The Socks

Knitting socks seems so magical and mysterious – even people who can knit fairly well think, oh, I couldn’t knit socks. They’re too complicated, and I’d have to use those scary-looking double-pointed needles. The funny thing is, the oldest knitted artifacts existant are socks – cotton, from Egypt, 1200 – 1500 AD. Think about it: All socks used to be hand-knitted.

I didn’t think about socks much when I first learned to knit. I guess I figured why knit socks when they are so inexpensive to buy. And, they were mysterious. I’d run across patterns for them, and they would have a decent photograph of the finished sock, but no diagrams or photos-in-progress or any explanation of the Anatomy of a Sock.

I wanted to knit for my husband. I made him a hat last year – it came out great, he likes it, and wears it a lot. But he doesn’t need many hats – he’s perfectly content with two (the other one he made himself, back in his crocheting days.) He’s not the type to wear scarves, and a sweater would be such a major undertaking. So sock knitting started to be a lot more attractive to me – I could knit socks for BN. He’s actually quite the sock connoisseur, and often wears striped or colorful socks.

Meanwhile, I found a great sock-knitting book: Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch. The way this book is put together is perfect for me – It shows diagram-style photos of the Anatomy of a Sock, with each section knitted in a different color. It has a separate explanaton of each of 3 main styles of sock construction. All the size, gauge, and stitch pattern numbers are arranged in charts, so it’s easy to put together a customized design for your desired size, style, and yarn. Modularity rocks!

As if this weren’t wonderful enough, the instructions are arranged in an efficient 3-column layout, allowing you to use your knitting method of choice – 4 double-pointed needles, or 5, or my preference – 2 circular needles.

This book enabled me to truly learn about and understand socks, not just slavishly follow a certain pattern. I learned that socks are maybe a little complicated, but they break down into such manageable phases. They are seamless, meaning you don’t have to sew any pieces together, and you can knit an entire sock out of a single piece of yarn. (That’s only 2 ends to weave in at the end!) By measuring the recipient’s foot, you can get a perfectly customized fit.

I showed BN the book and asked him which socks he wanted. He picked the last pair in the book – the most complicated, with 2-color stranded knitting and a charted design covering the upper portion of the sock. I decided I didn’t want to do that one as my first sock project, so then BN said he wanted horizontal cables. Well, cables are sort of vertical by nature but I found this chain-like design in another book and did a swatch. He liked it, so that’s what I went with.

Hand-knit socks are not a money-saving item, but you do get what you pay for – in quality, customized fit, and knitterly satisfaction, they can’t be beat!