Standard Socks I

This is the first of a short series of posts on sock knitting, where I am going to illustrate the process of knitting the socks I'm working at right now. I can see how some people may disagree with this, but I'm going to say that the standard way of knitting socks is the cuff-down flap-heel way, and this is the recipe that I'll illustrate in the following posts. Here, I'll discuss things one should take into account before actually starting to knit, like yarn, needles, gauge and the like.

Needles: There is a lot of options and I'm not going to repeat what others have said better before me. I personally like to use the magic loop technique. I use it a lot, not only for socks, and I'm quite used to it. One important advantage of this method, as compared to dpns (double point needles), is that it is easier to avoid ladders (see photo on the left if you don't know what these are), but there are many more reasons to prefer the magic-loop method to dpns. If you use this method be aware that you need to use circular needles which are at least 80cm/32" long. Some people prefer to use a longer cable and, if you want to knit two socks at a time, a method I recommend as the best way to make sure the two socks are identical, you'll need at least 100cm/40".

I'm using 2.5mm circular needles that are 80cm long. I regret not having bought longer ones in order to knit two together, but the reason I'm not knitting two at a time is actually that I only have one skein of yarn and I'm too lazy to unwind it in order to divide it in two.

Yarn: If you want your socks to last (and you'd want that after going through the trouble of knitting them), you must unfortunately use sock yarn. Why do I say unfortunately? Because I hate acrylic and sock yarn contains at the least 20-25% acrylic in order to make it durable. The addition of acrylic means sock yarn is never as breathable and soft as pure wool one. Beware that yarn labelled Sock is not necessarily appropriate for knitting socks as some yarn producers use this label as a synonym to 4-ply (which is the weight appropriate for sock yarn, but not necessarily the appropriate fibre). An example of this irritating practice is Malabrigo Sock, which is 100% merino and not strong enough for socks, but there plenty of other. Often yarn labelled as Sock are better used for shawls.

I'm using West Yorkshire Spinners Prestige 4ply in colourway Mallard. This is a self-striping yarn (which means that it knits into a pattern of stripes, as you can see in the photo). I'm not very happy with this yarn, it feels rough to the touch. Even though I like the colour combination (that is why I bought it), I am also not happy with the striping pattern. I don't think I'll buy this yarn again, even though they have other very nice colourways. Still, I must say in its favour that it is really easy to knit with. The twist is just perfect, making it quite elastic and sturdy. I've had very little splitting and absolutely no breakage, even though I've been knitting very tightly and occasionally pulled at it quite strongly.

Ease, tension and gauge: Be aware that socks are preferably knit at a tighter tension than other garments (this means, you should use smaller needles than you'd usually use). This not only makes them more durable but, more importantly, will keep them in shape. Let's say, you would need to knit sweaters at the same gauge if you're going to use them in wrestling matches. For the same reason, because they tend to stretch with use, it is better to knit socks with a good amount of negative ease. What about gauge swatches: of course getting the right gauge is really very, very important, but I never do them. Yep, I just go along, cast-on a number of stitches that is a bit of a wild guess and start knitting the sock. I'm not claiming you should imitate me, do it at your own risk, but I'll explain why I do it. Remember that to get a good gauge measurement you need to swatch: in pattern, in the round (if you're knitting in the round), and do a good-sized swatch? Well, I call that swatch a cuff. I could do a slightly smaller swatch, but then if my guess was correct, I would have wasted my time knitting a swatch when I could have been knitting a sock. On the other hand, if my guess is incorrect, I have wasted only some of my time knitting a bigger than necessary swatch.