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2/17/2003 12:12:04 AM
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jeannette
Posts 6
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Please does anybody know of a book or something to help me learn to knit socks !!!!! I`m pulling my hair out
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2/17/2003 10:50:51 AM
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Guest
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Oh YES!
The BEST book is Socks Soar with Two Circular Needles by Cat Bordi. You can find it at Amazon.com or maybe even your local library.
This is a technique for knitting small circumfrence items like socks with two circs instead of DPNs. It is so much easier than DPNs it is amazing.
The book has great instructions and about 12 or so patterns which get progressively more advanced. Once you learn the basic technique you can adapt just about any sock pattern to this technique. It works with toe up, ankle down, gusseted heels, shortrow heels, cables, ribs - anything.
After my first pair I couldn`t stop with the socks and now knit them two at a time on circs. I finally forced myself to make a sweater in between pairs but I can still hear the sock yarn calling! It gets addicting - beware!
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2/22/2003 3:01:34 AM
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Pamela
Posts 14
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I learned last May, and have made quite a few pairs, using various methods. I strongly recommend that you use a toe-up method, if for no other reason than that it prevents you from running out of yarn halfway through the foot. Also, I use two circular needles. The basic concept is that you knit across each circular needle with the other end of the same needle. I haven`t read the Bondi book, but by all accounts it is an excellent way to learn, and worth the small investment.
Take the time to make a test swatch (don`t bother to bind off, unless you want to launder it, etc.), measure it, and write down your gauge, and then measure your foot. There`s no point in making your own socks if they don`t fit you perfectly. Immediately after making note of the gauge, you can unravel the swatch and use it to make your socks.
Some good, inexpensive yarns for socks are Lion Brand`s Wool-Ease and Wool-Ease Sportweight. Most colors are about 80% acrylic and 20% wool, so they can withstand ripping and re-knitting, and the low prices and large skeins mean you can knit a pair or two for about $4 to $6 US.
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2/22/2003 3:02:00 AM
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Pamela
Posts 14
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I learned last May, and have made quite a few pairs, using various methods. I strongly recommend that you use a toe-up method, if for no other reason than that it prevents you from running out of yarn halfway through the foot. Also, I use two circular needles. The basic concept is that you knit across each circular needle with the other end of the same needle. I haven`t read the Bondi book, but by all accounts it is an excellent way to learn, and worth the small investment.
Take the time to make a test swatch (don`t bother to bind off, unless you want to launder it, etc.), measure it, and write down your gauge, and then measure your foot. There`s no point in making your own socks if they don`t fit you perfectly. Immediately after making note of the gauge, you can unravel the swatch and use it to make your socks.
Some good, inexpensive yarns for socks are Lion Brand`s Wool-Ease and Wool-Ease Sportweight. Most colors are about 80% acrylic and 20% wool, so they can withstand ripping and re-knitting, and the low prices and large skeins mean you can knit a pair or two for about $4 to $6 US.
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7/23/2004 3:36:54 AM
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Libby
Posts 7209
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Has everyone seen the Kroy offered? well I got some thingking that it would make some awsome Christmas presents. Then I got to thinking (I know, I know, I really shouldnt do that too often!). I have some Baby Cashmere from Elann which is the same wt and size and would probably gague out the same as Kroy and was thinking to substitute it for socks as well. So here is the question. Do you think that the cashmere is a sturdy enough yarn for socks? It definately is soft and warm enough to get the job done but I honestly doubt that it is sturdy enough for the hard job of being socks.
What do you all think about this?
Libby
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7/23/2004 7:20:37 AM
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shelmack
Posts 66
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It could be sturdy enough if you knit the heels and toes with a nylon reinforcing thread alond with it. The hard thing is to match the colour. I made a pair of pure wool socks last year and they wore out in 2 weeks, I also made a pair of pure alpaca and they lasted a month. I found out about the reinforcing thread after I made those. There is some available here at Elann - Schoeller Esslinger Stopf-und Beilaufgarn - I is only .75 for a 5gr card.
Personally I use the sock yarn now as it lasts really long and you can wash it in the washer and dryer.
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7/23/2004 7:21:34 AM
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Guest
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If you knit the cashmere very tightly - say, 9 stitches to the inch instead of 7 - then it should wear as well as it possibly can. You want a fabric so tight that when you stretch it over your fist you can`t see any skin through it. Obviously this means you have to use more stitches to get the sock to fit you.
