Sad socks say so much
You know that warm, glowy feeling you get when a sock comes together?
Yeeeah, this is not one of those times.
First, the good: the pattern, Sunday Swing from knitty, is well written, easy to memorize, and knits up in a flash. The 7" was too small and the 8" was too big, so I modified the count to 60 stitches by adding a P2 on each side. I also modified the cuff ribbing to accommodate the P2s, because, as you know, I'manal crazy like dat.
Now, the bad: unfortunately, the socks bias, and badly. I noticed them turning about halfway through the legs, but figured, eh, I'm sure they'll be fine on.
*BUZZ* Wrong. The biasing only got worse as the sock continued and once on, they require constant fidgeting to fly the straight and narrow. See this?
Notice how the foot is shifting left, and the side is shifting right? That's just from getting up and walking across the living room. After perusing the project pages on Rav, nobody else seems to have this problem, so perhaps those P2s I added threw some sort of bias cog in the machine?
At any rate, I really should have stopped when I saw them turning on the needles, but you get that ostrich-head-in-the-sand-I'm-sure-it'll-be-fine mentality and next thing you know, big fat FAIL! *sigh* Ah, well.
Don't let the biasing you see here turn you off from the original pattern, because, as I said, I appear to be the only one experiencing this issue. But I would advise against adding any extra stitches. ;)
Yarn thoughts
This is Sock Yarn Postcard by Destination Yarn in the colorway Copenhagen. It's a lovely yarn, more smooth and woolly than sproingy - I'd liken it to Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in twist and feel. There was no runoff in the soak and very little pilling, so they should wear well, too.
I absolutely love this colorway, a gorgeous blend of coppery tones with splashes of green patinas. Unfortunately, my attempts to achieve the single-row color changes that I described in A Tale of Two Stitch Counts did not go well. The closest I could get and still have them fit were the wide stripes you see here.
Which brings me to big fat FAIL #2 - once I realized this colorway was going the way of the stripes, I should have changed patterns. Something like Broadripple or Chevrons would have been much better suited to how it knit up.
Wrap it up
Well, they're not that terrible - but they're not that great, either. The pattern doesn't really suit the colorway, and the biasing makes them a pain to wear. I'll just have to chalk these up to lessons learned. Let's hope I don't have to learn them twice!
Copenhagen Swingers
Pattern: Sunday Swing Socks, knitty: Summer 2009
Yarn: Sock Yarn Postcard by Destination Yarn, 1 skein in Copenhagen
Needles: HiyaHiya Stainless Steel, Size 1, 32"
Mods: Added P2 to sides, slightly different cuff ribbing, EoP heel flap
Yeeeah, this is not one of those times.
First, the good: the pattern, Sunday Swing from knitty, is well written, easy to memorize, and knits up in a flash. The 7" was too small and the 8" was too big, so I modified the count to 60 stitches by adding a P2 on each side. I also modified the cuff ribbing to accommodate the P2s, because, as you know, I'm
Now, the bad: unfortunately, the socks bias, and badly. I noticed them turning about halfway through the legs, but figured, eh, I'm sure they'll be fine on.
*BUZZ* Wrong. The biasing only got worse as the sock continued and once on, they require constant fidgeting to fly the straight and narrow. See this?
Notice how the foot is shifting left, and the side is shifting right? That's just from getting up and walking across the living room. After perusing the project pages on Rav, nobody else seems to have this problem, so perhaps those P2s I added threw some sort of bias cog in the machine?
At any rate, I really should have stopped when I saw them turning on the needles, but you get that ostrich-head-in-the-sand-I'm-sure-it'll-be-fine mentality and next thing you know, big fat FAIL! *sigh* Ah, well.
Don't let the biasing you see here turn you off from the original pattern, because, as I said, I appear to be the only one experiencing this issue. But I would advise against adding any extra stitches. ;)
Yarn thoughts
This is Sock Yarn Postcard by Destination Yarn in the colorway Copenhagen. It's a lovely yarn, more smooth and woolly than sproingy - I'd liken it to Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in twist and feel. There was no runoff in the soak and very little pilling, so they should wear well, too.
I absolutely love this colorway, a gorgeous blend of coppery tones with splashes of green patinas. Unfortunately, my attempts to achieve the single-row color changes that I described in A Tale of Two Stitch Counts did not go well. The closest I could get and still have them fit were the wide stripes you see here.
Which brings me to big fat FAIL #2 - once I realized this colorway was going the way of the stripes, I should have changed patterns. Something like Broadripple or Chevrons would have been much better suited to how it knit up.
Wrap it up
Well, they're not that terrible - but they're not that great, either. The pattern doesn't really suit the colorway, and the biasing makes them a pain to wear. I'll just have to chalk these up to lessons learned. Let's hope I don't have to learn them twice!
Copenhagen Swingers
Pattern: Sunday Swing Socks, knitty: Summer 2009
Yarn: Sock Yarn Postcard by Destination Yarn, 1 skein in Copenhagen
Needles: HiyaHiya Stainless Steel, Size 1, 32"
Mods: Added P2 to sides, slightly different cuff ribbing, EoP heel flap
posted by weezalana at 5:27 PM
15 Comments:
I had the exact same thing happen w/ the socks I made from this pattern. I figured it had something to do with my giant feet with flat arches. Nope, pretty sure it's the stitch pattern.
Not sure about the pattern, as I haven't made it. However, they look really good. Sorry they fit badly though.
Bummer on the biasing! I do like the colorway, in fact I have it, thanks for the pattern suggestions. Hope you can still wear them.
You win somet you lose some. I do like the color though.
They are beautiful. I know how annoying it can be to feel the biasing though. That's a bummer.
I love how these look, but if it were me, that biasing would make me batty. It's a shame -- although the good thing about knit socks is if you don't like how they feel, you can always rip them out and knit a new pair!
The colorway is awesome, and honestly, I think the socks looks pretty nice as well. The biasing would frustrate me, too, though.
oh, that's really too bad!! biasing is so annoying, since you can constantly feel it creeping around your leg. the yarn is lovely, though!
Pretty. Are you going to frog them or keep them?
It's not the extra stitches, it's the extra repeats. I did the same pattern and also did 5 vice 3 repeats on the leg. Mine twist the same way. I guess the same pull that makes the pattern "pull" into a curve also make the entire sock pull. But isn't it an awesome patter?
I made this pattern but I don't remember a bias - but now I'll have to ask my sister if she has a problem wearing them. Love the socks though - they are very pretty (but sorry that they aren't wearing well)
I'm sorry that you weren't happy with your Destination Yarn socks! That sucks. But this is why I changed my dye sequence... hopefully my later generation of dyes will not give people the fits that this skein gave you! I do like the finished socks, though...
I adore the way the yarn striped and I can't really see the biasing. But I would have to frog them if I could feel it on my legs and feet. Better socks await that yarn.
Bummer on the biasing. I don't like having to fuss with my socks. But that colorway is gorgeous!
I love this one as well, the colors are so so good.
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