A Study in Socks - Yarn Choice

There are so many ways to approach this topic. Do you choose the yarn first or the pattern? Does it make a difference? Does fiber content matter? Why does it matter? Colors: solid, variegated, tonal, self-striping, self-patterning?

I'll do a blog post on each of these questions, but I'll try to boil it down to some essentials here with regard to fiber characteristics. Just enough to get you thinking about your choices.

Which came first, the yarn or the pattern?
It depends. Have you found a sock yarn that you absolutely love and now you just need to figure out what it wants to be when it grows up? Or did you see a pattern on Ravelry (or elsewhere) and now you just have to knit it, but don't know what yarn to choose.

The only certain thing is that you should consider the characteristics of one when choosing the other. Not all sock yarn is created equal and not all patterns knit up the same.

What do I mean by this? Let's take a look at this sample of sock yarns that I chose from skeins I have at home and talk about two main characteristics: loft and twist.

There are a few characteristics I'd like to point out here. The first is fiber content. As you can see, I prefer my sock yarns to have a bit of nylon in them for durability. But just because they all have merino and nylon in them doesn't mean they will knit up the same.

Sample 1
Let's look at the odd kid out (get it: kid - mohair...from a goat...lousy pun). Fiber #1 has mohair in it as well as merino and nylon. This makes it fuzzier than other yarns without mohair. This is called the halo. Alpaca and mohair are fuzzier fibers, giving yarn a halo. As a result, items knit with these fibers will have less stitch definition; patterns will be 'softened' and won't appear as crisp as with other yarns. I don't recommend knitting an intricate design with a yarn that has lots of halo. Your hard work won't show up as nicely.

Sample 2
#2 is a nice plump yarn with more loft than the other yarns. Loft refers to the amount of air between the fibers. The yarn is bouncy and has a nice twist which you can easily see in the photo. Because of the loft and thickness, this yarn is not the best suited to lacy patterns unless you use very large needles. Yarn overs and other lace stitches would get lost in the plumpness of the yarn if you were knitting socks.

Sample 3
#3 has a nice tight twist as compared to the other yarns. In addition, it is a bit thinner too. This yarn shows great stitch definition and is well suited to cables, twisted stitches and more detailed patterns. If knitting socks, it will make a nice firm fabric. It would also show lace off nicely due to the tight twist. The yarn might feel a bit harder on your hands while knitting with it, but it softens upon washing.
I used this yarn to knit my Intertwined socks, which show off the cables nicely and have a firm fabric between the cabling.

Sample 4
This yarn has a nice even twist, with a touch more loft than Sample 3 beside it, but not as much as #2. I used this yarn in my Leafy Lace socks and I think it shows off the lace stitches nicely. And with the nice twist, that isn't as tight as #3 it will provide great stitch definition too. It is also a tad softer to the hand than #3, despite having the same fiber content. This is because it has more loft than #3.

Sample 5
This one falls between #4 and #2 on the loft and twist spectrum. As you can see, there's a bit of fuzz to it and the twist isn't as easy to see. It should still provide nice stitch definition though. A good, middle-of-the-road yarn.

Sample 6
A bit more loft than #5, with a nice twist. The fuzz on this yarn isn't necessarily due to fiber content like #1 with its mohair. Some yarns are just more prone to fuzzing with handling as you can see if you compare this yarn with numbers 3 and 4.

There are also sock yarns with a bit of silk or cashmere in them, making them nice and soft. The silk would add some sheen to the color as well. Silk is often called "Nature's nylon" and can add strength to a sock yarn. And I haven't talked about different wool blends: Blueface Leicester (BFL), generic wool, and so on. Different wools have different levels of softness to them. There really are so many factors that can influence how a yarn will behave when knit up; I won't try to cover them all in one post.

So what does this mean to your sock knitting? Try to think about what kind of yarn would be suited to your pattern to give you the results you want and vice versa. For lacy patterns, avoid yarns with a lot of halo (fuzziness) and consider how the loft (amount of air in between fibers) will fill in the holes when using smaller needles for socks.

