I told you I'd have some things finished soon and sure enough, here they are. These are the Snicket Socks, a free pattern by Sabine Riefler.
I had cast on for these (using my Kollage square dpns) around mid October. Once past the cuff, however, I realized that purling across four dpns (as the pattern instructed) was probably going to give me ladders. So I thought, why not magic loop? I put the socks into hibernation for a couple weeks so I could finish some sample knitting before devoting to them my undivided attention.
This was my first project using Noro and I was pretty surprised with how much I didn't hate the yarn. I've heard a lot of complaints about Noro on Ravelry (too scratchy, too many knots in the yarn) but didn't find this yarn too scratchy at all, nor did I find any knots in the yarn. In all fairness, I do have a high scratchy wool tolerance. The worst thing about the Noro is that the yarn itself had some thick and thin areas that I didn't love, but it wasn't terrible.
For these socks, I did the pattern pretty much exactly as written (minus the magic looping instead of using dpns). This means that I did my first short row heel. While I kind of prefer the squishy-ness of a regular heel flap, I can see why so many people love the short row heel. I had tried it before, but somehow always seemed to loose count of stitches or whatever and would end up pulling it out and doing a heel flap. This time I persevered. It's like magic. Once you're done with the short row heel, that's it! You're already working on the foot. My first heel didn't look as wonderful as the second (by which time I had figured out how to adequately close the little holes where you pick up stitches) but it's not bad (and I just used a bit of yarn to close those holes at the end).
By the time I knit the second sock, I felt much more confident working in this pattern. Throughout the cuff, the start of the row shifts a couple of times and I hadn't really paid much attention to it until after the heel, when I noticed that my foot pattern wasn't lining up quite as perfectly as I had imagined it would.
Sock #1: Notice the stitches along the stockinette portion.
Sock #2: Look how nicely these are lined up now.
On the second sock, I just had to make sure to count and line up my stitches before starting the heel. The pattern doesn't tell you this, and since I'm more of a plain sock knitter (and not even really a sock knitter, if you know what I mean) I didn't think about it until I was halfway through the foot and wondering about that pesky extra purl stitch.
I should also mention that the cabling went just fine. I have a set of Brittany cable needles and just used the smallest one. Once I got the pattern memorized I was able to find a rhythm with it.
Overall, these socks weren't terrible. I started back working on them (I only had the cuff on sock #1 done) on Tuesday and by Friday, I was done. I cast on for the second right away and finished it last night. The worst thing about knitting with the #2 needles for so long is that my hands were aching by the time I was done. I wouldn't recommend that. The only modification from the pattern I did make was to Kitchner stitch the toe, since the pattern called for pulling the tail of the yarn through the last 8 stitches. That just seemed messy, bulky, and plain uncomfortable to me. And I really do love a neatly Kitchnered toe.
I had cast on for these (using my Kollage square dpns) around mid October. Once past the cuff, however, I realized that purling across four dpns (as the pattern instructed) was probably going to give me ladders. So I thought, why not magic loop? I put the socks into hibernation for a couple weeks so I could finish some sample knitting before devoting to them my undivided attention.
This was my first project using Noro and I was pretty surprised with how much I didn't hate the yarn. I've heard a lot of complaints about Noro on Ravelry (too scratchy, too many knots in the yarn) but didn't find this yarn too scratchy at all, nor did I find any knots in the yarn. In all fairness, I do have a high scratchy wool tolerance. The worst thing about the Noro is that the yarn itself had some thick and thin areas that I didn't love, but it wasn't terrible.
For these socks, I did the pattern pretty much exactly as written (minus the magic looping instead of using dpns). This means that I did my first short row heel. While I kind of prefer the squishy-ness of a regular heel flap, I can see why so many people love the short row heel. I had tried it before, but somehow always seemed to loose count of stitches or whatever and would end up pulling it out and doing a heel flap. This time I persevered. It's like magic. Once you're done with the short row heel, that's it! You're already working on the foot. My first heel didn't look as wonderful as the second (by which time I had figured out how to adequately close the little holes where you pick up stitches) but it's not bad (and I just used a bit of yarn to close those holes at the end).
By the time I knit the second sock, I felt much more confident working in this pattern. Throughout the cuff, the start of the row shifts a couple of times and I hadn't really paid much attention to it until after the heel, when I noticed that my foot pattern wasn't lining up quite as perfectly as I had imagined it would.
On the second sock, I just had to make sure to count and line up my stitches before starting the heel. The pattern doesn't tell you this, and since I'm more of a plain sock knitter (and not even really a sock knitter, if you know what I mean) I didn't think about it until I was halfway through the foot and wondering about that pesky extra purl stitch.
I should also mention that the cabling went just fine. I have a set of Brittany cable needles and just used the smallest one. Once I got the pattern memorized I was able to find a rhythm with it.
Overall, these socks weren't terrible. I started back working on them (I only had the cuff on sock #1 done) on Tuesday and by Friday, I was done. I cast on for the second right away and finished it last night. The worst thing about knitting with the #2 needles for so long is that my hands were aching by the time I was done. I wouldn't recommend that. The only modification from the pattern I did make was to Kitchner stitch the toe, since the pattern called for pulling the tail of the yarn through the last 8 stitches. That just seemed messy, bulky, and plain uncomfortable to me. And I really do love a neatly Kitchnered toe.
Pattern: Snicket Socks by Sabine Riefler
Yarn: Noro Kureyon in S229 (Spring Violets)
Needles: #2 magic loop
Began: October 18
Completed: November 6
They're awesome!
ReplyDeleteLove those socks!! They certainly will wake you up first thing in the morning!
ReplyDeletei love a neatly kitchenered toe too! kitchenering is just pure magic, i do it whenever i can. great-looking socks!
ReplyDeleteNice socks! I didn't have good luck when I tried a short row heel what with all the wraps and such. Your heel looks great! I did try the pull the yarn through the last eight sts instead of Kitchener on one pair of socks. It is the only pair. And after 1 yr's wear, I'm noticing a hole at the toe tip! The stitches just loosened up so a small hole appears. I too like a Kitchener toe.
ReplyDeleteGreat socks! I love the Noro colors + cable combo.
ReplyDeleteI too have not had any issues with Noro. I am glad you didn't either because these socks look amazing! Great job!
ReplyDeleteHey sock knitter. Those short rows look great!
ReplyDeletelove the socks and love noro!
ReplyDeletevery lovely socks!
ReplyDeletegotta love those noro color combinations!
Love these socks! I've been trying to knit them but with no success. I'm doing the magic loop directly and but I am getting the ladder you mentioned and it's not working for me. Any suggestions ?
ReplyDelete