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February 01, 2004
One Down, One To Go
I finished the first sock.
It certainly wouldn't win first prize at the county fair but it's not bad for the first sock. I changed the pattern a little bit. The directions call for casting on sixteen stitches and then splitting them, every other one, onto two needles (actually, she does the toe cast on totally different than me but I like my way better). This makes for a weird ballet point toe, so I changed it to cast on thirty two and split so there are sixteen on two needles. I started these socks out for my nine year old, so had they been for an adult, I would have made the cast on even larger to give a flat edge to the sock rather than pointed. Then, I did the increases until it fit snugly around the ball of my foot. I was supposed to decrease a few stitches to make the sock more fitted but I overlooked those directions accidently. I am not unhappy with the way the body of the sock turned out though.
Then, the pattern calls for the heel to be in garter stitch (the rest of the sock is stockinette) which makes the heel stand out. Not sure I like that for a regular sock. It is fine for a novelty slipper type sock, but looks a little too homemade for other purposes. Got through all the wraps without any problems. Okay. That is a lie. I missed a few wraps here and there, so I kept having to obsessively count the stitches to figure out where I was. There must be some easy way to figure out what you have already done! In picking the wraps back up, the pattern calls for the stitch AND the wrap part to be knit together. This is genius. This completely eliminated those annoying holes that I had with the elf booties. The very last wrap on either side was still a bugger but I simply dipped a little further down and picked up enough to close the gap.
After that, I decided to make the socks a little slouchy and do a bit of ribbing at the top for stability. Halfway through, my toddler helpfully took out ALL THE NEEDLES. ARGH! It was miserable picking the stitches back up because the yarn is super fine. The other bad nasty that happened was that the yarn suddenly started coming out of the skein split and ravelled looking. I slogged through it but then the yarn was super, super thin and worn looking before finally going back to normal. Ugh. I can feel the difference with my fingers. I hope it was a rare happening and not repeated with the rest of this skein or its three sisters. Anyway, I really must find a way to bind off so that the sock is elastic at the top but doesn't end up looking all stretched out after the first wearing. I think I have seen other people knit some elastic thread in with the yarn at the top of socks. I am going to look into that.
Anyone want to place bets on how many years it takes to actually complete the second sock? The first one took about six hours (give or take) over about five days and the second one will surely be afflicted with UFO disease (UnFinished Object).
Posted by DebC at February 1, 2004 10:11 PM
Comments
You did a great job. Socks, I would never attempt! I am uncoodinated with two needles, let along four!! And I too will take forever doing the second sock or not do it at all.
I just wanted to say, it looks great and congratulations.
Pat
Posted by: Pat at February 2, 2004 07:21 PM
It looks great, Deb. Be careful - sock knitting is addictive! You can't leave the second sock in UFO land, or how can you wear them?? LOL
Posted by: Brenda at February 3, 2004 10:04 PM
Have you tried the magic loop method yet? So much easier than trying to keep track of all those needles. I had to buy the book but once I took a look at the picture on the cover, it all made sense. I have been using this method to knit preemie hats for Children's Hospital and it's really the only way to do sleeves. Eliminates one yucky seam and the bulk under the arm. This along with the 40"circular bambo needes makes all the difference in the world. It's a much faster method.
Posted by: Diane U. at May 16, 2004 09:51 AM