset is a triangular piece knit on each side of the sock that connects the the leg of the sock to the heel of the sock. The gusset is created by picking up stitches along the heel flap and starts forming the shape of the foot of the sock.

Instep - Divided into the top of the foot and the sole of the foot. The pattern of the sock continues along the top of the instep and the sole is usually done in stocking stitch.

Toe - There's an infinite variety of ways to knit the toe of the foot. And opinions vary as to how wide the actual end of the toe should be - some prefer a narrow toe, others a wider one. The toe stitches are grafted (sewn) together using the Kitchener stitch.

Direction of Knitting

Socks can be knit either cuff down or toe up. You'll find knitters who strongly prefer one method over another as well as those who don't mind doing either. It's a matter of personal preference. For me, I prefer cuff down, simply because I have memorized a basic formula for doing the heel flap, heel and gusset stitches. I'm not as proficient (yet) with toe-up socks.

Top/Cuff Down - With this method, you start at the cuff and work your way down to the toe. The challenge with this method, is that you must 'guess' how much yarn will be required for each sock. What I usually do is weigh my sock yarn before I start knitting. Then I allocate 25% for each sock leg and 25% for each foot. Using this method, I've always had yarn left over when knitting for my size 8.5 (US, Ladies) foot.

Toe Up - With this method, you start at the toe and work your way up past the heel to the cuff of the sock. The heel turn and heel methods used for toe-up socks vary from the top-down method. The benefit of knitting toe up socks is that you can split your ball of sock yarn in half (by weight) and use up every last bit of yarn, no guessing required.

Sizes

There are a few ways to create different sizes of socks. If you're lucky, the pattern you're following will have instructions for different sizes, making it easy for you. But it's good to know a few ways to adjust the size yourself, if need be.

Different needle sizes - This is the easiest way to increase or decrease the width of your sock, by going up or down one or more needle sizes. Most frequently, this method is used on the sock cuff - going up a needle size to produce a wider cuff around the calf. Using this method, you don't have to change the pattern instructions. Just be sure that you're satisfied with the fabric you're creating with the different gauge. If you go up to too large a needle size, the fabric might be too 'loose' and airy for the pattern.

Changing the number of stitches - The most obvious way to change the width of your sock. However, if you're following a pattern that  doesn't easily allow for adding in extra stitches, you might not be able to use this method. (Blatent plug: The two sock patterns I've released both make it easy to add in extra stitches along the back of the sock to adjust the width if necessary. Swirl socks and Trellis and Coin socks, if you're interested.)

Adding repeats - This method mainly allows you to change the length of the sock (foot or leg) by adding or reducing the number of repeats in the pattern. Just make sure you have enough sock yarn to accommodate any extra repeats.

This covers the very introductory basics about hand-knit socks without requiring you to go get a second cup of coffee (or whatever you were drinking).  There's lots more to discuss about sock yarn choices, patterns, and so forth. But we'll keep this in easily digestible chunks, shall we?

Did I answer all the basics? Did I miss something? Have a comment? Feel free to let me know.