Retirement Project: Sock Knitting

[hrj]

There were a lot of items where I said, "After retirement, I'm going to try doing X." Most of them were things I was already doing, but I wanted to do more regularly or more intensively.

One new items was: I want to learn how to knit socks, which also involves learning how to read knitting instructions.

You see, although I learned how to knit at age 10 and have been knitting regularly since then, I mostly "reverse-engineered" stuff. This includes reverse-engineering how to do cabling and moebius scarves. (I also focused a lot on doing charted color patterns on garments with not much shaping.) But socks--socks need a bit more intentionality.

The first step, over a year ago, was to learn to read knitting instructions, which intersected nicely with making a baby blanket. I found a book of blanket square patterns, so I could do 16 different knitting patterns in one project. Very useful.

Now I'm starting my first pair of socks. And, just to complicate things, I figured I'd try a toe-up pattern, knit both socks at the same time on a circular needle, and do a lace pattern on the uppers and legs. Easy peasy.

I'm not sure that the specific "create the toe" method I followed is the most intuitive (though the reverse-engineering idea I got would probably work best if working on separate needles, not the circular). And there are only a couple places in the process where I found I had the wrong number of stitches and just fudged it with a random decrease. (That hasn't happened since I moved on from the toe to the foot.) I'm not entirely sure that the sizing will be perfect, but hey, they'll be socks. (They may be a smidge large around the foot, but maybe not?)

Anyway, I'm attending an online conference today and making good progress on the socks.

Comments

[heleninwales]

Good luck with the socks. The pattern I use starts at the top ribbing and works down via the heel turn to the toe decrease. I've knitted a few pairs now. However, I just use plain stocking stitch and rely on the self-striping yarn to add interest.

[hrj]

One of the reasons I decided to try toe-up was not knowing how much yarn I'd be using. Probably I have way more than I need, but this way I can knit the leg until I feel like stopping without worrying.

My "nice yarn" that I haven't started using yet is all fun colorways. I'm torn between enjoying doing textured knitting and having had a previous experience where doing a texture pattern with a patterned yarn meant that neither effect really shone.