A Sock Duo

One adult and one toddler sized pair of hand knit socks laying on concrete.

One of my crafty resolutions for last year, was to spend the year making socks. I’ve got plenty, but the Bearded One and the kiddo could definitely use a few more pairs. Add in a few more pairs here and there for friends and I’d be set for a year’s worth of portable knitting. So, how many pairs did I make in 2020? Three (2 of which were small kid socks) and 2 pairs in progress. Not exactly the year of socks I was hoping for. While I’m not bothering with resolutions this year, I still want to make socks. Now that 2021 is 5 months in, I’ve been able to add a few more pairs to a few different sock drawers.

Hand knit socks with a reverse stockinette toe and sole.

The Bearded One has been asking for more house socks and I had 2 skeins of worsted weight yarn set aside that would do the job nicely. I was in the mood for a quick, simple project so these went fast. The pattern is my basic default sock pattern that I’ve figured out how to flip inside out to make a princess sole without the purling. He reports that the socks are warm and comfy, and that he would happily fill up his sock drawer with a few more pairs.

The Kiddo and the Bearded One wearing their socks. The toddler made a run for it shortly after this photo was taken.

Since the cuffs on these socks were on the shorter side, I was going to have a decent chunk of yarn leftover. Enough to, say, make the kiddo a matching pair. She repeatedly wanted to try on the first pair, so I made her a pair too with plenty of room to grow. It makes me so happy to see her pick this pair to wear to bed or just sticking up past the tops of her yellow rain boots. It’s hard to withstand the onslaught of cuteness sometimes.

There wasn’t enough yarn to eek out anything close to a matching pair for me too. But that’s okay when I’m making socks for two people who absolutely love wearing them. Means I have yarn leftover to darn any holes that pop up. And that I can go dig out stash yarn to make matching socks for me and the kiddo. Hey, I didn’t say I wasn’t going to knit any socks for myself this year.

The Bearded One showing off the princess soles of his new socks.

The Specs:

Yarn: 2 skeins Patons North America Classic Wool Worsted - Lotus

Needles: 3.25 mm circulars

Dates: Jan 7 - 21, 2021

Halfway Finished With 100 Days Of Sock Knitting

Back in 2019, I wanted to spend 2020 knitting socks. Socks for me. Socks for the Bearded One. Socks for the kiddo. Socks for friends. Did I knit socks in Janaury? Nope. Did I knit socks in February? Kind of. I started a pair of kid socks, and then they sat untouched for months after my own kiddo pulled out a needle’s worth of stitches. Ugh. Then the 100 Day Project kicked off and I made yarn for 100 Days which didn’t leave much room for sock knitting, but did get me some lovely new handspun. When that project ended, I wasn’t sure what to do next. I’d given up on a year of socks or even six months of socks. 100 days of sock knitting, though? That I could do. I quietly kicked off the project on July 28th, 2020 and got back to work on the lingering kid socks. Those only took a week to finish at a few rounds every day. What was next on the list? These blue-striped beauties for the Bearded One, which thanks to daily knitting, were knit in just under a month.

While they weren’t unceremoniously removed from their needles by a curious kiddo, knitting these socks wasn’t without aggravation. I’m a stickler for making self-striping yarn match up on each sock. The first step is matching up the yarns and making sure both skeins are in the same point in the color sequence. It’s a good thing I bought this yarn at a discount and got two balls because both of them came with knots. The stripe sequence was completely reversed in the middle of one ball! Thankfully, the largest chunks from both balls were enough to knit matched socks. And I’ve got enough leftovers to make a smaller matching pair for the kiddo. So, pulling the yarn balls apart, cutting, detangling, and spreading them all over the room for a few days was totally worth it.

The other big aggravation was finding two dropped gusset stitches that somehow escaped being knitted together with the edge of the heel flap. That part was all me, and easy enough to sew up at the end.

The pattern is my own much tweaked and refined default toe-up sock pattern. Tweaking continued with this pair because I had to figure out how to knit the socks so I could flip them inside out after binding off to get a princess sole without purling. Totally worked though it did feel odd to knit a heel flap with the right side inside the sock. The pair got the Bearded One’s seal of approval so they must have turned out great. :D

I’m aiming to get the pattern written up properly in a wide range of sizes as I knit them. Figured I’d start with the biggest size and work my way down. It’s going to be awhile before this particular pattern is anywhere close to finished, but I will keep you updated.

