Good evening everyone,
A few weeks ago, it was about time a dear friend of mine received a surprise gift. I’d been to my local yarn shop that day and couldn’t resist this sock yarn. Firstly, because the socks on the label looked lovely and secondly because my friend had already showed me socks that she had made with wool that has some very short colour changes.
Look what she made!!! Aren’t they gorgeous? I love the way this wool makes the socks look as though they are made with a very complicated pattern using lots of different colours. Starting to knit the second sock at the same point in the colour repeat as the first sock has produced two identical socks as if by magic!
My friend has told me that she really enjoyed knitting them 🙂 Thanks to her for the photos and for inspiring me to get my double pointed needles back out again! There’s another ball of sock wool waiting in my stash.
I hope you like them as much as I do 🙂
Avis x
Sewing Beside the Sea 
susanssnippets
/ January 9, 2014These are lovely! She did really well to match two exactly.
Sewing Beside the Sea
/ January 9, 2014She’s very clever 😉
jmn111
/ January 20, 2014Not hard to do at all – you just pull out the extra yarn when you start the second sock until you’re at the same starting place as the first sock. BTW, it’s a good idea to use your yarn from the inside out – it doesn’t roll around on you as you pull it out!
Deborah
/ January 9, 2014Avis, these are so cool! I once thought that I’d like to try to knit socks, but I never quite got the double-pointed need thing for casting on. haha And then, there’s the realistic part of me that says I don’t have time for everything I like to do.
Sewing Beside the Sea
/ January 10, 2014No I don’t have time either LOL. I agree with Witchylin, the first few rounds on double pins are tricky. Believe it or not I knit my first half sock inside out. I kept turning the knitting the right way to admire the pattern and then forgot to turn it on one occasion. Somehow it was so much easier to continue knitting. I wonder why!!?? Then I watched a few YouTube videos. If I’d done that in the first place instead of thinking I was clever, I could have saved myself a lot of frustration and my other half questioning whether it was worth all the grief just for a pair of socks LOL.
jmn111
/ January 20, 2014Simple to do – hold two needles together, then cast on 68 stitches (that’s what I use for a ladies sock), then distribute them across five needles: 8, 20, 16, 16, and 8 – when you start knitting, the “start” is in the middle of the 5th needle so you don’t have to fight with closing a gap as you would if you had the join at the beginning of a needle!
jmn111
/ January 20, 2014I forgot to say, pull one needle out after you’re finished casting on!
lisasff
/ January 10, 2014Those are lovely!! I have a pair of toe-less and heel-less boot sock things in my queue… after this second blanket. I need to see if we have a sock-yarn like that around!!
Sewing Beside the Sea
/ January 10, 2014I hope you can find some. Must catch up on what you are up to as well 🙂 Happy New Year Lisa!
lisasff
/ January 10, 2014Happy New Year to you!
I’ve been slack in posting, but very productive. I need to post, so it should be a quick catch up 😀
Sewing Beside the Sea
/ January 10, 2014Oh good, that’s OK. I thought my reader had stopped notifying me of your posts!! Looking forward to updates….
lisasff
/ January 10, 2014🙂 They’ll be there! Eventually!!
Sewing Beside the Sea
/ January 10, 2014😀
Isabel's Needleworks
/ January 10, 2014Beautiful socks, the stripe yarn is fun to knit with. I love seeing the pattern appear as I knit. Looks like we all have a lot of projects on the go at once 😉 Happy knitting…Izz
Sewing Beside the Sea
/ January 10, 2014Yes, this type of yarn is a brilliant invention 🙂
witchylin
/ January 10, 2014They were fun to knit and I have cast on another pair in a 6 ply wool this time. These wont be knitted so fast as I am doing other things as well. Avis made a great choice with the colours, I love them. They are a perfect match with my boots. Deborah it is a bit fiddly on the first couple of rounds knitting on DPNs but once you get a few rows completed it is easy.The easiest way is to cast on all the stitches on one needle then slide them evenly onto two more needles. 4 ply socks average 60 stitches so it is 20 per needle. An easy amount keep on the centre of the needles. Sock knitting is addictive. Once you get going they knit up very quickly. 🙂
Sewing Beside the Sea
/ January 10, 2014I agree with you that it gets much easier after a few rows and the best bit is that there is no sewing up at the end. I wasn’t sure whether you wanted me to reveal your identity as the sock knitter in the post but you’ve been rumbled now LOL. I imagine 6 ply socks will be lovely as walking socks. I’ve been looking at my ball of sock wool. I know it won’t knit itself up LOL but the ripple blanket is calling at the moment.
