Tuesday, March 27, 2007

My first socks


These are the first socks I've ever knit. I used Koigu yarn and size 2 needles. I am happy to say that I was able to make a 10 inch long sock to fit my size 11-12 feet with plenty of yarn to spare. The only pattern modifications I made were to shorten the ribbing by 1/2 inch (fear of running out of yarn) and to extend the lace pattern by 10 rows. There are a few anomalies on the first sock, mainly a bit of wonky ribbing. Since I've never knit anything on needles smaller than size 6 and I've only used dpns once before, the stitches between the needles were a little loose. I fixed this on my second sock. I shouldn't beat myself up about it, though, because I've only been knitting for about 6 months.

One question about hand-knit socks- how fast do they usually felt up with wear? After one day, I was sad to see that the stitches on the soles of my socks are shockingly blurred, and my beautiful star toe is unclear as well. Is this something that happens with some yarns more than others?

I plan to make a pair of Retro Rib socks, and also some Jaywalkers. There are quite a few more posts about these socks on my blog, as well as photos of all my completed projects on flickr.

4 comments:

Laura said...

Beautiful! You did such a great job, especially for someone who is so new to knitting. The felting seems to depend on the yarn and the feet. If you have hot, sweaty feet your socks are more likely to felt (since those are two of the necessary components for felting). I have never used Koigu so I don't know how it normally is about felting but I have found a difference in different yarns (for example, cascade 220 superwash seems to felt more than knit picks Bare superwash)

Laura

Bonnie said...

Very nice work! I've never used Koigu but my experience with socks yarns is that those that have some nylon in them don't felt, but those that are 100 percent wool do felt a bit on the soles, the toes, and the lower part of the heel. I myself don't mind this. No one sees those parts of the sock when you are wearing shoes!

Knit-Wit said...

Nice job! I started knitting socks recently also and have already made three pair. I'm hooked and can see the day when I wear nothing but handmade socks.

tiennieknits said...

Fantastic job on your first pair of socks! They are very lovely. I'm impressed!