In honor of Socktoberfest 2006, here’s my history of sock knitting! And there’s lots more sock fun to come this month, as I pretty much always have a pair on the needles!
When did you start making socks? Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative?
I started knitting socks back in March of 2006. I was at Village Wools one Saturday and both Scout and Noelle were there. (I think that was the first time I met Noelle come to think of it!) I said something about wanting to tackle socks next, and they both turned me onto the Fuzzy Feet pattern from Knitty. It looked like a great way to learn how to make a sock without the whole tiny needles and small yarn thing. So I braved the whole DPN thing and dove right in. I made one pair, and then one more for my brother, since he loved them so much! I still have my original pair, and wear them around the house all the time, they’re so comfy.
humble (and fuzzy) beginnings
What was your first pair? How have they “held up” over time?
My first pair of “real socks” came about a month later, but not without lots of frustration. I used some Jacquard Jawool (the cheapest sock yarn in the LYS, since I was still a poor college student) and #2 Bamboo DPNs. After all my history with swatching, for some reason I decided that gauge didn’t matter for this project. Like so many people, I was in complete denial until the end. My Mom kept saying, “that looks really big…”, but I’d say “nah, it just looks that way on the needles.” Well, when it finally came time to graft the toe, I came to my senses. I had made a sock for a hobbit!
a sock for frodo baggins
Now I’ve been told by many people that I have hobbit feet, but that’s mostly because of the sheer amount of hair on my feet (I know TMI, but this is why you’ll never see my naked feet on this blog. :-P), not because of their size. So that sock got frogged. And then, as if one huge gauge error wasn’t enough, I thought that the sock would fit better if I used size 0 needles and 60 stitches versus 72. At least that time I only made it through half the sock before realizing I was an idiot. So after frogging 2 socks, I was nearing the breaking point, but decided to try once more. I swatched and measured, and voila! The sock fit! And thus my first pair was born.
As far as wear and tear, they’ve held up pretty well, but there are a few spots on the soles where the yarn is wearing thin. Most of this is from walking on dirty brick floors, but I do prefer working with sport weight sock yarn rather than fingering weight.
celebrating my first pair, finally!
What would you have done differently?
Swatched, most definitely. I have swatched every single project since that first pair. Let that be a lesson to you.
What yarns have you particularly enjoyed?
I’ve used only 3 sock yarns, all with their pros and cons:
- Jacquard Jawool: Relatively Inexpensive, Not all that durable, and the nylon seems to wear out which causes glitter like specks
- Lion Brand Magic Stripes: Very cheap, but a bit stiff and itchy.
- My own Hand-Dyed Superwash Merino: I just started a pair with a skein that I saved for testing (won’t sell it if I don’t like it is my philosophy). It’s very very soft and a nice change from the Lion Brand. And this stuff is my speedy yarn, at 6 stitches / inch on #4’s, socks go pretty fast.
I certainly have plenty in my stash that I need to use up, including a skein of another bargain yarn from the craft store, my yarn from Dye-O-Rama and a skein of Cherry Tree Hill. I’m hoping to maybe shrink down my sock yarn stash during Socktoberfest, cause then I’d just have to restock…possibly with some Socks that Rock. Ahem.
What method do you like for knitting socks? And what heel do you prefer?
I’m definitely in love with magic loop. I used DPN’s for the first pair, but wasn’t a huge fan of the whole 8,000 needles thing. I’m also just started knitting my socks toe-up, and it’s pretty much revolutionized my sock knitting. The whole top-down thing doesn’t do it for me, I really like to knit from the bottom up with a short-row heel.
How many pairs have you made?
Not counting fuzzy feet, I’ve made 3 pairs of socks so far, all for myself. But I’m working on Christmas Socks for the family now, so I’m becoming more philanthropic in my sock knitting. Although it’s difficult to part with knitted objects that require so much time, and are just so comfy!
Well, that’s my sock knitting history, and some information about my feet that you probably never wanted to know! There’ll be lots more sock knitting coming, especially since tomorrow night is the 2 HOUR BATTLESTAR GALACTICA PREMIERE!!! (Can you tell I’m freaking out over this?) Monica? I won’t spill the beans, but you have to hurry up and catch up, since I don’t have anyone else to nerd out with over this show!
And Stephanie? Congratulations on getting married, and at least making it a legally binding heathen union.
Ok, I’ve had way too much coffee and so I’m going to exit with some dignity before I spew out some more exclamation points like an excited fanboy. Ha! Who am I kidding? We’re getting an Apple Store in Albuquerque! The rumor is finally confirmed!!! I’m already promising you that I will be camping out there overnight when it opens, so stay tuned for that sometime in the future. OMG!
(Please forgive me for all the exclamation points, or just club me with a blunt object)