jmn111
/ January 20, 2014I see you’re using just three needles (plus one more to knit with) – it’s really much easier if stitches are spread over four needles (with a fifth one to knit with) – today most dp needles come in sets of five! That’s why – same number of stitches on all four needles – means you don’t have to regroup to do heel or toe.
soknitsome
/ January 10, 2014Those socks are lovely. There are many lovely self-striping/patterning yarns from Regia – the socks always look as if you went to a lot of trouble.
Sewing Beside the Sea
/ January 10, 2014Witchylin did a great job 🙂 I could buy all of the yarns in every colour. It is almost impossible to choose. Even when you buy them, there is always surprise in how they knit up 🙂
*Wisher*
/ January 10, 2014ooohh.. the yarn is really pretty and what gorgeous hand-made socks to keep the feet warm.. great job.. 😀
Sewing Beside the Sea
/ January 10, 2014Yes, we need warm socks here in the North-East of England 🙂
Debbierose
/ January 10, 2014the self pattern sock wool is gorgeous
Sewing Beside the Sea
/ January 10, 2014I love it all 🙂
wendy
/ January 10, 2014fab socks! I love the look of variegated yarn but it doesn’t work for crochet. my mum knits with it and it turns out lovely every time, in crochet it just looks a mess. I would like to try knitting socks some day….
Sewing Beside the Sea
/ January 10, 2014Ha-ha! Yes, I did try to crochet with some a long time ago. I didn’t get very far. If you knit one pair of socks, you’ll knit lots. I’m always surprised how quickly they can be made up.
claire93
/ January 10, 2014well done Lin and what “clever” yarn ^^
Sewing Beside the Sea
/ January 10, 2014Ditto 🙂
witchylin
/ January 12, 2014Thank you Claire. I am really hooked on knitting socks now. Lots of other projects need starting but at the moment socks are the first in line every time. The 6 ply knits up quickly but I think I prefer the 4ply and the finer needles. I may try to do a double heel on the thicker ones next time so they are suitable for wearing with my walking boot. Will have a look for a pattern using a double heel. So far have not been able to find one.
claire93
/ January 12, 2014I can only knit scarves for the moment, so I’m in admiration when I see your lovely socks
E.C.
/ January 13, 2014You have a really good friend. She did a very professional and wonderful job on the socks.
I’ve not heard of that brand of yarn, but I will be checking it out. It works up lovely.
I look forward to seeing a photo of your knitted creation. I know it’ll be lovely too.
🙂
Sewing Beside the Sea
/ January 13, 2014Regia do lots of different sock wools. Some knit up stripey but this type is my favourite because those little flecks make all of the difference. I’m actually wearing the blue socks I knitted today. You can see them on my finishes 2013 page above. They were made using Opal brand yarn. Avis x
jmn111
/ January 19, 2014Be sure to use bamboo or wooden needles from Knitter’s Pride! You won’t regret it. I’ve just bought three new pairs: A pair or round (2.5mm) rosewood, a pair (2.5mm) of Kubics (they’re actually square!), and a pair (2.5mm) of Karbonz (they’re carbon steel with steel points – I don’t like them as well as the other two – you can feel the juncture between the steel points and the shaft).
jmn111
/ January 19, 2014Oh, and look for Opal yarns as well – there are a bunch of manufacturers of variegated sock yarns – what you’re after is something that’s 75-80% wool, and 20-25% polyamide – called Superwash and the yarn washes in the machine (cool water) and you supposedly can dry them in the dryer – I dry mine (all 40+ pairs) by hanging them over a rack.
Sewing Beside the Sea
/ January 24, 2014Thank you for all your hints and tips. They are greatly appreciated, especially as I’m just starting out with socks 🙂