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INTRODUCTION: YEAR OF THE SOCKS
January 20, 2021
As I was finishing up the last of my holiday gifts, I realized I hadn’t made anything for myself (despite my many plans to do so). And I can’t remember the last thing I knitted for myself. So this year I’d like to give myself some of that same effort and make something I can enjoy. And I also want to make a bit of a project around it.
I was inspired by 52 Weeks of Socks, a collection of 52 sock patters (one for every week of the year), and periodic creative challenges. Knitting takes a bit of time though and I don’t think I could do a pair of socks every week (nor do I quite want 52 socks by the end of the year), but I do feel like I can do one every month (and 12 socks seem quite reasonable). And so that’s what I’ll do.
KNITS AND BOBBLES
January 29, 2021
The pattern I decided was Simple Sock 2 from Melody Hoffman’s Simple Sock Collective. They’re worked top down and feature the requisite bobbles. I liked their distribution and size relative to the rest of the sock and the chevron cuff detail was also interesting.
I bought a gold sock yarn back in September with the intent of making socks for myself, but I hadn’t settled on a design and projects for other people took priority. The yarn is one of the Work Horse Sock yarns from Black Cat Custom Yarn in the color way Midas. It’s a blend of Blue Faced Leicester wool and nylon. Although the pattern calls for a sport weight and a needle size I don’t own, I figured knitting the larger size with slightly smaller needles (2.25mm vs 2.5mm) and a thinner yarn (fingering vs. sport) would yield something roughly close to gauge that would fit well enough.
I made some minor deviations from the pattern: I decided to do a tubular cast on as I had used recently it on a hat and liked the way it looked and thought it would be nice to have on some socks; and I only did one repeat of the leg pattern as I prefer slightly shorter socks (my legs are slightly shorter).
I also made some unintentional deviations: My bobbles have two more stitches than the pattern calls for, but I like the scale of these bobbles, only slightly larger and I think it works out well since my yarn in a little lighter than what the pattern calls for. I also lost count in my gusset decreases somewhere in the middle, but I had the correct amount of stitches at the end and they look fine; and purled when I needed to knit in the garter portion of the heel once on each foot (in different places, but the same side). I’m not too bothered by my errors. If they were a gift, I probably would have fixed them, but for myself they’re fine. I don’t see or noticed the mistakes and knowing they’re there add a little more character to them
This sock had some minor variations to things I’ve done in other socks:
The heel turn makes a much pointier heel in this sock than I’m used to. But after blocking and when wearing it isn’t very noticeable.
This pattern uses a garter border to the heel and you pick up the stitches between the purl bumps rather than slipping the first stitch on each row and knitting through that. I didn’t notice any significant difference other than aesthetic. Not super
The gusset decreases don’t have an adjacent plain stitch between the decrease and the foot. There’s no significant difference but I think I do prefer having that extra stitch on the outside of the decreases; it looks a little cleaner to me when it is there.
The rate of decrease for the toe is consistent all the way to the end (decreases every other row) rather than switching to a sharper decrease (decreasing every row) as you get closer to the tip of the toe. I’m not sure if this is the best shaping for my toes. I think I’ll try out what I’m more familiar with and see how that fits and see what other variations I could try out.
Overall, I’m very pleased with the pattern and how the socks turned out. And the bobbles are quite delightful.
NO MISTAKEN KNIT
February 10, 2021
The yarn is Malabrigo Worsted in Pearl, a singly ply Merino wool ,purchased at The Craftivist during a scavenger hunt around Atlanta during my first semester in graduate school (and my first few months there). My plans for it was just to get it into my stash. Was it for a gift? For myself? I didn’t know and I didn’t really care. I saw it, I wanted it, so I bought it. It was a treat. Graduate school was draining in ways I hadn’t anticipated and running around the city and stopping in that little yarn shop was such a welcome break from things. It was also the first yarn I had bought in a few years and it was such a lovely yarn.
I sat on it for a little bit before finding Rye by Tin Can Knits, a sock pattern for a worsted weight yarn. And so I got to it. And it seemed to go well for a while. Until I got confused by the construction (how do socks work?) and my resistance to using stitch marker did me in. The mistakes I made were obvious at the toe and the issues I already had with the cuff (I did not use a stretchy cast-on) made me want to start fresh. So I put it away.
