Holly wrote:
> Well, I unraveled and unraveled and the yarn broke and broke and
> broke until I lost at least a 1/2 ounce and had a dozen or so little
> balls... I don't think I have enough for a pair of socks now!
> ...Any ideas? This is 8 sts=1 inch yarn on size 1 needles (fingering
> weight). I have 3.4 ounces/95 grams of yarn left.
Hi Holly and all,
When I'm unsure of an adequate amount for socks, these are some of my
tried-and-trues:
I knit both socks at the same time, so they use identical amounts of the
same yarn right down to last inch.
If cuff length isn't critical, I use a provisional cast on and knit the
feet first, then divide the remaining yarn and knit the cuffs until the
yarn is gone. (A sewn cast off makes a good elastic edge for the top of
these cuffs). I sometimes do narrower legs in stockinette and rib only
the top 1/2 - 1 inch.
Sometimes I'll do toes and/or heels in a contrasting color to stretch
the amount of the main yarn. (Knitting the feet first is helpful in
determining if I'll need to resort to that). One of my favorite ways is
to spiral knit the toes and sometimes even part of the lower foot. To
do this just alternate one round knit of another color and the next
round knit with the main yarn. There's no jog, and the spiral actually
looks like stripes. When spiral knitting on dpns, I like to shift the
beginning of the round to mid needle, because it eliminates a possible
tension problem when shifting colors at the same time one round ends and
the next begins.
Confession: The first time I did the spiral is when I'd knit the feet
first, started the ribbings and saw I wouldn't have enough yarn to make
the longish length of ribbing I wanted. I undid half of each foot
(since I'd knit those from heel to toe, at least they unraveled easily)
and used the spiral technique to free enough yarn to finish the
ribbings. (Everybody but similarly seasoned sock knitters will think
you did this on purpose!)
I've used a contrasting color for the toes and that same color for the
top two rows to 1/2 inch of leg ribbing. This can have an
"afterthought" look so is not my favorite method, although it looks more
deliberate (to me anyway) if the contrasting yarn is a heathery one with
some of the main sock color in it.
I've thought about knitting the soles in a separate color, maybe a
hardier yarn, using one of those sock techniques for resoleable socks.
That would be a yarn stretcher, too.
I'm eager to hear what others do...
It smells like snow here today. I love it!
Marsha in Maine
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