SOCK HOP - Day 15
I don't know for sure but Blair Underwood probably needs socks too. Maybe we could barter socks for a house call. He did, after all, play Dr. Robert Leeds on Sex and the City.
Yes, those are my finished Best Foot Forward socks. I Kitchenered the last 12 stitches about an hour ago and I am so excited that I'm practically levitating around the room. What a wonderful, easy knit! I'm not a fast knitter by an stretch of the imagination but these seemed to fly off the needles at an alarming pace. An hour's worth of knitting was more than enough to accomplish a good three inches or more of pattern length.
Best Foot Forward from KNIT SOCKS. Lion Brand Wool-Ease in Fisherman -- maybe 1 1/2 skeins on #2US Addi Turbos. Seven days from cast on to grafting. Highly recommended!
Completed fast and easy socks. Inspired by Soxie's pattern, made by Denise. Are these cool or what??
posted by Barbara Bretton at 9:00 AM
11 Comments:
The socks look so pretty, especially with the fireplace in the background. I like Wool Ease but I'm not sure it would have occurred to me to use it for socks. It looks great and sounds so warm and cozy.
The Wool Ease was pure happenstance -- they were the closest to the color used in the worsted photo in the KNIT SOCKS book. I figured this was as near as I was likely to get to those gorgeous Aran sandal socks in SOCKS SOCKS SOCKS. I hadn't a clue the yarn would be quite so perfect for the pattern or that I'd love knitting w/it as much as I did. And damn but they're comfortable too! Who knew!?!?
BTW: Dallas, you know how we're always talking about those mysterious knitterly moments where you suddenly understand something you never really understood before. I think it happened again while I was working on those socks. I can't tell you exactly what it was but I swear I could hear the click as something fell into place -- confidence maybe? Knitterly courage?
Nice socks he !
I love those knitterly moments! Don't you think that the same things happens in writing? You're struggling with a scene or a story and suddenly there's an almost audible pop and everything falls into place. It's a great feeling, isn't it?
Great scene setting, Barbara! Lovely socks, too. I'm using a gray heather Wool Ease for the socks I'm making.
Someone said I should reinforce the heel and toe by knitting in a polyester thread. Anyone else heard that?
Fran - I have heard of that. One yarn shop I've visited actually sold little bobbins of the the reinforcing thread. It came in an assortment of basic colors and was just enough to add in at the heel and toe. I've never used it though. Guess it seemed too "fussy" to me. I just figure if the socks wear out, I'll have to knit more! ;-)
Kim
Fran - I've wondered about the reinforcing thread, too, but never used it. I've heard it makes them last longer, and I've heard the opposite, that the nylon cuts into the sock yarn and makes the fibers break sooner. I'd love to hear from someone with practical experience with this.
Barbara - Meant to add that I love my one pair of Wool Ease socks. Comfy warm. And again, I love, love, love that pattern you used. Another pattern book for my wish list...
Ah, the old nylon thread debate. Here's my take on it, fwiw.
First, it depends on what kind of yarn you're using. 100% wool is less hardy than wool mixed with nylon or some other sturdy synthetic. So if your yarn comes pre-blended, you can probably skip the nylon reinforcement thread.
Second, for heels, it depends on what kind of heel you're using. Some heels just wear better than others. I prefer to slip every other stitch on both sides (both the knit side and the purl side) of the heel flap for a super durable and cushy heel.
For toes and balls, I don't know of a really good way to reinforce using just stitch patterns, but I'm sure there must be a way.
Finally, not all nylon threads are made alike. Standard nylon threads will, over time, cut your wool fibers to shreds. But there's something called woolly nylon (or serger nylon) that's made differently. I've heard, but can't verify, that wooly nylon is made from twisted staples, and that breaking the nylon into staples keeps it from cutting through other fibers. Whatever. All I know is it works. You can buy it at most big box sewing stores in huge spools for a few bucks. I keep white, cream, black and navy on hand, and I've found that one of these four almost always blends invisibly into the sock yarn.
But it can be a hassle to get used to knitting it into the sock. It takes a little practice. The thread is fine and it's easy to miss.
Thank you, Theresa. I've learned so much from this blog, I should be an expert by now. I'm not but ... someday, maybe.
Hi, I'm a fencer, and I'd like to say that knee socks are an important part of the uniform. This has the added advantage when knitting for someone like Blair Underwood that you get to wrap a tape measure around big strong calves.
I hope you do get a house call!
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