Socks

This are GOOD News , Juno !!! now i am amxious to hear/read how your socks develop ? mirjam

I'm getting there. I'm about to start the second step in the heel. I've not put a lot of time into this week. Busy cooking and cleaning. Some of my children and grand children will be sharing the day with us tomorrow. Juno

Juno, the woman in the yarn shop in all probability suggested what worked best for her. Why not first tell her what sort of difficulties you had and see if you can figure out why? Maybe she holds her yarn completely different -- etc.

Good luck with the socks.

Usually I give people the benefit of the doubt. Not this time. I'm a very easy going person and don't get annoyed with people. Her attitude was one of get what you want and leave I have real customers here. I should have left but I really wanted to try to make the socks. I explained that I hadn't knitted in many years and needed some guidance. She wasn't about to be bothered. Juno

Sounds as though you have gotten things sorted out now, Juno. Good to hear! Can you tell us what yarn and needles were first recommended and what ones you ended up using?

Higs, Katherine

I started out with this yarn:

#2 needles. Now I'm using a worsted weight and # 4 needles. On my next pair I'll probably try #3 needles.Someday I hope to go back to the original yarn and see what I can do with bit. I'm getting my knitting feel back and feel more comfortable with them every time I pick up my project to work on it.Hugs,Juno

Hi Juno,

I can understand your frustration, but I have to say the clerk did give you good advice. My first pair of socks were made with that exact same yarn in colour 927, and I used 2.25 mm needles. I love the socks, and they fit perfectly. Unfortunately, it appears the yarn may have been too fine for you, and if you do return to the shop you can tell the clerk that you had better success with a heavier yarn and larger needles. I'm sure she will appreciate the feedback.

take care, Linda D. in B.C., Canada

Hi Juno! I made my first socks last year and read and was given the suggestion to use worsted weight yarn for my "Sample Socks" as I had only used double points to finish the tops of baby hats. This worked well for me as It gave me a good sense of how a sock is put together....those socks I wear around the house. My next pair I used a DK weight yarn with size 3 needles and those came out great for boots. Now I am on my 3 pair using sock weight yarn with size 1 1/2 needles for the top part and size 1 for the heel because I have narrow heels and that seems to work the best. It did take a while to get used to the smaller needles but now a size 3 seems big

Take care and happy knitting! Donna

Thanks Donna, I appreciate all your information and help. I know sock making is a matter of preference for yarn and needle size and I have to work at it. Right now I'm trying to get socks made for my granddaughters who prefer socks to slippers around the house.I think most children prefer socks . My preference is bare feet but that get cold in the winter so I usually wear socks. I only like very thin ones in shoes. Everyone has been so helpful and I really appreciate it. Juno

That said, enjoy your first socks. This could be the beginning of a life-long obsession :-)

The Other Kim kimmeratsoylentgreenfielddotcom

friend didn't like the self-patterning aspect of it. The worsted weight will make much heavier socks - the type I would wear as either house socks or inside boots in the winter. The other weight I wear in regular shoes.

Higs, Katherine

LOL Kim, you and I said almost the exact same thing, but in slightly different words. I should have read to the end of the thread before replying.

Higs, Katherine

I'm posting this from way, *way* down the time line, but I'm a poster on some of the knitting groups on yahoo. Smaller, tighter stitches make for a more durable sock in most cases. The woman's attitude was appalling, but that was a reasonably valid choice in needle and yarn for someone who's not knitted a lot in a while. This will probably make you wince, but most of the folks I know online who knit socks use from a US Size 0 (2.00mm) to a US Size 2 (2.75mm) with between 8 and 10 stitches per inch in most cases unless they're making a heavy-weight boot or house sock on larger needles with worsted-weight yarn, though I've one pattern that's done on 4/0 (1.25mm) needles at approx. 12.9 stitches per inch. Some of these folks are getting a wear-life on their socks of in excess of ten years.

You might look into the Magic Loop technique to replace your double pointed needles at some point in the future. Makes knitting life *so* much easier for a lot of sock knitters. Combine it with the Short-row heel technique, and Judy Becker's Magic Cast-On or the Turkish Cast-on, and it's dead simple to make socks from the toe up that are easily customized to your specific foot dimensions. And since Magic Loop is worked on longer cable needles like the 47 inch Addi Turbos and Addi Lace, or the Hiya-Hiya, or the KnitPicks Harmony woods, there's room to work both socks to the pair side-by-side on the needle at the same time if you're feeling up to a challenge.

Hope this helps,

Pat in North Carolina

Ohhhhhh.. socks! I'm glad your friend was able to help you find a comfortable needle and yarn size for you.

I would agree with the others who posted --- sock knitting is ADDICTIVE. I am finishing my first pair now. I wasn't up to the challenge of the magic loop, but I DID replace those double points with two sets of circular needles. What an amazing difference from using 4 dpns. I had remembered finding dpns a challenge, but with two circulars, it was all very simple. See Cat Bordhi demonstrate the technique at

also learned Judy Becker's Magic Cast-On from a Cat Bordhi video. used a self striping yarn and worked from the toe up. I can't wait to knit my next pairs.

Lisa in NJ

Katherine, Lisa, and all,

I agree also. Socks are addictive. My last pair was a pink pair for my

6 year old grand daughter Ava.

I agree, the self striping yarn is fun.

Higs, Dennis

It is, but I am kind of tired of it right now. It doesn't allow patterns to show up. However, I still have several balls of self-striping to use up, so I will learn to love it again. My youngest granddaughter loves hand-knit socks so much so that she wears them even in the summer, in her sandals. LOL

Higs, Katherine

It is, but I am kind of tired of it right now. It doesn't allow patterns to show up. However, I still have several balls of self-striping to use up, so I will learn to love it again. My youngest granddaughter loves hand-knit socks so much so that she wears them even in the summer, in her sandals. LOL

Higs, Katherine

How bout making mittens with the self-striping yarn? I used some leftovers for baby mittens.

Donna in S. Indiana

That's an idea, too.

Higs, Katherine