If you have a pattern that is very detailed, pick a yarn with a tighter twist to show off the stitch definition to its best advantage.

So how to decide? That's where Ravelry comes in handy. Ravelry is great for seeing what others have knit, either with the yarn you have or the pattern you have picked out. Take a look at the projects completed with the yarn you have (or want to buy) and see how they turned out. Does the pattern look good? Is it visible and clear? Or, if you have a pattern you really want to make, then take a look at what yarns people have used? Which yarns do you think look the best?  Look past color at this point and just think about how well the pattern/stitches turned out.

Of course, the proof is in the pudding, as they say. When it doubt, swatch it and see if you like how it looks.

Upcoming pattern release and sale

I have several exciting things in the works right now. One of them is the release of my first ever shawl design, the Mirkwood Shawl.

This shawl came into being as the result of a casual email conversation with the owner of Sheepy Time Knits, an independent yarn dyer. I'd subscribed to one of her yarn clubs and was thoroughly won over by her yarns and colors. In fact, I'm working on a sock design with some of her Sheepy Feet yarn right now.

During our conversation, Mandie mentioned her upcoming Middle Earth inspired colorways. I asked if she'd be interested in a custom-designed pattern to go along with one of the colorways, and voila - a plan was hatched!

I'd originally planned to design a sock pattern. But as things fell out, I felt that the All Your Base yarn lent itself better to a shawl. I didn't let a small matter of never having designed a shawl before get in the way. I researched "Mirkwood Forest" (which for the first few days I kept calling Milkwood) for inspiration and browsed through hundreds of stitch patterns looking for ones that complemented the theme.

I spent dozens, upon dozens of hours figuring out how to turn stitch patterns into a triangular shawl. I charted. I sketched. I cast on. I tinked. I revised my plans. And I pounded my head against the nearest wall. And eventually it all fell together...

While I was waiting for my Mirkwood yarn to arrive, I began knitting one of the samples in some All Your Base, South Pacific that I'd previously ordered from Sheepy Time Knits.

Now, here we are,  4.5 weeks after the idea was born. A week before the pattern is finally published. The final test knitting is being completed. A few last tweaks remain to be made to the pattern. And the pattern page is up on Ravelry. I have a better appreciation for all the hard work designers put into a shawl design, and I've learned so much in the past month.

To celebrate the pattern launch, I'm going to be having a surprise sale on Monday, May 20th, starting at 11am EST (to give a fairer chance to multiple time zones).

Beginning 11am EST on the 20th, enter the code Mirkwood and receive a discount of 40%, 30% or 25% off! There are limited quantities of each discount available - the earlier you purchase, the higher your discount.

Separately, between May 20-27th, 2013, anyone who has purchased one of my other patterns will receive $1.50 off the Mirkwood Shawl. No code necessary!

A little bit of everything

I've been AWOL from my blog for a while, for which I apologize. But I have good reasons, I promise!

I've been overwhelmed with inspiration for designs since January and I've been scrambling as fast as I can to get all my ideas down on paper, tested and released into the wild. It's been an exciting ride seeing these ideas come to fruition. And even more thrilling to see the enthusiastic response my designs have received on Ravelry. Check out the new additions here (Ravelry link).

Swirl socks

There's a knit-a-long (KAL) for my Swirl socks going on right now in the Sock It To Me 2013 group on Ravelry. SITM 2013 is a group for knitters who are new to socks or just want to stretch their sock knitting skills in a supportive environment. The mods choose a new (and free!) official sock pattern each month. After one member had recommended some of my designs, I decided to offer the group one of my patterns for free for a KAL. They chose Swirl, which for many is their first attempt at knitting a toe up sock. I have to say, I'm impressed with everyone's progress so far! And the members are so supportive of each other, answering questions and finding videos online to demonstrate techniques.

