It’s been a crazy, crazy week but luckily socks can be knit on the bus… and photographed on the shoreway while Matt drives us to work:
So I have a few questions for all you sock knitters out there….
Do handknit socks always make legs look this… stumpy?
‘cause I swear my calves aren’t that freakishly large!
How do you know how much yarn you’re going to have? Because I wanted to make these as tall as possible so I kindof just guessed at when to start the heel… but I ended up with quite a bit of yarn leftover. So is there a foolproof way to figure that out? And what do you do with all of the bits of leftover sock yarn?
And does this toe look extra-wonky or do they always look kindof like that?
Oh and I already cast on for the second sock so as to ward off second sock syndrome....we’ll see how that goes…
Happy Friday!
Congratulations!!! That sock looks awesome! Sorry I don't have any answers to your questions 'cuz I'm not really sure myself as I am still learning. But hey, it great fun ;D
ReplyDeletelove it, jeanne!! i can't wait til we can both have fun stripey socks to wear on knit knites :) i, too, have no answers to ur questions but will be checking back on these comments to see who does have the answers since i, as an almost new sock knitter, will also have these questions :)
ReplyDeleteOK, so your legs are not stumpy. I think it is an optical illusion phenomenon caused by taking pictures of your own lower legs. Kinda like when you try to stand at the base of a tall building and then take a picture up. It's the angles that's all.
ReplyDeleteNext, ah, the "I want to be sure to use up every bit of sock yarn but I don't want to run out of yarn" dilemma. Many a sock knitter has pondered this questions for eons. Here's my take on it. I think you have a few options. First, if you are knitting cuff down you either must guess as to how long your sock can be and hope that you have enough or learn to live with extra yarn. Next, if you are knitting from cuff down and are a freak like me, you will get a good food scale (Bed Bath and Beyond has one that works GREAT for $5.99) and you can split up the skein so that you have two equal halves then knit your first sock and {gasp} possibly have to frog until you have the right length using up all that yarn then just copy the length for the second sock. LAST (and my newest favorite tip) learn to knit the sock from the toe up. In this option you will still need a food scale for the skeins that are enough to make a pair of socks. You really want to start off with the 2 equal balls of yarn. Then just watch to be sure that you are starting at the same color sequence (if you want them to match up otherwise, don't worry about that) and knit away until you have just enough to do your cuff.
This is truly the only option available to use up all of your yarn without having to frog a whole sock to figure out how long you can make it. The nice thing about having that extra yarn is you can save it and mend your socks should the need arise later on.
I have also seen someone take all their extra sock yarn and make "crazy patch" socks. They just made "stripes" of the various sock yarns and came up with a collage of all their prior socks in a single pair.
Hope all this rambling has helped! YOu can go here:
http://knitty.com/ISSUEspring06/FEATmagiccaston.html
for a tutorial on casting on for toe-up socks over at Knitty.com./
good luck!
Just save your scraps of sock yarn till you need them later. You never know what kind of fun it could be.
ReplyDeleteLike you could make scarves or something... or maybe wrist warmers. Or even little baby socks. Then, if there are no babies around you could dump the baby socks on charities. :-D
I like when you have to buy two skeins of a color to make socks. Cause when you have to buy two skeins, you have one for each sock and you don't have to divide them up.
That toes does look a bit odd. Maybe it's just sitting funny on your foot?
the sock looks really sweet!! =) Congratulations for it!!!! =) Its ur 1st sock so i think i can ask is it extremely har to knit a sock? I have never tried to knit one.
ReplyDeletehugs, Claudia
I totally love your sock, such a great and cheerful color! Great job! I'm keeping my leftover sock yarn to one day use it for a patchwork afghan, I think all these different colors may come together so fine - perfect for cheering up cold and gray winter's days!
ReplyDeleteI love the striping in your sock, what yarn are you using?
ReplyDeleteOK, I second everything Knittingnurse said. About the toe - it does look a little off but I don't know what's going on. Do you have any other photos that show it?
ReplyDeleteCongrats! on your 1st sock! Toes can be a little trickey. Looks like a Kitchner stitch toe. If it is, you really have to watch how you combine the stitches from 4 needles down to 2. Try to put the top of foot stitches on 1 needle & the rest of the stitches on the other needle for Kitchner. The only ones I've had turn out lookin' good every time are any toe patterns where you decrease down to 2 stitches on each needle & then pull the tail of the yarn thru the stitches twice then cinch it up. Here's a link to Laurie B's toes & heels from Socknitters http://mysite.verizon.net/vze8mnnp/toesheels.html \
ReplyDeleteNancy Bush has some great sock books. My favorites are "Knitting on the Road" & "Knitting Vintage Socks". I've knit socks from each one. She's got great toe & heel info in each book, too.
As far as how much leg to knit so you use up all the yarn but don't run out? No answer, unless you want to get into a lot a math & gauge & then it's still a SWAG! Depends on needle size, the kind of stitches, the yarn, tension, etc. The only way to be sure is knit toe up like another poster said. Once you knit more socks, you'll get more of a feel for it. I have size 5¼ feet & usualy a little under 1 50gr skein gets me 1 sock, mid-calf (or just below) with no cables or other yarn sucking stitches.
With the leftover sock yarn, I plan to make a free-for-all pair of socks.
Main thing about sockknitting ~ enjoy!