obsessed with knitting socks - who isn’t?
- When did you start making socks? Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative? or in a class?
I knit my first pair of socks while sitting in technical rehearsals for RODNEY’S WIFE at Playwrights Horizons… I think that was November of 2004. I just followed my mother’s favorite sock pattern from the 1950’s.
- What was your first pair? How have they “held up” over time?
I was ambitious - for my first pair I knit ribbed knee-highs in a (very) bright green 75/25 wool/nylon blend - probably Regia 4-ply, but I can’t find the ball band right now. They’re still going strong - and I machine wash them frequently.
- What would you have done differently?
If I’d been thinking clearly I would have done a more normal-length sock for my first pair, but I do love them. I wore them to sleep last night (it’s officially autumn here in Brooklyn).
- What yarns have you particularly enjoyed?
I just discovered Trekking XXL so I’m not sure how it’ll hold up over time, but I just knit a pair in color 66 and they are BEAUTIFUL and so soft already. I love Regia 4-ply. I hate Fortissima Socka, but I like their tweedy colorways. I didn’t like knitting with Froehlich Blauband, but now that I’ve washed the socks a few times I really love wearing it. I’m afraid of knitting any yarns that are 100% merino as I’m afraid they’ll wear through too quickly.
- Do you like to crochet your socks? or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the Magic Loop method?
Call me old-fashioned (’cause I am), but I use 4x 15cm 2mm (US 0) INOX dpns. They’re starting to bend from use. I am considering trying to knit 2 socks at once… but haven’t yet. And I know nothing about crochet and have no desire to learn.
- Which kind of heel do you prefer? (flap? or short-row?)
Until my current sock-in-progress (it’s a Christmas present for my father) I have always knit top-down with a flap heel. I’ve always felt that the flap would wear better over time. This is my first pair of toe-up socks and will also be my first short-row heel…
- How many pairs have you made?
Not so many, now that I think about it… I think 8.5 pairs plus the current S-I-P. All but one of those pairs were knit in the last 12 months. After the second ribbed knee-high I needed some time off from the teeny stiches! But now I always have one cast on and I take it everywhere with me - I knit instead of reading on the subway and while I’m waiting for meetings to begin and on airplanes and standing in line and everywhere that’s not home.