So my with my knitting progress these past few months I have
been a bit slow but as I announced last Wednesday I finally finished a project
that really shouldn’t have taken me this long. My afterthought heel socks are
finally complete and today’s blog serves as a recap of the journey I took on
these socks. I haven’t done a blog where knitting is the ultimate main topic
for a while so sit back, grab your needles and let’s start knitting! (Finally.)
To truly proof how slack I’ve been, I started this project
back in January. (January 28th to be more precise.) For those who
have been with the blog since then I started these socks after being given more
sock yarn by my loving and giving Mum. With an urge to start a new sock project
after finishing my first sock project I decided to go with this self striping
yarn, because It looked cool and I’ve never used self striping yarn before. Mum actually doesn't remember where she got this yarn from but it's fingering weight for sure. I used US 2 / 2.75 MM circular needles as well, no DPNS this time round.
While these socks did end up being mostly vanilla I did not
want them to be just a copy and paste of my first pair so after a recommendation
from Mum I decided to make these afterthought heel socks. For those unsure what
that is afterthought heel socks are where you knit the sock like you normally
would but instead of knitting the heel flap and heel turn you leave two half
rows of scrap yarn where the heel would be and continue knitting to the toe.
After finishing the sock you go back and knit your heel. It’s actually a lot
simpler and less scary then I originally imagined. While my first pair of socks
was knitted for myself I decided as I have a little more confidence in my
knitting to knit these afterthought heel socks for my little sister. I figured
I would give them to her on her Birthday so starting them early would be a good
idea, which it was but I kind of scraped the barrel and almost didn’t finish
these on time.
To start these socks off I decided to forgo the usual
standard ridge that I used on my first pair and use my newly kindled love for
cable knitting to knit a pretty cool ridge. This sock’s ridge ended up being a repeat
of Cable 1 to the Back and Purl 2 all the way around the sock. I got this idea
from Mum who was knitting some gloves at the time with a ridge that consisted
of Cable 1 to the front and purl 2. Got to say it did add a spiffy look to what
otherwise is a normal stockinette sock. Instead of using a cable needle however
as I thought the cable needles I owned were too large and would stretch the
stitches out Mum introduced me to another way of knitting cable, Paperclips.
Yes those random paperclips you have floating around your house can easily be
morphed into shape to act as a pretty good cable needle. They work like a charm
and allowed me to knit these small stitches without stretching them out. This
idea is perfect for those who don’t have cable needles at home or have lost
theirs down the sofa. (It happens.) To better get this idea out there a few
weeks ago I released a brand new ZAK Knits episode based on this! You’ll be
able to see how I knitted the ridge on these socks too so it’s a must watch for
readers of this blog, I think you’ll enjoy it. Even though this video was done
on the second sock of the pair I’m going to go ahead and let you guys watch it
below! (Click this link here if it doesn’t work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVMDp8n39nI.)
Knitting cable with a paperclip is just as good as knitting
with a cable needle but I did find it to be a tad bit fiddly at times, mostly
because I wasn’t used to knitting cable with such thin yarn and small needles.
Oh yeah this ridge actually takes quite some time to complete so be patient, or
maybe I’m just slow.
Now funny story it only took me about a week to get onto the
body and from then on it was a breeze, it was simple stockinette up until I had
to place the waste yarn in for the later heel. It wasn’t super tricky all you
need is some scrap yarn in a color that doesn’t blend in and knit a half row to
the end, purling back that half row. Sounds unusual for a sock huh? Don’t worry
it actually works. Afterwards you can dive bomb your way to the toe and finish.
I’m actually surprised I didn’t any disasters on this first
sock everything seemed to go smoothly and by the beginning of March this sock
was completed. Now this is where things came to a screeching slow halt before
moving slowly to the finish line. I don’t know what it was about March but
March was not a good month for knitting. I got really busy with a bunch of
stuff that didn’t work out or took too much time out of my day and with writing
the blog and not being good at organizing I guess I just lost it. Lighting a
fire under my butt however I finally got the second sock going only to come
across an old enemy of Mum and mine as well.
SECOND SOCK SYNDROME
Yeah if life wasn’t busy enough this guy had to come up and
make things worse. I actually got the sock casted on in March but with
everything else happening it wasn’t very easy going especially when I royally
screwed up right after finishing the ridge. I don’t have any photo evidence, you
wouldn’t want to see it anyway, but after starting the body I accidentally
slipped a couple of stitches. I’m getting pretty good at picking up dropped stitches
lately so I figured I could tackle this problem with ease but nope Second Sock
Syndrome struck me hard and for some reason one or two of the stitches ran, ran
into oblivion. Mum tried to help me save it but in the end I had to frog the
entire sock, gone just like that. Even worse I apparently split the yarn on
countless occasions making the future of this entire project seem bleak. My
motivation for knitting was at an all time low. This didn’t stop me from giving
you guys knitting on almost every blog with my free knitting pattern segment (I’ll
be starting that back up again, don’t worry E3 was busy but that’s over now.)
but actual knitting progress was almost none.
