Thread: Socks
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Old February 22nd 09, 10:26 PM posted to rec.crafts.textiles.yarn
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Default Socks



"Patricia A. Swan" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 27 Nov 2008 23:17:04 -0500, Juno B wrote:

Katherine wrote:
On Nov 26, 12:58 pm, Juno B wrote:
Hi all,
I'm back to tell you that my friend came over on Monday and got me
started on 4 needle socks. She had taken me shopping for new yarn and
larger needles first. Once she showed me how to get going, everything
fell into place.She said she thought the woman in the yarn shop steered
me wrong on what to buy. She tried using my original yarn and needles
and said she, who is an experienced sock and mitten maker, was having
trouble. When spring comes and I return to Cape Cod I'll tell the
woman
in the yarn shop out there that I was unhappy with her service and as a
result she has lost someone who would have been a frequent and good
customer.I'll do my shopping here at home first and bring my projects
with me when I go to Cape Cod.

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:
http://www.woolneedlework.com/Yarn/S...c_Colors.shtml
and #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


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
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RybPvCNfrT8

I also learned Judy Becker's Magic Cast-On from a Cat Bordhi video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhBIS0AhhQY

I used a self striping yarn and worked from the toe up. I can't wait to knit
my next pairs.

Lisa in NJ



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