When I began knitting gift socks last year I returned to this pattern, mostly using it as a reference and incorporating different stitch patterns. The first pair of adult socks I gifted followed the guidelines of the pattern, but I decided on a Mistake Rib stitch for the sock (didn’t realize that’s what it was called at the time). The Mistake Rib stitch is based on a 2x2 rib, a four-stitch two-row repeat with the second row shifted by one stitch. There’s a column of knit stitches and a column of purl stitches, each flanked by columns of moss stitch (alternating knits and purls).
And as I returned to this yarn, I figured I’d return to the pattern again (loosely). And given the connection of this yarn to that first recipient (partner during that scavenger hunt and many other adventures afterwards), I figured I’d use that same stitch pattern.
I had a cake of the same yarn in a different colorway (I think Violeta?) that I purchased last year (on Super Bowl Sunday) for a planned project (a headband) but since I hadn’t gotten very far on it, didn’t think I’d use the entire cake, and the use case for that project (keeping my ears warm while walking around campus during winter) wasn’t a thing anymore and probably wouldn’t be for a little while, I thought it would be a nice addition to these socks, a bit of contrast to the cuff and toe.
This was a rather straightforward knit so I don’t have much to say regarding the construction. I knit these one at a time on US 4 double pointed needles (instead of two at a time on magic loop like last months), cast-on with a tubular cast-on, and used an Eye of Partridge Heel. But my approach to this month wasn’t to focus on doing something new or particularly interesting, it was very much about comfort and simmering in sentimentality.
These were a rather quick given the weight of the yarn and my smaller feet, but it has been an enjoyable knit. I really enjoy working with this yarn.
A-TOE-MIC WAVES
March 29, 2021
These socks are Undulance # 2 by Suzanne Bryan, and I knit them using Fibrelya’s Sock Star Stripes in Coralita. One thing I really appreciated about this yarn was that it came split into two cakes with the start of the working end marked and they started at the same point in the dye pattern so each sock would match. The effort on their end to make diving into this project easier on mine.
When I first saw this pattern, it caught my eye. I originally had it in mind for someone else but the more I looked at it the more it grew on me. It’s not my usual style, a bit louder that what I’m usually drawn to, but I still really liked it. Having looked at some examples of color combinations other people have gone for, I really liked the ones with bright colors. I wouldn’t say I normally wear bright colors, but it’s socks. And I enjoy a pop of color every now and then. So for this month, I thought it would be interesting to try something a little out of my comfort zone and something to get me into a spring spirit. Other details about this pattern that interested me were that it is worked with short rows and has a short row heel, the former I have done but not in this particular way (wrapping stitches after the turn to get rid of the resulting gaps from the turns) and the latter I have never done so it was a good opportunity to try out these things out.
One thing I noticed about this pattern only after I started was that it doesn’t give measurements, it only has the pattern repeat thrice and variations in length can be achieved be by modifying the amount of stockinette rows between the short rows (the part that makes the pattern wavy). Since I knew I generally want a shorter leg length, I decided to just do 3 rows of stockinette instead of the indicated 4. When it came time to work on the foot, I measured the leg and heel to help determine the amount of additions rows I’d need to make it fit assuming that the toe ended up being 2¼”-2½”. From my estimations, I needed just a couple rows (four rows if I assumed a shorter toe) to get the proper length. At first I thought I would do a 3-4-3 pattern (making the foot two rows longer than the leg). But then I realized I made a mistake with my first short row repeat. When I started on the foot, I was going off memory and forgot that the row to conceal the short row wraps was separate from the stockinette rows and so the stockinette rows for the first pattern repeat were two not three rows. Since I didn’t particularly want to frog back, I decided to just make all forthcoming stockinette rows four rows and I’d end up with the same length.
Another mistake I made was continuing to shift right instead of shifting right and then left. I didn’t read the pattern for the second repeat very closely and just assumed the pattern would continually shift in one direction (something that I have seen before). This only became an issue once I got to the toe and was easily fixed by shifting the needles over a bit (three stitches to the right) and knitting to the halfway point (30 stitches on one side of the heel, 30 on the other). I noticed my error once I was at the heel but decided to continue on as I couldn’t think of a significant reason why it wouldn’t work out okay by the end and if it did I would either try to fix it or start over.
