Monday, February 26, 2007

They might come true for you tomorrow


These are my third-ever knitted socks, a man's size 11, finished late for L's birthday. (You've seen the second-ever ones. The first are still being reworked... they may show up one day.)


It's Heirloom Jigsaw self-striping sock wool, knitted toe-up starting with Wendy's figure eight toe again. The first time I cast on, the toe was looking far too pointy, so I ripped after several rows, and started again with 12 pairs of stitches instead of eight.

This time I tried the heel from the Sherman sock. This is very similar to a short row heel but you (mostly) don't have to wrap the stitches. I liked it, since I haven't quite got the hang of picking up the wraps properly. The instructions are slightly more complex though.

I'm really happy with the way this stuff stripes. In those multiple shades of grey, I think it's kind of a sophisticated-funky look. The knitted fabric felt a bit stiff - though not scratchy - but it softened quite a bit after a trip through the washing machine. The wool/nylon blend feels like it will be hard-wearing, if a bit less soft than some other sock wools.

If I did these again (and at least two other blokes close to me wear this size, so you never know) I would start the ribbing (K2P1 in this case) a bit sooner. But, overall I'm pretty happy with the results of just working it out as I went along.

2 comments:

Taphophile said...

Happy sock dance, happy sock dance ;D They are gorgeous socks. Good to know they soften with a wash. It's a commitment loving men with big feet.

Bells said...

Oh that's inspiring. Hubby is still waiting for his own pair of socks and I'm nervous about the sizing. I might come to you for advice!