Category: Knit Page 42 of 88

Flat Feet socks are done!

On the left are the socks in their pre-blocked stated, along with the remaining flats. The socks weigh about 30g each, leaving about 2 – 25g flats for a pair of footlets (or a scant 6″ each). Editor’s Note: I wear US Size 6 / EUR Size 37 shoes (when wearing socks). I also prefer short socks (4-6″ above ankle bone). So your personal mileage will vary, depending on your foot size. There is definitely enough yarn for average sized feet. This is a guess, since I don’t really know what “average” is.

In the photo on the right, I have a sock (left) that has had a nice hot bath in Soak, and hung up to dry overnight; and one unwashed sock (right). You can see that the sock grew slightly, and most of the texture has been removed by its hot soak in the bath. Had I used a sock blocker, I’m sure that all the texture would have been removed. But since I don’t own any sock blockers, this will have to suffice.

Update: Grace said that she couldn’t see the details on the pre/post blocking well, so I have included a full sized photo.

Some additional notes and thoughts on knitting these socks:

• I finally read all of the fine print on the tag that came along with the Flat Feet. They recommended US #3 (3.25mm) needles with a gauge of 8 spi. They must knit very tight or I’m a very loose knitter. I used US #0 (2.00mm) needles to achieve a post block gauge of 8.5 spi. As I said in my earlier post, I couldn’t accurately measure my gauge pre-blocking due to the puckering effect of my knitted fabric. I had to go by look and feel. But if you force me to give you a number, I’d say it was about 9.5 spi.
• I knitted the first sock with my KnitPicks Harmony Wood needles. I have to tell you that it was a chore. The combination of the extra pointy ends on the KnitPicks needles and the knit then unraveled yarn made for a lot of swearing when I split the yarn. I switched to my Addi Turbos (regular, not lace) for the second sock, and all was well. No more splitting the yarn. I was able to go back to mindless knitting while I did other things. Don’t get me wrong. This is not the fault of neither the KnitPicks needles nor the Flat Feet yarn. It’s just a case of wrong equipment for the task. You’ve been warned.
• I did more research on the knit-dye-rip-reknit thing, and found that this technique was first published by Rebekah Younger in a July 1995 issue (p. 68) of Threads, not invented by Nancy, as I stated in my earlier post.

I’m very pleased with this pair of socks. It has given me some wonderful ideas. Fortuitously, my sister just bought a knitting machine, and has offered to put my niece to work on knitting some blanks. Perhaps I can get some sock blanks for further experimentation. Maybe I can even knit some lace shawls.

Final Project Notes:

Yarn: Flat Feet by Conjoined Creations
Needles: US #0 (2 mm); KnitPicks and Addi Turbos
Gauge: 8.5 spi
Pattern: Variation on my generic toe-up socks with turkish cast on; increased up to 64 sts; yarn-over short row heel over 50%; and sewn bind-off.

Take 2 on the tennis socks pattern. Trying out a few more variations on my original pattern.

Variation #1: I worked the short row heel on 60% of the stitches, instead of my normal 50%. I’m not sure how I like these. I didn’t take into account of how much deeper 60% would be and started the heel at my normal place. As you can see, the sock is a bit long and the heel a bit pointy. If I’m to do this again, I would want to start the heel about 0.25″ sooner, and perhaps stop earlier. (I normally leave 1/3 of the heel stitches unworked before increasing again. I may want to try 1/3 +2 stitches unworked.)

Variation #2: I divided the cuff by working the front over 60% of the stitches, and the back (heel portion) over 40% of the stitches. This is more like how the commercial tennis socks are made. I like this. Definitely a keeper.

Yarn: Regia Kaffe Fassett #4250
Needles:US #0 (2 mm)
Gauge: 8 spi
Pattern: Variation on my generic toe-up socks with figure 8 cast on; increased up to 72 sts; short row heel over 60%; front cuff over 60%, heel cuff over 40%; and sewn bind-off.