| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| Tay |
SocksNow that I've mastered knitting in the round on a circular needle, I figured that it's time to have a go at making some socks. Problem is, I don't know what yarn to use. I have a small stash, but most is man-made. Not a problem for making stuffed toys as I have been doing, but I wouldn't really want to wear anything man-made; especially on my feet. I'd have thought that cotton was the best, but after searching for info online, I've seen a lot of 'sock yarns' which are a mixture of acrylic and wool. Is this the norm? I'd imagine that this mixture would be cause sweating and itching? |
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| Sarah D |
Anything with a high wool content is best; man-made fibre (acrylic/nylon) is added for strength, especially in heel and toe areas, so is the norm for sock wool. If you use DK, they will knit up quite quickly, but be on the chunky-ish side; 4 ply will give you a thinner, lighter weight sock, but take a bit longer to knit. Avoid cotton for hand knitted socks. | ||||
| mochyn |
Although there is a lovely 85% cotton sock yarn out there. Can't remember it's name, though... 
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| Tay |
Thank you both - although, that info has thrown me. I can see that the yarn needs to be strong and durable, but does the wool let your feet breathe ok? Rhetorical question - the answer must be yes, or else nobody would knit their own socks!  
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| n |
You have many choices here.
The most basic choice is actually not about the nylon IMHO it's about whether you want them to be machine washable! My own yarns come as Superwash or non-superwash. A superwash/machine washable yarn will withstand a 40 degree machine/hand wash It won't felt on your feet either. Wool felts in the presence of heat, detergent or friction. A non superwash wool sock on a hot foot will felt eventually even if it's handwashed because unless you only wear it in bed, it is subject to heat and friction... AND you must handwash it. Cotton sock yarn exists but cotton is not absorbent as readily as wool, so cotton socks become less bouncy and cushioned and they just get hard like sports socks. Most people knit socks from 75% wool 25% nylon yarn which is both pretty and hardwearing, my husband has socks in this type of yarn which are two years old, worn lots and there's no sign of felting or holes. If you want no nylon then you need to compensate by choosing a "high-twist" sock yarn which will be harder wearing. Not trying to blind you with science, socks are great fun to knit but many hours of work so picking the right base yarn matters. n |
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| mochyn |
I don't have any problem with blended yarns for socks, and I seldom wear any that I haven't knitted myself. Just trying to track down the one I was thinking of... |
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| Tay |
Hadn't realised that felting could occur. Doh!
So, I need a superwash yarn, 25%/75% mix of manmade/wool - dk for chunky, and 4-ply for a lighter sock? At least now I know what to look for when I next make it to a yarn shop. Thank you.
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| mochyn |
There's a brand that I use for everyday socks which is Regia or Opal. Both interesting, self-striping yarns in a good range of colours. | ||||
| KrisWW |
I love making socks and have made them out of 'regular' sock yarn, like Opal and Regia (German brands) and out of pure wool and alpaca, which makes the most wonderful soft socks. But you have to handwash those.
There are all kinds of mixes out there though - I'm looking at stocking Tofutsies sock yarn from the USA which is a mix of superwash wool, their own soysilk fibre, cotton and chitin which is apparently made from crab and prawn shells and is anti-bacterial, so good for smelly feet! I've not tried it yet, so I can't vouch for that particular claim. The first ever pair of socks I made, I used Sirdar Town & Country yarn - doesn't felt, washes well and is reasonably cheap. I find it easier to knit socks on four or five short double pointed needles.
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| BahamaMama |
I am glad I found this thread! I have started knitting my first pair of normal socks using Regia and 4 pins but I find that I am getting quite tangled up in pins and progress is painfully slow.
For the real sock knitters out there, do you use 4 pins or circular? I have ordered a circular needle to see if I get on any better, can I transfer over to a circular needle mid-sock? |
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| Jamanda |
I saw some baby yarn made out bamboo. Anyone tried that? | ||||
| sally_in_wales |
I've got some bamboo sock yarn, feels lovely, havent started using it yet |
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| mochyn |
You can use circular needles for socks although I don't. I prefer dpns for everything and only use circulars for things that are really long such as shawls. Don't see why you shouldn't be able to change in mid-sock, though. Probably the shortest circular you can get. | ||||
| BahamaMama |
I can't think of any reason why I should not be able to change (apart from undoing the mistake I made last night - grrrrr) and I have ordered 2.5mm x 40cm needle.
