Wip Wednesday: Socks for the Man

Last year I started a pair of socks for my husband.  I felt it was time to knit him a pair because I know he will appreciate them and he does keep me in fiber and fiber tools.



 I started them at the end of September to be exact. The good news is I have turned the heel.



I have many reasons why they aren't done yet.  None of them are good reasons so I will spare you the details.  I predict they will be done by the end of the month.

Socks Pattern Smattern... Part I

I was tempted to enter Elinor's Sock contest but realized I don't follow sock patterns so how can I in good conscious write a pattern for someone else to follow? Yet, I will share my sock madness process because I love hand knit socks.

I only knit toe up socks, with magic loop, at the same time but on separate circs, most often with a fleegle heel.



See it makes it easier to try them on and see how they fit. Since I make them at the same time I don't suffer from second sock syndrome.

Right now I'm working on pair of socks with Knit Picks Felici.


It's a really soft springy yarn so I'm going to go with 2.00 mm needles because I shoot for a gauge around 9st/inch but I don't mind if it's 10sts/inch. If the yarn was a bit stiffer I'd go up a needle size or two. Since I plan to knit some very plain vanilla socks I'm going to use my Hiya Hiya needles. If I was going to do a pattern that needed lots of increases and decreases I'd use my fixed Knit Picks needles because they have long pointy tips.

Let's start with the toe. I start by casting on about 24 sts. I find this works for my foot. Less or more might work for you. If you have really pointy toes you might use less. So as I said I start by casting on 24 sts using my favorite toe up cast on, Judy's Magic Casts On, or look here for more Magic Cast on.

Knit one round even
[k2, right leaning inc, knit to the last 2 sts on the needle, left leaning inc, k2] x2 (On the first increase round I add an inc/dec marker so I can keep track of my rows)

I repeat the above rows until I get the number of stitches I need. Then end with knit one round even row.

See knifty inc/dec markers below: (inc/dec position on the left and knit even position on the right)






How do I know how many stitches I need? In general I know I need about 64-80sts using sock weight yarn depending on the gauge. So at about 60 sts I take a look at my gauge.

For this pair of Felici socks I'm getting 9st/inch. The ball of my foot is 9.5 inches. I like some negative ease in my socks so I strive between 15-20%. I say strive because I don't always get the perfect fit but I get a good enough fit. I figure the more socks I knit the better I will get at it. This particular pair of socks I'm trying to get a better fit so I'm going for 20% negative ease.

20% ease: sts/inch x ball of foot x .80 = number of stitches needed
15% ease: sts/inch x ball of foot x .85 = number of stitches needed
So for my foot I get 9 x 9.5 x .80 = 68.4 for 20% ease or 72.67 for 15% ease. Round the numbers up or down. If you don't want to crunch the numbers feel free to use this hand dandy spreadsheet here.

The pattern I have in mind, 3 by 1 seed stitch ribbing, is a multiple of 4 so it will work for both 68sts and for 72sts but I'm going down to 64sts because I don't think I need the extra 4 sts and this means I have the same number of stitches on both needles. If needed I can add some stitches later. I need to do that sometimes for my arch.

3 by 1 seed stitch ribbing pattern:
R1: knit 3, purl 1
R2: knit all
Repeat rows 1 and 2 to create pattern.

Note: I have a bit of an issue with balance so I like to frame the the pattern on top of the sock whenever possible. To make that work in this sock I knit or purl the last stitch in pattern on the sole so the pattern on the top of the sock is framed.



So far so good:



I'll knit until theses socks until they are both 3-4 inches long. Then take some more measurements. Stay tuned for further progress.

Socks and socks

I finally finished off my Sockotta socks about a month ago.



I finally tackled those dang short rowed heel socks. This has a bunch of firsts for me: first pair of socks on magic loop, first short rowed heel and first toe up sock. It's my own pattern too. In the sense that I did a gauge swatch and figured out what I needed in gauge taking into account some negative ease then cast on and knit.

Other specs:
US 1/ 2.25mm 32" circs - I used two circ. needles with one sock on each using magic loop
Most of the ball of Sockotta



About a week ago I finished off these socks. The main first for these is the color toes and heel and the fancier stitch pattern.

Specs:
Twist sock pattern from Hello Yarn
cuff down/heel flap
ww cascade 220 heathers in purple and green from my stash
US4/3.5mm 32" cable needles for magic loop



These are for me and they keep my feet toasty! The only thing I wish I had done differently is make the entire toe part out of green. I like this pattern it's easy to get the rhythm of it. I'm sure to make more. I still have some sweater yarn and other worsted yarn that need using up.

