Friday, June 23, 2017

Off the needles: Socks from Dana's Handspun

Hello from Tennessee! These socks have been done for a while, but since our wireless router is in a box on a truck somewhere between Ithaca and Oak Ridge, I haven't posted about them yet.



Details:
Yarn: Dana's handspun, from Malabrigo Nube, colorway "Diana"
Pattern: Texture pattern from Hermione's Everyday Socks, plugged into my standard sock recipe (toe-up, short-row toe, short-row heel, 1x1 twisted rib cuff until I run out of yarn)
Needles: US No.1 DPNs, two sets of four needles each



Firsts for this project include German short rows and doing my socks two-at-a-time on two sets of DPNs (rather than a single long circular, Magic Loop style).

German short rows are my new favorite way to do short rows --  they are very quick and simple and look very clean when finished. I'll have to do a more detailed comparison in my sock heel study, coming soon!

DPN-style two-at-a-time was a big success as well. I learned Magic Loop two-at-a-time from Dana earlier this year, and I liked it a lot -- finally, I could actually make sock #2 the same as sock #1 -- but I was getting increasingly frustrated navigating the last few stitches before the fold on each sock, which seemed to get impossibly tight no matter what I did. So I decided to go back to DPNs, but keep the two-at-a-time format. Now I just switch back and forth from one sock to the other after a few rows or a pattern repeat.

The only problem I discovered is with the cast-on. I usually use Judy's Magic Cast-on and cast on the full number of foot stitches (58 here) over two needles, then immediately make a short-row toe over half the stitches before joining in the round for the foot. This works great when you can scoot those extra stitches-in-waiting onto the cable of a circular needle, but when they're stuck on an extremely rigid DPN right next to where you're working the toe, it's nearly impossible to maneuver. I ended up casting on over a DPN and a circular so I could slide those stitches onto the cable, but it would be nice to find a way to do the cast-on that doesn't require a matching circular needle. More experimentation is needed!

Also, these socks were done just in time for my sister-in-law to wear to Knoxville's Pride parade -- she needed some rainbows!

1 comment:

  1. 'Welcome Home'!!! Hopefully you're a little settled now, and that we can catch up soon.

    Yay!!! I love seeing these socks, it makes me so happy to see my handmade become your handmade! Hope your sister in-law liked them, they are perfect for Pride! :)(I need to think of something to do with the yarn you spun) hmmm...

    I've been doing this short row toe up you maybe what to try (see email)? You only cast on half the total stitches with provisional cast on and waste yarn...

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