A s mentioned earlier, this was my first time doing this kind of heel. While the fit it fine, my tension was uneven, being loose on the right side (both working and directional) as seen in the photo above, and it was a bit harder to keep track of stitches. I ended up putting in a lifeline in the row where the double wraps get knitted and that helped a lot. I think I still prefer the gusset heels I have been doing on other socks, but I liked trying out a new heel and I’d like to try out some others as well.
Overall I’m pleased with these socks. They’re a fun addition of color and pattern and a nice introduction to spring. If I were to make these again, I think the only thing I’d change is the heel. And actually following the shifting directions. And I might include a contrasting yarn for the cuff/heel/toe. But the pattern was relatively easy to follow, the repeats were easy to remember, and the process and outcome were enjoyable.
SHOE FLY
April 27, 2021
I was browsing Instagram a few months ago when I came across these socks. They weren’t released yet but I knew I wanted to make them for this project. They incorporate some techniques I was interested in trying out (a Latvian braid and an Estonian inlay technique) that could include color without stranded colorwork or intarsia. I had to wait for their release (and to finish up last months socks) but I picked the pattern up as soon as I was able.
These are the Ambering Sock from Summer Lee Design Co. It features a Latvian braid under the cuff and dragonflies along one side created using an Estonian inlay technique (roosimine). I used Earl Grey Fiber Company’s Darjeeling sock yarn in a OOAK colorway that I picked up last year and some remnants from January’s socks, Black Cat Custom Yarn Workhorse sock yarn in Midas.
The Latvian braid involved holding the two yarns to the front of the work and spiraling them one way for one row and then the other for the next; it gets very twisted for a bit but then untwists itself by the end.
For the roosimine, I brought the contrasting color in front (held double) while I worked the main color and then moved it to the back to create the bars that make up the dragonfly. The tutorial in the pattern was easy to follow and provided good pictures to supplement the descriptions. The pattern has different dragonfly directions depending on which foot and whether they’re going up or down. I opted to go with my right sock having all the dragonflies flying down and those on my left flying up. I thought it would be fun to have them slightly off from each other.
Other than these techniques, the rest of the socks were straight forward. The only other slightly new thing was that start of the heel flap was a little different, the first two stitches of the first row are slipped before going into the heel flap pattern. I liked this method as it kept the number of slipped stitches on the side more even which made it easier to keep track of which ones to pick up stitches through.
The only mistakes and deviations I made were really minor this go around. I forgot a decrease in the toe that I eventually compensated for and added an extra stockinette row on my left toe because I was worried the sock might be a hair too snug (my left foot is slightly longer than my right). And the orientation of dragonflies and number on the leg which but those are flexible in the pattern anyway. The only thing I might change for future versions or anything else with a Latvian braid is shifting the beginning of round after the braid so that the jog is in the center back of the sock rather than on the right side.
I really enjoyed knitting these socks, they came together pretty quick (just a bit over a week) and I enjoyed learning and applying the new techniques. I’d like to explore them more, maybe doing some more elaborate roosimine designs. Overall, I’m very happy with how these came out and they might be my favorite so far. They have a bit of color (but not too much) and a bit of texture (but not too much) in fun little details which feels very “me”.
ON THE WRONG FOOT
May 28, 2021
For this month I wanted to do something relatively straight forward and familiar but with a new fiber. I have only done flat pieces with cotton/cotton blends and thought it might be a fun experiment for a sock as warm weather starts to settle in. I got a late start because I was trying to knit some Mother’s Day socks and the first pair of socks hit a bit of a snag (I was doing a new construction method) with the heel flap and gusset and couldn’t quite wrap my head around how it was written and how it was supposed to look like (still having issues with it) so I put those aside to knit a new pair of Mother’s Day socks which took a bit longer than I wanted and have become a bit belated.