Finished Socks

socks
Originally uploaded by Fiber Star.

I finished these in May. I like them but I washed them and they shrank and they were already a bit to small. So I will need to deal with the snug fit or offer them to someone with smaller feet. I love the color way and their feel.

yarn: Gedifra Fashion Trend Sportivo, color #5768
needles: #1 dpns
pattern: here
Cuff down sock

Still trying to get the hang of the toe graft and still not quite succeeding. Thankfully the yarn hides. Currently on my needles are a pair of toe up magic loop socks so I don't have to do the toe grafting.

too many wips ...

too many works in progress (wips) that is.

I say I have too many wips and I just might because I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. But truly I like having several projects to work on because they each have their place. If I'm bred with one I pick up another. I'm know to start another project, usually small ones in between all this too. Did you see all the dish cloths I made? I've been working on those more than these lately.

Like my crocheted sweater has some patterning to it and needs some attention so it good for quite time at home. This is the Suzanne Hoodie from Cool Crochet by Melissa Leapman. I making out of a heathered purple yarn wool yarn by Cascade. The pic really doesn't do the yarn color justice.


The Harry Potter scarf is great for car knitting (I'm not the one driving, I promise!) I like taking to homeschool group too. I got lots done on this visiting the in laws.


The socks in progress I'm doing a basic knit on the foot so they are also good out for an about project. I keep these in my purse for emergency knitting ie. the kids are taking forever at the library or at the grocery store. I got some done on these this weekend too.


I have the ripple gahn but it's unlikely I will do much on it until it gets cool again.



I also have some thread grannies and yarn grannies I'm doing. I see these as long term use up the stash projects. The ripple ghan is like that too.

This doll spiral blanket I really need to finish. I know my daughter will love it because she picked out the colors. I have a hard time working on it because it just doesn't excite me at all. I will persevere.



I crocheting this lovely Chrysanthemum Shawl from Amazing Crocheted Lace. I'm not far from finished. I'm using Soy Silk yarn from Southwest Trading Co. It is divine. Been working on this today.


The exchange bag from Happy Hooker. It's made from nylon yarn from omega. I'm not really a bag/purse person but I love the looks of this so I had to make it.


See this afghan, blockas are from 200 crochet block by Jan Eaton, I *still* have not woven in all the ends.

my first pair of knit socks

I used baby weight yarn from my stash and #3 dpns (double pointed knitting needles.) I followed this tutorial here. I made loads of mistakes but they fit!

Most of my mistakes were due to not reading the tutorial carefully. When doing the gusset I didn't alternate knit rounds with the shaping rounds and I forgot to do it with one sock on the toe shaping. Grafting the toes was tricky but I got the hang if about halfway through the second sock.

A sneak peak of my progress on the Harry Potter Scarf:

Socks - another pair

I finished another pair of socks this weekend. The pattern is, Mardi Gras, from a book called Stocking Feet published by Annie's Attic, you can also get just that sock pattern at e-pattern central.

It took me a while to figure out the pattern. I needed to adjust it quite a bit so I could get it over my foot! I think it was design for smaller feet and with my 9.5 size foot I needed to add some stitches so I could get the sock on and off.



I started making the sock in Stockotta by Plymouth and that is just not very stretchy. Then I switched over to Dancing by Knit Picks because it has elastic in it. I still jumped from 45 stitches to 54 stitches to make it work for my feet. I adjusted the heel too but I may have added too many stitches there because it's a bit big there.

I like how they turned out, I especially like the stitch pattern.



I think it would look really nice in a sweater. The elastic yarn was easier to work with than I feared. I've seen elastic yarn at elann that might be great to use for a crochet camisole for the summer. I can show of ALL my curves that way, well hopefully not all of my curves.

Socks - NaBloPoMo#12

Well, these might be more like slippers but I'm callin' them socks anyways. So there.

I used Lion Brand wool-ease which worked fine but I think all wool yarn would be warmer. I used LB because I wanted these colors, it was the only yarn I could find that was washable, and the price was right. Ideally I'd like a soft dk weight superwash wool yarn to make these. They are perfect for around the house but I found them not quite warm enough in my sandals outside. Then again maybe it's just too cold for sandals.

In my sandals, don't they look fun and festive.

I started these Friday night after I had to frog back a few rows AGAIN on my current doily. I was so frustrated I started some socks to sooth my tender crochet soul. Get it ? I needed socks for my sole.

You're not laughing?

Okay, maybe you're right, it is a lame pun. So sew sue me.

