Socks – Yards of Happiness

FO: A Sweet Little Sweater & Socks

My friends are having a baby boy in about a week or so and I missed their baby shower so I decided to whip up a little sweater for spring and some socks for baby Greyson.
For Greyson
Even though his name is Greyson I didn’t want to do all grey because that’s boring to me. So I went with pumpkin orange and charcoal grey trim for another Wee Sherlock sweater. Also I don’t like to cable that much so I omitted the cable down the middle with a simple garter stitch panel. It’s clean and simple and I like the look of it.
For Greyson
I really like this pattern for a different looking cardigan. I love the buttons going down the side inside of the middle. Although my pics make it look brown it’s more or a charcoal grey for the trim and the buttons. I was hoping that would give it a slightly masculine vibe but it’s pretty gender neutral no matter what. I also decided since Greyson will be born in late February/early March by the time he truly starts to fill this out it’ll be warm so I didn’t go with long sleeves. It’s a nice soft layer to add over any onesie he might be wearing that day or he can wear it as a shirt as it gets warmer. And I didn’t feel like making a hat so instead, I made socks!
For Greyson
I went with the Little Squirrel socks from TinCan Knits and each one took me an hour and a half to whip up for the newborn size. I was working with size 5 needles and worsted weight yarn (my favorite baby yarn, Caron Simply Soft. I will admit I was too lazy to do a kitchener stitch to close off the toe so I just did a 3 needle bind off and called it a day.
For Greyson
I had to stuff a little tissue paper inside of them to get them to fill out so you could actually see the shape of them. They’re so tiny! I can’t believe little baby feet will eventually be filling these. So there you have it, two super simple and quick knits to whip up over a weekend when you want to make something for a baby.

FO: Rye Socks

The request was simple: an orange pair of socks to keep my godson’s feet warm. I’m not a big sock knitter but I knew I could do it for him and his birthday was coming. Besides the kid is just the cutest (evidence of his cuteness seen here) and I can’t deny him a request. So I started by knitting a test pair of socks just to make sure I got sock construction down. And then I moved on to a real pair.

I knit AJ a pair of the Tin Can Knits Rye socks. A free pattern and knit up in a dk weight yarn. Way less intimidating than getting sock yarn and using tiny needles. I’m getting less and less intimidated by tiny needles – I just keep reminding myself that I will not be intimidated by things I don’t know in knitting. I just have to learn!
Rye socks
The only issue I had was that at the age of 15, my adorable godson is 6 feet tall and with size 12 shoes…and counting. He doesn’t seem to want to stop growing! So I knit the large and they were big socks but I figured even if they were a little big, he’d grow into them. Besides, he just wants them for when he’s in the house playing video games so if they end up fitting a bit big he doesn’t care – he just wants to be warm! And since he’s a teenager I knit them up in Neighborhood Fiber Co’s studio worsted (it’s more like a dk/light worsted) in the super bright orange Otterbein colorway so that he could throw them in the washing machine but only had to air dry them. To ask a teenager to handwash a sock is kind of laughable to me.
Rye socks
I also get why people are sock knitters, it’s such an easy and portable project to always work on! Sometimes carrying a top down sweater around can be just a little too cumbersome, so I think I’ll be working on a few socks here and there for my cousin in Chicago to keep her feet warm for winter. And if you’re looking to dip your toe into sock knitting, Knit Picks released the individual patterns for their Toasty Toes collection for free on their website! I downloaded a couple to try out. A coworker gave up trying to knit and gave me a few bundles of sock yarn so I’ve got something to look forward to knitting next! What’s your favorite sock pattern to knit? Share!

June 27, 2016February 27, 2017 by IamDWJ Categories: Color, FO: Finished Object, Knitting, Neighborhood Fiber Co., neon, orange, Socks, YarnTags: #yardsofhappiness, knitting, Neighborhood Fiber Co., Rye socks, sock knitting, Tin Can Knits, Yarn 13 Comments

FO: My First Socks

I said that this year would be the year that I stopped being afraid of trying new things in knitting. Knitting is about learning and growing (in my opinion) and when I get nervous or doubt myself I lose out on a chance to learn a new skill or something new. When I made the Morgan doll I realized that I essentially knit a heel flap when I made her feet without hesitating – so I then realized perhaps knitting a sock wouldn’t be that complex.
First socks
I was right. Sock knitting isn’t that complex, the hardest part is keeping my double points working smoothly. I swear I need to get some of those curved double points to make my knitting in the round easier. I’ve tried magic loop method and do not like it all. But I also don’t know if I love sock knitting enough to invest in double points.
First socks
I decided to use a simple pattern meant for worsted weight socks (oh and it was free) to try a pair. I always have tons of Berroco Vintage scraps so I just pulled two colors from my knitting wall and pulled out my size 5 double points. I’m pretty sure I could’ve gone down a needle size for a snugger fit but I knew these were test socks and didn’t mind if they were a little loose. I also knew I’d probably just wear these around the house and I bought a tube of sparkly puff paint to put little grippy dots on the bottom of the socks once they were blocked and dried so that I don’t break my neck running around the house in these since we have very little carpet.
First socks
I decided to tackle socks because my godson asked me if I could knit him wool socks since his feet are always cold. He’ll turn 15 this month and he wears a size 12 shoe and his favorite color is orange. I’ve got a ball of bright orange yarn and the Tin Can Knits Rye sock pattern (another free one) and I plan on knitting him a pair of socks before the end of the month. I don’t see myself knitting a ton of socks in the future (again, I don’t love using tiny double points) but I can definitely see a pair here and there as a special gift. I think my cousin in Chicago would probably love a nice pair of wool socks when winter rolls around again. Anyone else a sock knitter? Tips? Tricks? Please share! And just for giggles, here’s a picture of Cher in socks – she hates them. Happy Friday!
dog wearing socks