I never quite understood the fascination with knitting a pair of socks. Why spend $25 for fancy sock yarn, cast onto those wicked looking double pointed needles, and spend hours of your personal time making something that will be hidden under pant legs and stuffed inside smelly shoes?
I tried making one once – it wasn’t that hard (with size 8 needles and worsted). But it still didn’t interest me as a fun thing to do. Although my knitting partners-in-crime have noted that I like sock yarn because it’s fun.
Recently my last pair of colored socks went through their final wash cycle. I knew they were on their last legs, those lucky blue socks I wore to every hockey game. But they couldn’t be mended any more, the holes were the size of my fist.
And that’s when I found out its not easy finding colored women’s socks. Trouser socks, for dress pants, yes. But not crew socks in a pretty assortment of colors. So I guess if I want socks to wear with my jeans, I have to make some. My friend, Claire Delacroix/Deborah Cooke, is starting up a Knit-A-Long in April, and we’re doing socks all year. She’s dragging me down the path of destruction.
But I know me very well, having lived with myself for over 40 years. I would have second sock syndrome – finishing one sock but not the other. Unlike Claire/Deborah, I love the beauty of row after row of stockinette stitch, but not having to do the same thing twice. And I know I’d never get them the same size.
So when I investigated sock making, I decided that I’d have to do it the hard way – knitting both socks at the same time on two circular needles. I bought a book to show me how to do it – called “Knitting Circles Around Socks” by Antje Gillingham. Good pictures and helped me understand the cast-on (with a little help from YouTube).
So I jumped the gun a bit on the KAL, and I have the cuffs and a few rows of the leg started. I have to say, if I’m going to knit socks, two at a time is the way to go. (Of course, I say this before I hit the heel gusset…)
What about you – would you knit socks or just buy them? (Or pay someone else to make them for you?)