But the socks I set out to make are Dawn Henderson’s Autumn Dawn socks. I decided to use some KnitPicks Comfy Fingering in Hollyberry. I had knit Dawn Henderson’s socks before (the first being her Apart Together socks) and really enjoyed the patterns and the outcomes. Looking at the pattern and knowing that cables tend to not provide much ease and knowing that cotton doesn’t have as much stretch as wool, I figured I would knit the smaller size but on larger needles. While the smaller size was a hair smaller than I would normally knit for myself, the larger size was larger than I go for. I should have taken the time to swatch and measure things outs.
They don’t fit. I can’t get them over my heel, and so I’m not going to be able to finish these socks as planned this month. I do want to make them and finish them but it won’t be happening in May (I’m not spending the few remaining days spending most of my time knitting). Before I frog and start over, I will take measurements and compare the amount of stretch I have and how much I need to fit on my foot.
But I did make socks this month. These are Dawn Henderson’s Asali Socks in Neighborhood Fiber Co’s Rustic Fingering Yarn in Cochineal (which may be discontinued?). The yarn is single ply, and while I’m still a little wary of the strength these will have being worn as socks, I’m also not too worried. The twist looks a bit tighter and the yarn feels denser than the other singly ply yarn I used (Malabrigo Worsted). My mom is also an occasional sock wearer and so they’d probably wear better with her than with me.
The main thing that interested me about this sock was how the back on the leg was ribbed. My mom has slim ankles and I thought this feature would help them fit a little easier. I also liked the honeycomb pattern going down the front, something relatively simple but providing visual and textural interest.
These socks came together pretty easily. I followed the pattern as written, no real deviations. I did mess up some of the honeycomb pattern on each foot but the honeycomb is busy enough that it isn’t too noticeable at a glance. Overall, I’m happy with how they came out.
This month’s knitting didn’t pan out as expected but I learned something. I learned the importance of swatching and checking gauge, especially fit is important and when the stitch pattern and yarn fiber both have properties that can effect the fit or something and when I’m unfamiliar with one or both properties. I’m not much of a swatcher but it is something that I should do more frequently. With socks it feels easy to fudge since yarn weight and gauge don’t feel like they vary significantly, but they might and going off feeling and intuition not necessarily the best in those cases. Hopefully next month is more fruitful in the knits. I have another pattern planned, but I will revisit these (pattern or yarn or both) and figure it out.
Update (01/22): The red cotton socks will not be made. I had taken measurements and figured out what size to knit to, but I realized I don’t want to make socks out of this yarn, and even if I did, I don’t think they’d be very nice socks. I decided to not waste my time, energy, or yarn when there are others things I’d rather make.
VINE-RIPENED TOEMATOES
June 30, 2021
For this month I wanted to try something new-ish. A new technique to add texture and some visual interest (smocking) and a new heel construction (Sweet Tomato Heel). Admittedly my interest in the heel was mostly because of the name, but I thought it’d be good to expand my heel options.
Since I knew I was doing this heel, I sought out patterns from the developer of the construction, Cat Bordhi and settled on her Victorian Birdcage socks. The yarn is Regia Premium Bamboo in the colorway Gras Green.
Unfortunately, this month’s knitting did not work out in the time I gave myself. It proved to be more challenging than I expected it to be. I’ve made it to a point where I’m more comfortable with continuing and knowing how to continue, but it’s been a bit of a journey.
The instructions are written for both toe-up and top-down, and seemed to prioritize the toe-up method a bit more. For instance, some the chart for the smocking pattern skips rows and in the toe-up instructions there was a note to knit in the rib pattern for the skipped rows. I didn’t see that at first since I was just looking at the top-down instructions. I only noticed when I got to the heel and had to frog to start over.
I also had trouble figuring out how to distribute my stitches over the double needles and got confused from the diagram and instructions since I worked the chart upside down (because I was doing top-down).
The primary reason I chose this sock pattern was to learn the Sweet Tomato Heel. It’s similar to a short row heel and (from what I gather) only really differs in the number of wedges created from the short rows and the resulting shape; the Sweet Tomato Heel produces a rounder heel than a standard short row heel. I have done a short row heel before, and I struggled with maintaining proper tension. And that continued with the one heel I’ve done so far. Cat provided some troubleshooting tips that I’ll be mindful to apply for the second sock.