Tricky sock pose which shows off the heel nicely too

I like how they turned out. I plan on sharing the basic how to pattern on my free pattern blog here. After I get a few peeps to test it for me.

sexy sock pose

more socks

I think I am addicted to socks. I want to learn to knit too just so I can make even more socks.

Yesterday, I finished my 4th pair of crocheted socks and I am fairly pleased with how they turned out. I still have some kinks to work out to make the perfect pair.

I used the toe-up sock tutorial here on crochetville. I'll take you through the steps and share my insights so you will able to make the perfect pair of socks for your feet.

Step One - Foot measurements:

I added a few xtra measurements because the socks I have made in the past were tighter as I got to the arch and knew I was would need to vary the stitches needed for proper fit.

Ball of foot: 9 inches
Arch: 10 inches
Ankle: 91/2 inches
Length of foot: 10 inches

Step Two- Gauge Swatch
I didn't worry about row gauge so much as my stitch gauge. I used Knit Picks Essentials in purple and a purple D hook- 3.25mm (it is not mandatory to use the same color hook as your socks but I found it appropriate if not a bit confusing at times)

I did a pretty slack approach, I only crocheted for an inch in length(rows) and 4 inches wide. I plan to do a bigger swatch piece next time and do it in the round as well to get a more accurate gauge.

My gauge was:

6+ stitches/inch

Then I took the 6sts-1st=5sts

5sts x 9inches = 45sts - added one to make it 46sts for my purposes.

Step Three- Crocheting the Toe and Foot

I used sc and sc back loop only for the foot.

I chained 9 then followed the instructions for the most part to complete to reach the 46st required. The tutorial suggested a 3 stitch increase in one stitch I did one sc increase on each side. I am not sure if this is a problem or not. It did take me 14 rows to get to the 46 sts required before I worked even. Other toe-up patterns I have done did 2sc increases on each side for a total of 4 increases each row.



When I reached the 46 sts I marked the sides of the foot and centered 20sts on what I considered the top of the sock. I worked sc around, when I reached the 20sts area I crocheted in the back loop only.



I like how it looks but I am not sure if I will do this again using sc. I did want to add some pattern to my sock. I might try this again with extended sc. I want expand my pattern repretiore especially for socks.

Step Three - Arch - (I added this to ensure proper fit)

Using my measurements it suggested I should increase to 50sts. I increased to 52sts and still think I needed more. I started increases at 30rows(of back loop pattern-44rows total) which was about 4 or more inches of sock.

I worked 2 increases (one on each side), worked even, increase, even , increase etc. The end result is still a bit tight around my arch, even though I did more stitches than my gauge suggested. I think there are several factors adding to the tightness. I needed to start increases sooner. The stitch pattern I was using, sc back loop only, is not very stretchy.

I continued the pattern rows until I reached the recommended 3in from the length of your foot. I think I needed to go a bit longer maybe as much as 2.5 inches from the end of my foot.




Step 4 - Short rowed heel:




I can't be much help here. I found the short rowed heel a bit tricky. I added stitches which ended up being a helpful thing! I could not figure out how to do the short rowed heel to get the same number of stitches I started with. When I finished my heel I ended up with 64sts. I decreased those stitches to 58sts.







Step 5 - Leg:

My plan was to continue with the sc back loop pattern up the leg but it was painfully slow going so I gave up and worked alternating rows of sc and extended sc. I really like how that looks and plan to use it for the foot and leg part in future socks. As I worked up the leg of the sock I decreases to 54sts total. I worked the decreases in the sc rows. I started those after I had worked 2inches or so of the leg pattern.

After I worked 4plus inches of the leg pattern I slip stitched to join then ch2 and dc around. Then did 3 rows of front post dc all around. I did a ch2 for the beginning of each round instead of a ch3. I joined to the ch2 slip stitching around.

Wove in my ends and put my socks on!




I love how they look and feel when they get on but they are a bit tight to get over my heel. I seem to have that problem with toe-up socks and I don't have it with the top-down sock I just made.

I may end up being a top-down sock maker after all to ensure I can get my foot in my sock easily. I have not given up hope yet. I may need to crochet longer before I start the heel and use a stretchier stitch pattern throughout. I think that yarn choice might be a factor as well. Knit Picks Essential has less stretch than Patons Kroy. I don't want to give up on Knit Picks yet because I love the solid colors and the reasonable price tag. I only needed 2 skiens to make my bit higher that ankle length socks. Yeah! They are sooo soft too.