I've also been collaborating with the owner of Sheepy Time Knits, an independent dyer, on a design to complement her new line of yarn/fibres in colors inspired by Middle Earth. (I confess...I still need to watch the Hobbit.) You should go check out the colors she's come up with. They're gorgeous. I'm eyeing up some of the Mithril in Silky Lace.

Mirkwood Shawl, shown in Mirkwood, All Your Base yarn,
from Sheepy Time Knits

The shawl I've designed for her Mirkwood colorway is a fingering weight shawl that incorporates motifs brought to mind by Mirthwood Forest in Tolkien's Middle Earth. But I've also knit up a version in her South Pacific colorway that is stunning. You don't need to be a Tolkien fan to knit this shawl.




 

Mirkwood Shawl, shown in South Pacific, All Your Base yarn,
from Sheepy Time Knits

The Mirkwood shawl is being test knit now and the pattern is due to be published on May 20th. Keep an eye out here and on Ravelry for release day specials!



Speaking of Ravelry, I've created a Maureen Foulds Designs group on Ravelry for fans of my designs. Come join us! We'll have KALs, show off our WIPs and FOs, answer questions, preview patterns and announce specials and sales.

Intertwined

It's been a bit since I last posted. In that time Christmas and it's associated social events have passed, as have a slew of January birthdays. Also, I've been busy designing, testing and preparing a few sock designs for publication on Ravelry. I just couldn't ignore the rush of inspiration that seemed to crest just as the other areas in my life also got busy. I'm planning to resume my study in socks series shortly (how's that for alliteration?).

In the meantime, here's a glimpse at part of what's been occupying my time in the past weeks:

Intertwined Socks:

This is a variation of the standard lattice pattern, with the intersecting parts of the cable wrapping around each other. For me, this pattern evokes images of the fresh green shoots of spring plants growing and wrapping around each other, as well as the many ways we as people are intertwined with those around us creating friendships, families and memories.

The pattern instructions are provided for two sizes, womens medium and large. Two sets of charts and written instructions are provided, one for each size. The intertwining lattice pattern is repeated on the front and back of the socks.

The cables in this pattern are simple 1/1 cables. You may wish to cable without a cable needle for a faster knitting experience. The technique of cabling without a cable needle is described in the Knitty Winter 2007 issue, located here: http://knitty.com/ISSUEwinter07/FEATwin07TT.html
 
Two sizes are provided. The Women’s Medium (CO 64 sts) is designed to fit a US size 7-9 foot with an 8” circumference. The Women’s Large (CO 76 sts) will fit womens sizes 9-11, with a 9.5” circumference .

The yardage requirements given are generously based on the test knitted samples.
Note: Some test knits of size Large done on 2.25mm needles required approx 515 yards (470 m) of yarn to do the recommended # of repeats. If working a size Large, you may want to consider doing only 2-2.5 repeats of the pattern on the leg, depending on your needle size, gauge and the total yardage of your yarn.

The pattern instructions reference the sole and instep stitches rather than specifying needles, allowing you to use your preferred method (4 or 5 needles, magic loop, 2 circular needles). Each pattern repeat is approximately 2” long. If you wish to add length to the leg of the sock, add the appropriate number of pattern repeats and adjust your yardage requirements appropriately.

 

A Study in Sock - The basics

A Study in Socks - the  previous Introduction was here.

If you're not new to sock knitting, you can go grab a cup of your favorite beverage and go do some knitting - you probably know all this. Or hang around and keep me honest. Jump in if I've forgotten anything.

If you're new to sock knitting, grab a cup of your favorite beverage and read on. These are the basics about sock knitting.

We'll talk about 3 things:
1. The parts of a sock
2. The direction of knitting
3. Adjusting sock sizes

Parts of a Sock

Swirl Socks pattern.

First - let's decipher some of the jargon. It'll be hard to decipher patterns if you don't know the language they're written in.

