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YEAR OF THE SOCKS

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TOEING THE LINE

August 31, 2021

I’ve been interested in trying toe-up socks for a while. Aside from one attempt, I’ve only made cuff-down pairs and I’d like to see if toe-up is a method I’d like. My previous attempt went reasonably well until the heel flap but that’s an element that can be changed. The pattern I found for this month uses a different heel construction as well as a new cast-on method and I was intrigued. It also includes a picot cuff (which I’ve only done on cuff-first items), stranded mohair (never worked with mohair), and a slip stitch design (this I’m familiar with). It seemed to be the right blend of new and known things.

The pattern I used was Andrea Mowry’s Suska’s Socks knit with Chamellia Sock yarn in Licorice Fern from Earl Grey Fiber Co. and Aloft Super Kid Mohair in Tarragon from KnitPicks. The Chamellia Sock yarn looks to be discontinued, but it is a 100% merino wool, which is the primary reason why I chose it for these socks. The mohair is supposed to provide extra strength to the fabric as the addition of nylon does in other blended sock yarns, so I figured this would be a nice yarn to try it with. As the yarn leaned a bit more blue that I preferred, I opted for a yellow leaning green mohair to neutralize it a bit, but in hindsight I kind of wish I leaned a bit more into the blue tone. But I’m pretty happy with the color outcome regardless.


These socks came together pretty easily and had relatively few issues. The only issues I faced were on my end. 
  • I knit the smaller size even though I knew it would be a hair tighter it ought to be so they are a bit snug to get into. I hope it relaxes and stretches out over time, but I can still wear them.
  • I misread the stitch pattern for the top of the foot, omitting a p2 in the repeat which led to my slip stitches being closer together and having more of them. Since the repeat is easy, I didn’t bother to revisit that portion until I got to the leg which is when I realized my mistake.
  • My picot edge is a bit off, but I attribute that to be doing a stretchy bind off which adds an extra row of knitting that I didn’t think about or account for. I really should have just sized up my needles and bound off normally as I don’t think it would make a big difference in the end.
  • The connector of my cable needles broke on two of my cables. Customer service was great and I got replacements, but I’m trying to be more careful and mindful of how I’m handling my needles and holding them while I knit.


But even with all that, I enjoyed the process and the outcome. I found the pattern easy to follow for the most part (aside from my early mistake) and it felt like a good instruction to working with mohair (it was my first time knitting with it). I’d like to continue trying out toe-up socks in the future, perhaps even another pair of these (but made as written). I’m pretty pleased and looking forward to more knitted things. I’m not sure what I want to do for September quite yet. I have a big knitting project I want to work on (a gift), so I’m not sure what approach to take with the socks. Need to make decisions soon though.