May was a bright new month however and my motivation for
knitting was back in full swing. I managed to knit the cable ridge and finally
got onto the body of the second sock. I was scared stiff that I ruined the yarn
but luckily I managed to get away with only a few burrs here and there. To be
honest once I started this sock back up it only took me about two to three
weeks to finish it.
After finishing both of these socks I was onto the part I was extremely nervous about, the afterthought heel.
To me surprise the process isn’t just hard it just takes a bit of time and concentration. To pick up the stitches we turned the sock inside out and picked up the stitches from the scrap yarn from the back, it’s easier that way. After picking up one row of scrap yarn stitches on both needles (This is why you knitted two rows of scrap yarn in.) you just knit the heel as if you’re knitting the toe, same process and you even kitchener off at the end.
After finishing both of these socks I was onto the part I was extremely nervous about, the afterthought heel.
To me surprise the process isn’t just hard it just takes a bit of time and concentration. To pick up the stitches we turned the sock inside out and picked up the stitches from the scrap yarn from the back, it’s easier that way. After picking up one row of scrap yarn stitches on both needles (This is why you knitted two rows of scrap yarn in.) you just knit the heel as if you’re knitting the toe, same process and you even kitchener off at the end.
Thus this project had finally come to an end, after four
months of work and the other two being filled with lack of motivation. Really this
should have not taken me this long but Second Sock Syndrome hit me like a truck
and as long as I said my first sock pair took this took way to long.
I actually have to apologize to you guys for the lack of actual knitting from me, I mean I know I started doing other art stuff but that isn’t really the reason my knitting slowed down. It’s not like I’ve been completely knitless I’ve done a few dishcloths and smaller projects in between this sock project as well as continuing my shawl which is so long it takes forever to knit a row now.
I actually have to apologize to you guys for the lack of actual knitting from me, I mean I know I started doing other art stuff but that isn’t really the reason my knitting slowed down. It’s not like I’ve been completely knitless I’ve done a few dishcloths and smaller projects in between this sock project as well as continuing my shawl which is so long it takes forever to knit a row now.
Anyway I need to dedicate more time to knitting but I’ve
been getting back into the groove of it so more is bound to come soon. I have a
question to ask all of you however, as this sock was not your average
afterthought heel sock would you be interested in a free knitting pattern of
this sock? Let me know on Social Media or the comments below! I still have
another free knitting pattern I’m supposed to be putting out and it’s basically
written but I’m unsure if it’s any good. Need to start taking more risks and
take a leap.
Now with that chapter of knitting closed I’m looking towards
the future and that brings me to today’s free knitting pattern! (About time I
bring this back it’s been gone for an entire week.) Today, if you’re reading
this on the day I’m posting this, is actually the first day of summer! I’ve
been speaking about summer knits as of late because you wouldn’t want to wear
beanies or sweaters during the hot weather and by hot I mean it’s getting
really hot in the world right now especially western America and even where I
live right now. (Humidity doesn’t help in the slightest.) So over the summer my
knitting patterns I’m featuring will be more on the thin wear side. Toys also
make great summer knits for your kids or your pets and today’s pattern features
a toy a certain feline of your house (If you’re a cat person anyway.) will go
wild for. This is “Catnip Bunny” by Selina Kyle, wait Selina Kyle? Catnip Toy? CATWOMAN?!
Sorry Selina if that’s offensive but your name made my comic book loving self
smile and as this is a catnip toy I had to laugh at the coincidence.
Anyway these look to be a quick and easy knit so your cats
won’t have to be impatient for too long. You’ll need some DK weight yarn of
your choice scrap or not, US 3 – 3.25 MM Needles, black embroidery thread or
black yarn for the eyes (Buttons would also work.), a sewing needle, toy stuffing,
white felting for the tail and of course some catnip which you can buy at your
local pet store. After that the pattern seems easy enough to follow and the photos
she provided helps a lot. These are adorable but sadly I don’t have a cat (I
used to but that was years ago.) but these would make fun toys, minus the
catnip, for your dog as well. I could probably knit Alfie up a few of these.
You can check out the pattern here on Ravelry but be sure to check out Selina
Kyle, aka Catwoma… I mean Coffee And Cream she has some other patterns you may
like!
With that all said and done, man I haven’t done a dedicated
knitting blog in awhile that was fun. For knitters looking for some paid
knitting patterns you could win a knitting pattern of your choice of up to $6
value by entering the giveaway I’m doing on patreon! Entry only costs you $3
and I’ll be doing a raffle at the end of every month with a minimum of 3
entries. Go check out my Patreon at: patreon.com/zakentertainment . There aren’t many rewards as of right
now but I’m working on it, you guys can suggest rewards to me via email,
comments or social media! (Or on Patreon itself.)
That’s a wrap folks!
No comments:
Post a Comment