Don`t try to do this by pulling every stitch tight - do this by using the smallest possible needles that will pull the new stitch through - I usually knit socks on size 1, so I would go down to, say, 00 in order to do this. If you usually use a size three, try a zero.
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7/23/2004 8:33:33 AM
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Guest
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Libby-
The chsmere would make lovely socks. But I agree with Theresa and Shelmack. You might need to use the reinforcing thread and a smaller size needle. Also something to keep in mind, I read this somewhere, that even the best wool yarn knit into socks will wear quickly, because of the carpet used in our homes. Most have a nylon in them which is abrasive to wool breaking it down quicker(hence the reason most "sock"yarn has some nylon in it to reinforce the wool fiber, I know...duh!). I always wondered why our hoisery didn`t seem to last as long as the hosiery of yester year. I mean how many of our stockings are going to be found in some archaeological dig. I know I have way too much time on my hands if I`m coming up with things like this, lol.
Heather
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7/23/2004 2:32:28 PM
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Libby
Posts 7209
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Thanks everyone for the info. You all confirmed my worst fears in that the cashmere probably wont hold up as well as another fiber would.
Heather, Thanks for the info about how they have to add nylon to reinforce the yarn. I didnt know that. About the nylons...maybe they should add wool to it! LOL but seriously I think that they purposly make them easy to break and wear out so that way we have to go and get some more of them. What better way to make a buck then to sabotage your own product when they know that us women just HAVE to have them. LOL...
Libby
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7/23/2004 2:32:29 PM
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Libby
Posts 7209
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Thanks everyone for the info. You all confirmed my worst fears in that the cashmere probably wont hold up as well as another fiber would.
Heather, Thanks for the info about how they have to add nylon to reinforce the yarn. I didnt know that. About the nylons...maybe they should add wool to it! LOL but seriously I think that they purposly make them easy to break and wear out so that way we have to go and get some more of them. What better way to make a buck then to sabotage your own product when they know that us women just HAVE to have them. LOL...
Libby
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8/14/2004 5:29:37 AM
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Guest
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Does anyone have a pattern for chili pepper socks? They are knitted socks with knitted chili peppers daggling from the cuff?
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8/19/2004 11:42:09 AM
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Guest
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Hi Pam - I put "chili pepper socks" into Google and received lots of matches to that search string. I don`t know if there will be any that have the chili peppers dangling from the cuff, though. Good luck!
diane at elann
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3/9/2006 3:56:55 AM
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Guest
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can some of you share a favorite sock pattern?
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3/9/2006 5:19:01 AM
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carrie
Posts 285
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antmeg, go to www.socknitters.com and under resources you will find all kinds of patterns. Carrie
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3/9/2006 5:36:54 AM
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Guest
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I like the lion brand basic sock pattern, which used to be free at www.lionbrand.com under knitting patterns. There`s also a great pattern or two here if you click on free patterns and scroll to the bottom.
Good luck with your socks. Any chance you`ll share them (or anything else you like) with us?
Bri
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3/9/2006 7:13:52 AM
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Guest
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Absolutely! Thanks a million
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3/9/2006 9:37:07 AM
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benne
Posts 19258
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I don`t knit socks, but I like socks. ;-} Alice Trueman has a good sock pattern posted here. If you search her posts you should be able to find it. I went to Suzann`s blog (address under the pic of her lace socks) last night and looked at her socks. They are amazing!
Benne
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3/9/2006 12:14:52 PM
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CatBookMom
Posts 6264
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Alice Trueman, one of our Knitting Goddesses, has a terrific basic top-down sock pattern, written for knitting on 2 circs. It`s written for stockinette, but it is easy to adapt to other stitch patterns. I used it for my very first socks, and found it easy to `translate` to dpns. If you`d like a copy (I do have her permission), email me and I`ll send it; I`m grdncats AT pacbell DOT net
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3/10/2006 3:20:09 AM
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Guest
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i appreciate all of your help. thanks so much. when i`m done my first pair i`ll send a photo.
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1/15/2007 5:06:46 PM
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Guest
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Jennifer who made the socks pictured is my buddy from the ISE (International Scarf Exchange) The one who I knit a scarf for. I told her I have never had hand knitted socks so she made me these two pair!! They are beautiful and I can`t wait for them to arrive!!! Thanks Jennifer
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