Fourth Pair of Socks

My fourth pair of socks taught me a lesson or two.  They were a lot of fun to knit but also led to a new amount of frustration.

Background

I gave my second and third pair of socks away. Even so, I tried them on and tested them before giving them to their new owners.  They fit perfectly, before and after blocking. I’ve asked their recipients if they fit okay and they’ve insisted that they do (unless they’re just being nice, which is always possible).

And so I thought it was time to make myself a pair of socks.  And I chose a new favorite yarn with which to make them….

On the Needles

Long Dog Yarn was a very fun yarn to work with.  I loved watching and waiting for the fabulous speckles sprinkled throughout the Dark Dimension colorway.  Finally, I knitted a vanilla pattern, content to watch the speckles, and really enjoyed not having to remember a pattern.  

As usual, I knit a gauge swatch before starting.  I’m a bit paranoid about handknits fitting properly.

And, once again, I used Charlene Schurch’s basic pattern in Sensational Knitted Socks.  Love, love, love this book!

Details

Pattern: Basic Top Down with Heel Flap by Charlene Schurch (Sensational Knitted Socks)

Yarn: Long Dog Yarn‘s Bounce Sock  

Colorway: Dark Dimension

Needles: US 1.5 or 2.5mm

Made for: me

Time to completion: 4 weeks

Once these were completed, I promptly tried them on and loved them.  They were so soft and nice. I weaved in my ends and blocked them. And when I tried them on again, after blocking, they were a bit too big.  I decided I was imagining this and put them away in my drawer. But when I wore them, for real, they were, really, too loose. Now, how did this happen?!

I’ve tried to figure this out and the only thing I can come up with is that I used a slightly larger needle than I used for my two previous pairs.  Maybe I should always knit my socks on size 1 needles. Or perhaps I screwed up my gauge.

I’ll keep trying to wear these, despite the annoyance of being too big.  Or maybe I’ll let Matt try them. Dark Dimension sounds like a manly color!