Easy Does It Socks

Thanks to my Autumn Secret Pal I got Crocheted Socks! and some Patons Kroy yarn. So I made these socks.


All done and the feel great.


I had to do lots of adjusting to the pattern to make them fit me which has me wondering about pattern sizing. I like socks that fit on the snug side. All the finished sizes for this book are the same size as my foot so that would make a pretty big sock in the end don't you think?

Anyway by the time I was done with the sock I was using stitch count for a small sock rather than a large sock. I will probably adjust the pattern around the leg for the next pair of socks I make.

I still think the book is useful for ideas and a starting point. Just try on your socks as you go! Even better do a few socks using the free toe-patterns on line to give you a sense of the gauge you need to get your a socks on and off easily then making these socks will easier.


Here I am wearing another pair of socks I made. It was cold in the house! I have just finished the cuff of the sock and started on the leg.


The leg is almost done and I am ready to do the heal flap and heel turn.



They look good in my shoes too.

Socks

These are the pair of socks I did as a part of a Sock CAL on the CGOA members email list. I made these to fit a bit more snug than my first pair but I have still have some learning to do.

My next pair I plan on doing what's called a short rowed heel which will eliminate the chaining around the ankle which always give me this tight feel and doesn't offer much give around the ankle.

I finished these a few months ago just when t he temperatures soared up to the 100's. I didn't even want to put them on to take a picture!

Today they were the perfect thing to keep my toes warm on this cool fall day.

I used Sockotta sock yarn. I love how it feels.

Socks - a little further along

Socks - a little further along
Originally uploaded by sammimag.

My socks are movin' along a bit more. I have the next task to complete for the crochet along. I just need to decide how I want to go about it. I found when I did the grafton fibers toe-up sock pattern when I got to the heal I need it to be a bit more roomy.

So do I make a longer chain than suggested or do I add a few more rows then make the chain?

more socks - the beginning

more socks - the beginning
Originally uploaded by sammimag.

I'm working on a Sock CAL for CGOA members. I got this far then after doing part of the next task I decided to frog back to the beginning. I just didn't like how roomy the socks were at the toes. I was worried they would be even roomier if I kept going.

The pattern suggested I end with a certain number of stitches which didn't make sense to me if I want the pattern to fit my feet.

The gauge required was 13sc/2inch which is about 6.5 sc/inch. I measured my foot just under the toes and got about 8.5inch around. So that got me about 55sc needed to fit my foot. I decided if I ended with 54 sc I would get a snug fit and the sock will stretch.

54sc is just about what I ended up with when I did the grafton fibers toe up sock. I also changed how I did the increases. I did increases w/o a sc in between them which I think makes a tighter fit.

I hope I'm right.

Socks - It's a Pair!

My socks are finished! I was worried that I didn't have enough yarn for the second sock but I had just enough. I still have some yarn on order at the Yarn Barn so I guess I will HAVE to make another pair :)

I think these will look great with my tangerine converse sneakers. The socks feel comfy in my sneakers too.

Socks - just one so far

I was wanting something new to try and decided to make my first pair of crocheted socks.

I used a Toe Up Sock pattern that I found here
I used an E hook and Sockotta yarn. I don't have color code any more sorry!

The pattern was fairly easy to follow. A few tips that weren't shared in the pattern:

Do not join rounds (work in a spiral) if you join rounds you get a ridge that could feel uncomfortable. ( I did join rounds when I did the cuff part because I was doing some dc)

When I started the heal I joined the yarn in the heal opening in the second stitch from one "corners" (with the right side facing me.) I don't think it matters which one. Then did a decrease on that side then a decrease on the other side. I hope that makes sense. I might try and get a simple drawing up so it will be clearer. I plan on making another pair socks that does the same kind of heal so I can take pics of that. There are more pics of making the socks on my flickr pages just click on the flickr badge in the side bar and look in my crochet folder.

The beginning:


When you get to the heel/cuff part she suggests you divide in half the number of sc stitches you have to get number of the chains you make. I did that and thought it was too tight. I did a few more chains. So I recommend you try the sock on at that point to see how easy you think it will be to get on and off.



I think this pattern is really easy to do and works up quick but if your are new to crochet it might be a little confusing until you play with it a bit. I like how I can make the basic sock part with single crochet then do some fun stitch experimenting for the cuff. My sock fits nicely. It will fit even better after it's been washed (I hope!)

A close-up of the sock cuff. I use fpdc and a cluster dc. If I do this pattern again I might switch it around and do the cluster stitch first then do the post stitch. The fpdc stitch kind of mimics knit ribbing.




The finished sock