Cuff - This part of the sock is usually done in some kind of ribbed pattern, which provides the stretch and cling to help keep your socks from falling down. Common ribbing used on the cuff is 2x2 ribbing or a 1x1 twisted rib (where the knit stitch is knit through the back of the loop). The cuff is usually 1-2" long, although it looks shorter when stretched on your leg.

Leg - Well, it's the part that covers your leg. This is where the pattern usually begins. I say usually, because sometimes you might want to just continue the ribbing all the way down the foot for a nice stretchy and simple sock. Yes, technically ribbing is a pattern too. The point is - this is where you can be creative.

Heel flap - This part is not knit in the round. It's knit back and forth, creating a small rectangle that covers the heel of your foot. Some knitters reinforce the heel flap with nylon reinforcing thread to help prevent the heel from wearing out, but it's not mandatory to do this.

Heel/Heel turn - "Turning the heel" creates the part that cradles the sides and bottom of your heel - transitioning from knitting the leg to knitting the foot of the sock. The heel turn is usually done with short rows.

Gusset - The gusset is a triangular piece knit on each side of the sock that connects the the leg of the sock to the heel of the sock. The gusset is created by picking up stitches along the heel flap and starts forming the shape of the foot of the sock.

Instep - Divided into the top of the foot and the sole of the foot. The pattern of the sock continues along the top of the instep and the sole is usually done in stocking stitch.

Toe - There's an infinite variety of ways to knit the toe of the foot. And opinions vary as to how wide the actual end of the toe should be - some prefer a narrow toe, others a wider one. The toe stitches are grafted (sewn) together using the Kitchener stitch.

Direction of Knitting

Socks can be knit either cuff down or toe up. You'll find knitters who strongly prefer one method over another as well as those who don't mind doing either. It's a matter of personal preference. For me, I prefer cuff down, simply because I have memorized a basic formula for doing the heel flap, heel and gusset stitches. I'm not as proficient (yet) with toe-up socks.

Top/Cuff Down - With this method, you start at the cuff and work your way down to the toe. The challenge with this method, is that you must 'guess' how much yarn will be required for each sock. What I usually do is weigh my sock yarn before I start knitting. Then I allocate 25% for each sock leg and 25% for each foot. Using this method, I've always had yarn left over when knitting for my size 8.5 (US, Ladies) foot.

Toe Up - With this method, you start at the toe and work your way up past the heel to the cuff of the sock. The heel turn and heel methods used for toe-up socks vary from the top-down method. The benefit of knitting toe up socks is that you can split your ball of sock yarn in half (by weight) and use up every last bit of yarn, no guessing required.

Sizes

There are a few ways to create different sizes of socks. If you're lucky, the pattern you're following will have instructions for different sizes, making it easy for you. But it's good to know a few ways to adjust the size yourself, if need be.

Different needle sizes - This is the easiest way to increase or decrease the width of your sock, by going up or down one or more needle sizes. Most frequently, this method is used on the sock cuff - going up a needle size to produce a wider cuff around the calf. Using this method, you don't have to change the pattern instructions. Just be sure that you're satisfied with the fabric you're creating with the different gauge. If you go up to too large a needle size, the fabric might be too 'loose' and airy for the pattern.

Changing the number of stitches - The most obvious way to change the width of your sock. However, if you're following a pattern that  doesn't easily allow for adding in extra stitches, you might not be able to use this method. (Blatent plug: The two sock patterns I've released both make it easy to add in extra stitches along the back of the sock to adjust the width if necessary. Swirl socks and Trellis and Coin socks, if you're interested.)

Adding repeats - This method mainly allows you to change the length of the sock (foot or leg) by adding or reducing the number of repeats in the pattern. Just make sure you have enough sock yarn to accommodate any extra repeats.

This covers the very introductory basics about hand-knit socks without requiring you to go get a second cup of coffee (or whatever you were drinking).  There's lots more to discuss about sock yarn choices, patterns, and so forth. But we'll keep this in easily digestible chunks, shall we?

