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SOCKS Class: Supplies List |
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Spinfree Home SOCKS Class Supplies List SOCKS Pattern Lesson Two Lesson Three Lesson Four Pictures Email Claudia Spinfree at Onelist Countrywool Email Jen |
Click here for a printer-friendly version Good morning everyone! As we kick off the first day of this class , I want to go over the basic materials needed. YARN: 200 yards / 4 oz. This will make a pair of socks 8" high for a US size 8-9 foot. If you want socks with BIG scrunchy tops, then add 2oz more and plan on making me aware of this early on in the class. The sock pattern that we will follow produces socks that fit the foot like a glove IF you follow all the directions properly. SIZE OF YARN: 10 wraps per inch. Although thinner (12-14 wpi) will wear better, the thicker size will make great boot and Birk socks that knit up FAST, and for a first sock, that is what we are aiming for!! For those of you handspinning your own yarn......once you have a singles yarn spun (and if you twist it tightly you make it stronger), let 12" of it twist back on itself to see what its 2-ply state will look like. Take a pencil and place a set of marks 2" apart. Wrap the 2-ply yarn around the pencil and count how many times it wraps around, lightly touching the strand next to it. You need to get 20 wraps around the pencil between your marks to have yarn that will knit up to your foot size in the following pattern. If your yarn has too many wraps between the marks, then you need to draft the fiber thicker when you are making it into a single ply ...if it has too few wraps, you need to thin out your drafting to make a finer yarn when it is still a single ply. Experiment! NEEDLES: I recommend #5, 6 or 7 needles. For the fastest knitting, use 12" circular needles. You will need a set of double pointed needles to narrow and finish off the toe. The smaller the needle, the tighter the knitting (the harder the knitting is on your hands) and the longer the sock wears. You can also make the sock entirely on double pointed needles. NOTIONS:
For those of you needing materials, I have LOGOCAL SOCKS kits with wool/mohair commercially spun yarn, circular needle, fully adjustable pattern (double pointed needles...optional) all packed and ready to ship out to you....contact me for info. MEASURING Those of you new to knitting socks will need to become well acquainted with the foot you are covering. Get out a measuring tape and take down these measurements. Put the foot against a wall. Pull the tape snugly before you look. Measure to the 1/4 inch (help....what is the metric equivalent????) ________________length of foot from the wall to the tip of the longest toe ________________circumference around the broadest part of the foot...measure 3 places and take the average ________________ height you would like the socks to reach on the leg MAKE A GAUGE SWATCH: This is perhaps a boring step for some of you. Get over it and just do it. Chant or put on the teakettle and sit down and cast on 20 sts on your needle. *Knit one row, then purl one row* Repeat the directions between ** until your gauge swatch is 3" high. Enjoy the yarn....this is the first time it has EVER been knit! How does it feel? If you are you using a 12" circular needle for the first time, you will need to acquaint yourself with its small size. Be patient with yourself. If you have NEVER used a circular needle, keep the following in mind: once you have cast on your stitches....you will use the point on the opposite end of the needle to knit (and then purl) across the stitches for your gauge swatch. One keeps switching the point used as one works across and finishes a row of knitting (or purling). Once we work the sock proper, that will not happen...the knitting will be joined into a tube and gets rather fun (and fast). Measure across the center, from edge to edge (this will NOT be easy as the edges curl inward....make them lay flat!) You will need to get a measurement of AROUND 4.25-4.75 inches. Anything outside of this measurement and you have to: ...change your needle size (if you have a collection of them!) The Rule: if your swatch measures TOO BIG....use a smaller needle if your swatch measures TOO SMALL:
Since this is a practice sock, I would suggest you don't get too bogged down about this.....the easiest thing to do is to change the size of sock you will make, and I will remind you about this shortly. Once you have the gauge swatch done.....report back to the list and we will proceed. NOTES: FOR THOSE USING the LOGICAL SOCKS pattern that came in your kit can be followed for this class EXCEPT your gauge swatch will probably measure smaller than the one made as recommended above. That is fine and to be expected (smaller needles have been included in your kit to improve the fit and wear of the socks you will make). Plan on adjusting the SIZE you make in the pattern that follows. Send me a note AFTER you have made and measured your gauge swatch if you are confused about this. FOR NEWBIES: Those of you having trouble casting on: check out this great web site: http://www.wonderful%2Dthings.com/knit.htm Need to learn how to knit and purl? Check out these web pages: http://marketplace.xtra.co.nz/isroot/KnittingStore/knit/round.htm And....I gave some rather detailed info on knitting and purling in our basic MITTEN CLASS..Lessons 1 and 2, on the Spinfree web site This material ©2000 Claudia Krisniski |