I also made some errors with the smocking. Just missed one on one sock and shifted one on the other, nothing too terrible or obvious (to me at least)
I realize I could have done toe-up socks (something I’m not familiar with doing) and that might have made this month’s knitting a little easier in some ways, but that’s something I want to tackle later. Going forward with these socks and future socks, I am going to try to do more preparation (reading instructions thoroughly, familiarizing myself with any charts or techniques, swatching for gauge). I am also choosing something that I feel more comfortable with next month, something to boost the spirits.
An update regarding May’s socks: I have taken measurements and should be good to start them over soon.
Update (01/22): I decided to not finish these socks. I have slowly worked on them over the course of the year, but each time I picked them up, I found they sparked less joy and I was less and less interested in finishing them. I’m happy I learned some new techniques, and maybe I’ll try something like this again, but I would rather focus my attention elsewhere for the time being.
SOME RUFFLED FEATHERS
July 31, 2021
For this month I wanted to something relatively simple and straight forward. I have seen some socks with little ruffles around the cuff and I thought that might be kind of fun. I know how to knit a ruffle, had some idea of how I’d want to resolve ruffle and cuff, and have a sock recipe that I like so I thought I’d give it a go.
These socks were largely inspired by PetiteKnit’s Ruffle Sock, but no was used. The yarn I used is Ula + Lia’s Mongolian Baby Yak Wool Yarn in Milk Chocolate. I picked this yarn up a little while ago because I was curious about how it’d feel and knit up.
Since I knit socks top down (generally), I started with the ruffle. My initial idea was to knit a ruffle, knit a fold-line, and then knit the cuff and resume knitting the sock. My first attempt was unsuccessful as I twisted the round and began knitting a mobius strip. I realized this a few rows in and frogged to start over. For my second attempt, I realized I could knit the ruffle in reverse stockinette so when it folded over the wrong side (stockinette side) would be facing out. Midway though that I decided to switch from a fold-line to a welt (the cuff folded over and attached to itself) as I figured that would look nicer and cleaner. My ruffle seemed a bit large (10 rows long, four times the final number of stitches) even though I made a little swatch and initially liked how it looked so I decided to start over with something a little more demure. My third attempt was a little too demure (7 rows, two times the final number of stitches). The ruffle disappeared when it stretched out as it would be on my leg and I didn’t consider the shortening of the cuff as it stretched out. For my fourth attempt, I decided to go back to large ruffle but make it a little shorter and the cuff a little longer (9 rows for the ruffle, 24 rows for the turned cuff(). I also twisted this attempt. But fifth time was a charm and I had no issues with getting the second sock going either.
Aside from figuring out my ruffles, I only had two issues, neither too major. One was that I accidentally dropped two stitches in my ruffle and only noticed after I was well into the leg. I just held those stitches on a stitch marker and sewed them in after I finished. The other was that I accidentally made a stitch, dropped it once I noticed, and was left with a ladder. It’s still there but I’ll try to even out the tension later.
These socks started out a bit rough, but once the ruffle trim and cuff were sorted, it was an easy knit. The foot is just in regular stockinette and the heel uses a heel flap. I did do an Eye of Partridge Heel for a bit more texture and visual interest, but otherwise a really straight forward sock.
The yarn is made of yak which is quite soft, noticeably softer than the merinos I’ve used. Visually, it is also quite soft, having a bit of a halo and less of a defined stitch. It feels really nice, but I do worry a bit about its strength. I’d love to make some other things with the fiber though, things that would sit close to the skin.
Overall, I am quite happy with these socks. I’m tempted to make more ruffled socks, but there are a few other things I want to try out first.
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.
ALL BUTTONED UP
September 29, 2021
Looking at some of the yarn I’ve accumulated this year, I decided to try to use up some leftovers, both yarns from socks I made as gifts. One of the socks had Estonian button stitches (I made Buds & Flowers by Agata "Amanita" Mackiewicz) and I decided incorporate them as a reference to those socks. The other pair I made had some smocking which I feel looks somewhat similar so it also kind of worked as a reference to those. And since I’ve been using this year long project to learn different construction methods, and I figured this would be a good opportunity to try out an afterthought heel. Knowing I had limited yarn stock, I felt more comfortable knitting them toe-up and the afterthought heel fits in nicely with the constraints I had.