With these socks complete, I’ve knit 2 pairs during my 100 Days of Sock Knitting project. Pair three is on the needles and there are cables afoot with 50 days of dedicated sock knitting time left. More on those socks later though.

The Specs:

Pattern: My own default toe-up sock pattern

Yarn: 437 yds (390.3 m) of Wisdom Yarns Stanza - 703 Burns

Needles: US 1.5 - 2.5 mm circular needles

Dates: August 6 - September 4, 2020

Ravelry Page and more notes here

FO: My First Handspun Socks

When I was first learning spin, one of my far way goals was to spin durable yarn for socks. It took me a few years to reach the point with my skills and confidence to try and actually succeed. Then it took me another year (or was it two?) to spin more sock yarn and finally use it for socks. This pair was for the Bearded One, which is why I finally took the plunge and cast on. When I knit to keep my own toes warm, other sock yarns and fun patterns somehow keep distracting me.

The yarn was always going to be the star of the show. When I sat down to design the pattern, I knew that the striping and mottled colors would only obscure a more detailed stitch. So I went with my standard vanilla sock with 2x2 rib which would also make for a well-fitting sock. I also added a princess sole, where the stockinette side of the fabric is against the foot, to smooth out any bumps that might have come with using a sometimes thick-and-thin yarn. The downside to the princess sole was that it slowed me down since I had to purl a big chunk of every row. That changed when I knit the second sock inside out, and worked the reverse of pretty much every stitch. Take my word for it, it’s much easier working lifted increases on the knit side of a fabric. 

I had a few worries when I cast on for this pair. One, would the half pound of yarn I spun be enough? It’s not like a I could go to the store and buy more. Two, would knitting smooth out the unevenly plied and unruly sections of yarn? Now I know the answers to both those questions are an obvious yes, but figuring that out definitely kept me on my toes. I have a few yards leftover for darning. Plus, I can’t point out the sections where the yarn was more snarled than smooth. 

The best part is that all that work - picking a yarn construction, spinning the yarn, setting the twist, designing the pattern, and then knitting two huge socks - has been rewarded. This pair is the Bearded One’s new favorite out of the many pairs of socks I’ve made for him. Knowing that does a spinner/knitter’s heart good, and makes sure the hand knit socks keep coming. 

Pattern: My own basic vanilla sock with 2x2 ribbing and a princess sole

Yarn: Tour de Fleece 2016 Sock Yarn 

Needles: 2.75 circulars

Dates: September 22 - December 11, 2016

@Ravelry 

Knitting A Handspun Sock

On one of the rare occasions when The Bearded One went into a yarn shop with me, he found a half pound of spinning fiber that he liked. Second to me, he has the greatest appreciation for my fiber goodness, so I was all to happy to promise him something made from handspun. We eventually decided on a pair of socks. Tour de Fleece came along this year and I got spinning. 8 oz of Louet Northern Lights turned into 2 matching skeins of opposing 3-ply sock yarn. 

The yarn didn’t turn out like I’d planned. Instead of solid stripes, the yarn marled. Instead of fingering weight, I got sport weight. Instead of a smooth 3-ply, the opposing ply made a kinked up and uneven yarn. Plus, I didn’t get anything close to the yardage I was expecting. Ugh. 

I wasn’t sure what would happen when I cast on. To be completely honest, I didn’t think the yarn would work as a pair of socks. Happy to say I was wrong though. I only ripped out once and that was because I messed up the gusset increases. The marl is beautiful with subtle stripes. Knitting with sport weight means even a US 14 sized sock works up fast. There’s enough yardage too - my fingers are crossed though just to make sure. Of everything that that could have gone wrong, I was worried the most about the yarn making a bumpy, uncomfortable sole. That would have a deal breaker for sure. So I’m working a princess sole, and it seems smooth and comfy. Definitely worth all that purling. 

After being nervous that my handspun sock yarn wouldn’t make a good pair of socks, I’m relieved thateverything is working out better than I planned. Here’s hoping the second sock and the second skein do as well together.