There may be an update.....
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| Tay |
Does this really matter? I don't have any dpns, and hoped to get away with not buying any. Yet I have a very long circular needle. Although I've yet to do socks, I have used the circular to make some tiny baby mittens... Would a shorter circular have been easier/better to work with? |
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| mochyn |
All I was thinking was that there would be a shorter length of "spare wire" as it were and perhaps easier to manipulate.
The thing to remember thought is that the technique that works best for you is the right technique. |
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| BahamaMama |
Technique - is that like wrestling with wool? 
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| mochyn |
That's EXACTLY what it's like!
I do quite a lot of it... |
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| BahamaMama |
In that case I must have got the hang of it 
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| Tay |
The 'spare wire' doesn't trouble me too much - it is the 'lie' of the wire which bothers me! It always seems to bend/curl the wrong way!
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| BahamaMama |
I have heard that you can steam or soak it briefly in hot water to soften the wire - but I have not dared try that yet. | ||||
| KrisWW |
Yup, just dip the cable into hand-hot water and then straighten.
Personally, I find wooden or bamboo double pointed needles the best things for socks. Wrestling is easier when the wool doesn't keep trying to slide off the end of the needles! And after the first inch or so, things get much, much easier.
Keep at it, and you could end up with socks like this: 
or this: 
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| BahamaMama |
Ooooh!! I am not quite there yet.... but another sock related question, once you have tamed the double pointed needles and the wool has submitted, how do you prevent the stretched stitches that form 3 seams down the length of the ankle of the sock where you move from needle to needle?
I will never take another sock for granted and I am determined to finish this one! And...I want to knit the heel and toe in a contrasting yarn, himself has a long and distinguished history of putting holes in heels and toes and I was wondering if I could knit the two strands together to reinforce these areas of high wear, or would it just be lumpy and uncomfortable? |
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| wellington womble |
You just get better as you get more confident - you can either shift a stitch back and forth every so often, or make it a habit to make the stitches on each end of the needle a little tighter than normal. I use the join instead of stitch makers, so I just make the stictches before and after a little bit tighter, but mostly, you get better with practice! | ||||
| KrisWW |
After you've knit the second stitch on the needle, give the yarn a good tug tight - don't do it on the first stitch on the needle, as that just makes the ladder shift over a column. But for some reason, pulling tight after stitch #2 works brilliantly. And I have the sock on four needles, using the fifth to knit with. It means the yarn is only being pulled 90 degrees, instead of 120 degrees and I find that gives less of a ladder effect. If all of that still isn't working, do what Womble suggests and knit a couple of stitches off the following needles - kind of shifts the ladder round a bit, and evens it out.
Of course you can, it would make for a good looking sock. There are also a number of ways of knitting the back of the heel or the heel flap, which makes for a thicker fabric. The one I use most often is: Row 1 *Slip 1, k 1; rep from *. Row 2 *Slip 1, p 1; rep from *. Repeat Rows 1 and 2 until heel flap measures required length (or the right number of rows) Or you can just slip 1 and purl the rest of the row for row two for a slightly easier and quicker way of knitting a sturdy heel. Ok, shall stop rambling now. Am not completely knitting obsessed... |
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| BahamaMama |
Thanks for the tips! I was losing heart a bit, but I am feeling fortified and ready to carry on (shame I am at work...)
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| dottyspots |
I tend to move the 'end' stitches on dpns round to prevent laddering (which seems to work as well), if that makes sense. Your marker will move round too, but if you're using one atleast you'll still know where the beginning and end is.
