The "man socks" are done! I knitted three socks to make a pair! I learned a lesson about gauge! Sock on the top = wrong! Sock on the bottom = success!!! Whew!
If you've been reading this blog you know I started these weeks ago. And, I said I was almost done a while back. Well, something went a bit wrong...as you can see with the sock on the top. It's ok to laugh. It does look pretty funny. And, I've had some pretty funny comments like how the heel is "substantial", and how it looks like it was made for someone with a club foot, and lots of "ohhhh, my!".
I tried to find a pattern that would be perfect for what I wanted and for this yarn (Moda Dea, Sassy Stripes) but had no luck. Through all the patterns I looked at, I decided that casting on 64 stitches would be perfect. As I knit the leg it looked great. The heel was ok. But, as I knitted the foot it started to look weird. I tried it on hubby and it seemed ok, loose, but ok, so I kept going...even if it did look ridiculous. I measured for the length of the foot and added the toe, tried it on hubby again and it was a bit tight in length. So, (I know this was silly) I added a couple more rows and stitched it up. That gave it a pointy toe. Ta Da! A man sock for a club footed elf!
Oh Boy! What to do?! Ah ha! The "Sock-U-Lator"! (there is a link to it on my side bar) I typed in the gauge, shoe size, measurements, etc. and had a perfect recipe for what I wanted. Turns out that I only needed to cast on 56 stitches. Who knew that only eight stitches less would make such a huge difference?! The two new ones fit perfectly now. And, they look like normal socks! Yay!
What a lesson in how important gauge is. Hopefully, as I knit through more patterns I'll get an even better understanding of gauge and be able make it work. In the meantime, I'm so thankful for people that design things like the "Sock-U-Lator" that can save my project.
Best of all...hubby loves them! He was so excited the whole time I was making them. When they were finished last night he put them on right away. I told him it was love on his feet. :-)
2 comments:
I checked out sockulator. It's great. Thanks for the link.
Shelly a
Would you believe I have a post in my drafts folder, also called "Guage Lesson" which was also prompted by issues with man socks? I'm so impressed you sorted your issues out. I frogged mine. Have a great weekend!
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