Did I answer all the basics? Did I miss something? Have a comment? Feel free to let me know.

Sock patterns released on Ravelry

I'm pleased to announce the release of two of my sock patterns on Ravelry.

Swirl Socks

Inspired by a dear friend who convinced me to give toe-up socks a chance, these socks are a quick and satisfying knit. The lines flow into one another, reminding me of swirls of water or ripples on a field of snow on a winter morning.

The 16 row pattern repeat includes a “rest” row of knit sts on every even numbered row, making this a very quick knit. The swirl pattern is 44 sts wide, running over the edge of the foot a few sts on each side.
The pattern is intended to be customizable. No two pairs of feet are the same and it’s easy to customize the width of the cuff or leg portion of the sock. That’s what I love about this pattern (the back of the sock is a simple broken 2x2 rib), if you need to make the circumference of the sock bigger or smaller, simply adjust the number of stitches by adding or removing repeats of these rib stitches. Note that adjustments to the pattern may change yardage requirements.

 




Trellis and Coin Socks
Inspired by some richly toned Handmaiden Casbah yarn, these socks were created to do justice to this lovely yarn. I wanted a pattern that was as voluptuous as the Casbah itself. For me, that means bold, stunning cables that capture the eye immediately.

This sock pattern is intended to be customizable. The back of the sock is a lovely alternating moss stitch and coin cable pattern. If you need to make the circumference of the sock bigger or smaller, simply adjust the number of stitches by adding or removing repeats of these stitches.

Tips and Techniques: Fit, ease, body and drape

While attending the NYS Sheep and Wool Festival (affectionately known to knitters as "Rhinebeck", for it location), I had the pleasure of attending a class by Lily Chin, knitting legend and possessor of so much knitting knowledge that she's a walking encyclopedia.

Most of the information she covered is certainly available in other locations (or in her books), but she has a knack of putting that information together, like putting puzzle pieces together to finally see the whole image.

Reviewing my notes from her class recently, I decided that a few things bear sharing.

Simply by picking out and lining up class participants in a specific order, Lily easily demonstrated the concepts of fit and drape. At one of the spectrum was a curve hugging t-shirt and on the other, a loose-hanging cardigan. When it comes to fit, the knitting industry as a few standard guidelines, although no general consensus, as anyone can tell when comparing pattern sizings.

However, I now use these fit guidelines when deciding how much ease I want my finished product to have. Ease being the extra inches of fabric added to the size of the garment over your actual body measurements.

Tight fit = -2" of ease
Close fit = 0"-1" of ease
Standard fit = +2" of ease
Loose fit = +4" of each
Oversized = +5" of ease or more

It is ease which defines the fit of your garment. For example, if your actual bust measurement is 38" and you want a tight fitting garment, following the pattern size that is closest to -2" of ease. That is to say, the size closest to having a 36" bust. But if you want a standard fit, choose the size closest to a size 40" bust.

A mistake I've made in the past was to look only at the extra inches of ease and think "That's too much!" But, as Ms. Chin explained if you're adding 2" of ease, that's 2 inches over the entire garment. Or in other words, half an inch (.5") on each side front and back. When spread out over the front and back side seams of a garment, it really doesn't seem like that much.

Back to drape. Drape can be defined as how much a fabric conforms to your shape. Does it hug your curves? Or does it fall stiffly in a straight line off your curves? Body is the opposite of drape. Heavier yarn creates a denser fabric that creates body.

Putting these all together can help you decide which size to knit. You need to consider:

• your bust size
• what kind of fit you want
• the fabric size (this is where your swatch comes in)

Then find the size that is closest, according to how you want the garment to fit. Of course, these aren't the only factors. You have to consider your other measurements, like shoulder width, waist and hip width. But generally you pick the size based on bust measurements and can do any customization for other measurements from there. And the type of yarn certainly affects drape and fit. But those are topics for another day.