Double The Stripes

Mom and kiddo wearing matching socks with green, blue, and black stripes.

I’m been struggling to figure out what to say about these socks. They’re both great pairs, but everything I write about them sounds hollow. All this not writing/blogging business is taking its toll, and making it harder to find my voice. So I’m going to let the socks, all four of them, get things started.

Matching adult socks and toddler socks with matching green, blue, and black stripes.

I was out wandering the yarn aisles one day and came across a few balls of Patons Kroy Sock in a new to me color, Turquoise Stripes. This yarn is a staple of my sock stash and I’ve made so many comfy socks with it. Of course I had to get a few balls because I do love green sock yarn. Then I had a fun idea. Sure I could knit socks for me, but also the Kiddo, and the Bearded One. We could all have matching socks until Kiddo outgrows hers. Sounded like a great idea to me, and enough yarn came home to make it happen.

Hand knit adult socks with blue, green, and black stripes laying on concrete.

The first pair I started was for me because both of my most recent finished sock projects were for them. I stuck with my usual toe-up sock pattern. The only change was making the leg and cuff longer because I had the yarn.

I’ve knit this pattern dozens of times, but they were no means a quick project. They were the thing I knit when I had a few minutes of downtime at the playground, or riding in the car, or when I didn’t want to stare at my phone. So these took me about two months to finish. Then I got started on the Kiddo’s pair.

Small kiddo wearing handknit striped socks outside.

You’d think that these small socks would fly off the needles. I certainly hoped they would. But, nope. This pair took me two months to finish too. I also used my default sock pattern for these, just a sized down version. Of course, I made these with room to grow because she’s almost outgrown the last pair I made her at the beginning of the year. Maybe this pair will fit through to next winter. Maybe.

As cute as this pair is, making them was bittersweet. This was the first pair of her socks that needed more than a single 50g ball of sock yarn. It’s a good thing, but I can’t help but be a little sad about it. Probably won’t be long before she can wear my shoes.

Kiddo and mom wearing matching hand knit socks.

After making these two pairs, I decided to knit the Bearded One socks with different yarn. I still love the color and the stripes, but I don’t think they’d look as nice at a larger stitch count. 64 - 70 stitches around seems to be the limit before the stripes turn to static. And I definitely need more than 70 stitches per round to make him a pair of socks. Think I’m going to use the extra yarn to make the kid another pair of socks when she eventually outgrows her current pair. Until then, I’m going to tackle all that gift knitting that’s piling up. Cute unicorns don’t knit themselves.

Knitting Fail

I had to count on my fingers to figure this out, but I have been knitting for about 10 years. Over those 10 years I have learned a lot about the art of knitting and worked with a lot of yarn. I’ve knit small things, big things, geeky things, comfy things, and completely frivolous things. I’ve also knit things that I am incredibly proud of. Even with all that experience under my belt I still make silly mistakes. Example A, these socks.

They look the same, right? The stripes match, except for the heels. They’re the same length from cast on to bind off. But they’re different.

The first sock I knit on a 2.5 mm needle. I knit the second sock on a 2.25 mm needle, thinking that it was the 2.5 mm needle. I didn’t realize the difference until after the bind off when I had to cajole it on to my foot. The first sock is a half inch larger and much more cooperative. 

This week’s knitting public service announcement: If you ever have to snag your sock needles for another project between the first and second sock, do yourself a favor. Use your trusty needle gauge to make sure you’re using the same size needle for both socks.

After leaving the pair to its own devices for a night, I came up with two options for how to fix it. Option 1, unpick the bind off and rip right back to the toe. Nope. Option 2, wash the socks and stretch the second sock into shape over a sock blocker. That’ll happen as soon as I get my hands on my blockers, but it’s not as necessary as I’d first thought. In the few minutes I wore the socks to photograph them, the tighter sock (on the left) relaxed enough to be comfy. Snug, but comfy. All those stitches were not in vain and I still get a pair of socks!

So this knitting fail wasn’t a complete lose. Plus, I’ll get the added bonus of seeing how long each sock holds up. Will the looser knit but better fitting sock outlast the stretched sock with the tighter gauge? Only time and steps will tell. 

Pattern: Full pattern notes on the Ravelry page.

Yarn: 2 balls Patons Kroy Stripes - Spring Leaf Colors

Needles: 2.5 and 2.25 mm circulars

Date: January 29 - May 27, 2015