Upon arriving in Portland I took this picture outside the convention center.Then my camera died – the battery was completely empty. I thought I had packed the charger, but alas I did not. As a result, this is my only photo from Sock Summit 2011. I have now found the charger and my camera is happy – so I can share some photos of knitting with you.
Here are the socks that I just finished. Pattern: Rib Fantastic Socks
Yarn: Schaeffer Yarn Company Nichole
Colorway: Eleanore Roosevelt
I am very happy with how they turned out. They seem to fit well - much better than the first incarnation. Taking pictures of your own feet is challenging, but I hope you can get a sense of these socks from my pictures.
One of my challenges in knitting socks is that my calf is larger than my ankle, which is larger than my foot circumference. Standard sock patterns assume all of these measurements are the same. This is clearly not the case for me. So - I need to figure out how to get a sock that tapers to the ankle and then reduce the foot size from the calf. For these socks I did that with a combination of changing needle sizes and adding gusset decreases. I cast on 66 stitches on US size 2 needles (2.75 mm). After one pattern repeat I went down to US size 1.5 (2.5 mm). At the heel flap I switched to US size 1 (2.25 mm) for the rest of the sock. I added decreases at the gusset so I had 30 stitches on the sole of the foot and 33 on the instep. Before beginning the toe shaping, I decreased the extra three stitches from the instep. This seems to have worked.
One of my challenges in knitting socks is that my calf is larger than my ankle, which is larger than my foot circumference. Standard sock patterns assume all of these measurements are the same. This is clearly not the case for me. So - I need to figure out how to get a sock that tapers to the ankle and then reduce the foot size from the calf. For these socks I did that with a combination of changing needle sizes and adding gusset decreases. I cast on 66 stitches on US size 2 needles (2.75 mm). After one pattern repeat I went down to US size 1.5 (2.5 mm). At the heel flap I switched to US size 1 (2.25 mm) for the rest of the sock. I added decreases at the gusset so I had 30 stitches on the sole of the foot and 33 on the instep. Before beginning the toe shaping, I decreased the extra three stitches from the instep. This seems to have worked.
After taking Kate Atherley's Custom Fit Socks class at Sock Summit I've learned that changing needle size is not the best way to re-size socks. It makes sense - changing needle sizes changes the fabric you are making. For the leg of this sock (being all lace) I don't think it matters all that much - but the stockinette sole is extremely dense. At least they should be hard wearing. I can see how changing needle sizes for other stitch patterns or a plain stockinette sock would result in very inconsistent fabric.
I've started swatching for my next socks - putting to use what I learned in Kate's class. I'm using a self-patterning yarn I've had in the stash for a long time. Not sure I like it too much. I figure it's a good yarn to sacrifice to the learning experience. We'll see.
I've started swatching for my next socks - putting to use what I learned in Kate's class. I'm using a self-patterning yarn I've had in the stash for a long time. Not sure I like it too much. I figure it's a good yarn to sacrifice to the learning experience. We'll see.
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