Yarn takes Center Stage
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Pattern: Center Stage | ravelry | download |
Yarn: Patons Kroy Socks FX - Cascade Colors
Needles: 2.5 mm
Date: Jan 8 - 29, 2010
I’m very happy to say that my January socks, the first of my personal Sock-A-Month KAL, are finished and on time too. That second week into 2010, I started these socks because the yarn was calling me and I was helpless to resist. Since the yarn was my main reason for casting on, I wanted it to be the center piece and the dominate the pattern; however, plain stockinette just sounded really, really boring. Plus, interesting sock constructions were still bouncing around in my head.
To meet all of my specifications, I added a simple rib detail and went from there. It definitely kept the socks interesting and let me play around with the gusset and the heel flap. All the experimentation and fiddling with details was really fun. Once the experiment was over, I had a pair of warm, comfy socks. I’m also releasing the pattern here, so you can make a warm, comfy pair of socks too.
When I purchased this yarn, I was drawn to it because of its long stretches of color and I was not disappointed after knitting it up. The colors create wide stripes which move from light to dark. I did find it prone to a bit of splitting but not annoyingly so. The yarn is also a bit on the hairy side but I think that lends itself to the warm, cushy-ness of the finished fabric. Compared to Patons Kroy Sock 4-ply, the fabric is very similar even though I found the FX yarn to be slightly thinner. One of the downsides is that the socks look a bit different in spite of being the same dye lot. My other complaint is the smaller put-up (166 yds), which led to shorter socks, but I still liked the yarn enough to buy another pair’s worth.
These socks were a great way to start off 2010 and I’ve already made some good progress on February’s pair. I hope your knitting resolutions (and the other ones too) are going as well as mine.
P.S. The winners of the Diagonal Sock pattern are Theresa and Barbara Wright. Email me at studiostrategos at gmail dot com