I don't knit socks really (have done, but I suffer from second sock syndrome), but I do knit on dpns quite a lot - I prefer them to circular needles and have whopping long ones for knitting jumpers on too. I'm rather in love with mine and if I can work out a way to knit a pattern in the round then I'll do it (anything to avoid sewing seams I really want to make more yoked jumpers for the same reason - I'd love to make some light ones (small gauge) in traditional Scandinavian patterns and add shaping to the waist etc, but to get them being fairly light I'd have to work on lighter yarn than such things are usually worked in and that would take time - I tend to knit and crochet small things because they're easier to get done with small children around.
Although sometimes seams are necessary, as in the hobby horse I'm crocheting, where I thought I'd crochet in the round, but the shaping just wasn't working as really it needs the seams to hold its shape better. So I've now knitted a horse's head shape and will make a second then add a 'gusset' piece in between them, I think that's going to work better. First side down, just another side, the gusset and the rod covering (I'm going to cover the rod in crochet too) to go *sigh* (hopefully I'll get it done for Yule!) |
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| BahamaMama |
My teeny tiny circular needle arrived and I successfully transferred my stitches across (eventually) and I started off full of hope. I hate that blasted needle, it is so teeny tiny that the pins are so short there is nothing to hold on to. I persevered, growled and struggled some more, then went back to dpns
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| dottyspots |
I just can't really get on with circulars, AFAIC dpns are the way to go
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| Mrs Fiddlesticks |
I long to make socks but am still stuck on the very basic knitting with no shaping which I can't seem to get beyond partly cos I don't understand patterns beyond k1 p1. Is there any hope?
edited to add- now if you told me Exactly what to buy and bring to the fibre weekend could you at least start me off? |
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| sally_in_wales |
we can get you started on socks at the fibre weekend. I have a really basic pattern that makes big chunky housesocks on 5mm dpns with aran weight wool that is great to learn on as the stitches are so big and obvious and it knits up very fast- typically one evening a sock, maybe two for a real beginner.
I'll print out a pile of the patterns, and I have some spare 5mm dpns if you havent got any, just find yourself a ball of aran weight wool (100g for a pair of short socks)
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| Mrs Fiddlesticks |
cool! there's a wool shop near work I can pop in to before the fibre weekend. So aran weight wool and 5mm double ended needles ( do they come in different lengths and how many do I need? - I did say I was a beginner  )
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| KrisWW |
Fibre weekend?!? Whowhatwherewhen....??? | ||||
| Jamanda |
http://forum.downsizer.net/viewtopic.php?t=33655&start=0 |
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| KrisWW |
Thanks Jamanda. But - darn it - that weekend is no good to me 
DH goes into hospital for an op on the veins in his leg, kids go back to school on the Wed... and I'm on the wrong side of the country. Ho hum. Shall sit here and toy with a drop spindle and some manx loghtan and pretend I know what I'm doing. |
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| BahamaMama |
I can't make the fibre weekend but would love to knit up some house socks - would you consider popping a pattern in the post? |
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| sally_in_wales |
tell you what, I'll revamp the pattern as an article, that should do the trick all round. I'll even try to make one and take some step by step pictures. just gotta find a free evening... | ||||
| BahamaMama |
Thanks Sally - whatever is easier for you. I don't want to add to your already considerable, load. |
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| mochyn |
NO, NO, NO. You're supposed to be getting better and didn't we just decide that you were overdoing it? Baggage. 
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| sally_in_wales |
right, article is all done, just awaiting the magic wand that makes these things appear on the site. No excuse for anyone not making socks now
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| Frewen |
See - she's practically bionic
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| sally_in_wales |
nah, just a terminal fidgiter
http://www.downsizer.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=331 |
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| Mrs Fiddlesticks |
that's excellent Sally - I read it and thought I could manage that!!
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| KrisWW |
Sally, that's a brilliant tutorial! The socks look fab Well done 
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| eco-tricot |
Great - thanks for this! |
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| sally_in_wales |
I want to try the exact same pattern using 4ply or sock yarn on small needles (2.5mm maybe) and see how small a sock results, would be fun if they made a sensibly proportioned childs sock from the same pattern as the big squashy adult version |