I used Teal Torch Knits’ TTK Lena Sock yarn in Peel It (a tonal orangey yellow) for the main color and Black Cat Custom Yarn’s Workhorse Sock yarn in Sunstrider (a variegation of red, orange, yellow, and pink) as the contrasting color. All together was about 36g of yarn, split somewhat evenly, which I figured would be enough to make me a pair of ankle socks (spoiler: it was). I kept it fairly simple since my main concern was to make sure I didn’t run out of yarn before I finished. I didn’t really follow a pattern for these socks, just piecing different sources for different parts (the toe, the heel, the Estonian button stitches).
The socks came together pretty uneventfully (minus the slight anxiety I had about not having enough yarn to finish). I started with the toes, using the Turkish cast on method (following Andrea Mowry’s video tutorial) and then proceeded to the rest of the sock. I decided to make my sock 64 stitches.
To figure out the spacing for the Estonian button stitches, I just quickly sketched something out and tried to find a distribution that would work with my stitch count. I settled on repeating every 8 stitches, and included the first and last stitches of the bottom of the foot to spread them evenly. Before I started, I knew I wanted the button stitches to have 8 rows between them. I wanted the button stitches to be a bit denser than in the Buds & Flowers pattern which was every 10 rows.
For the heel, I referenced the blog and pattern from Loop Knit Shop primarily to get a reference for the distance where I’d need to pick-up the heel later and roughly how it’s constructed (very similarly to toes in cuff-down socks). This afterthought heel was not completely an afterthought since I did use scrap yarn to knit the stitches I’d need to pick up later, but in this instance I needed the visual assurance that I’d have enough length to actually make a sock. I also knit the heel before the cuff because I wanted to be sure that I’d have enough yarn for the heel. I’d rather skimp on the cuff than run out for the heel. Which would have been okay in hindsight as I could have used other leftover yarn, but in the moment I really wanted to just use these two yarns. I decided to put the live stitches on DPNs which I appreciated when I was started knitting the cuff, but got in the way while I was knitting the heel. But I did it and seemed to have enough yarn for the cuff so I put both socks on my cable needle to knit them two-at-a-time.
The cuffs are a 1x1 twisted rib. I got nervous as I noticed one of my very small balls of yarn dwindling so I switched to just knitting one at a time. I decided to do a 10 row cuff which is a bit shorter than I prefer, but since it was shaping up to be a short sock and I was worried about running out of yarn I thought it’d be fine (spoiler: it is fine). In my worry I decided to also cast off with Peel It since I had some of it left and was (again) worried I wouldn’t have enough of the Sunstrider to finish the other with. But I did so I didn’t have worry so much. And again, could have easily just used another bit of yarn if I did run out.
I don’t know how I feel about the afterthought heel. I feel like mine is a bit too deep for my foot and so doesn’t fit as snugly as I’d like. I am also not a big fan of the shape. While I don’t mind a bit of an ear on the toe from grafting, I don’t like it on the heel—it looks a bit more pronounced on the heel. I know there are ways to decrease their prominence though so I may try that next time. I may also shorten the heel a bit, perhaps stopping my decreases to maybe 28 or even 32 stitches total instead of 24 at Loop Knit Shop suggested. If I tried them one as I was making them I’d have probably gotten a better idea of the fit, but since they were on DPNs and I didn’t want to transfer them to scrap yarn I didn’t. Although not my favorite heel method, I still want to give them another try.
There are things I would probably do differently if I were to remake these socks, but I enjoyed the experience and am pleased with the outcome. I’ve been wanting to have makes some more ankle socks and these are a solid pair. They’re also a bit lighter than the last two I’ve made which is nice; I appreciate having a bit of variety in my sock options. It was also a good exercise in using up left over yarn from other projects. I realized that I am a bit attached to having my stash (and keeping it) and it was a little difficult to accept not having either of these yarns anymore. But it was also nice to use up all the yarn and see it being used for something. Technically I still have a tiny bit left (about 1.5 g together), but they aren’t really going to much use outside of darning or something very very small. As for next month, I have some ideas but just need to settle on when makes most sense to do them.