Adventures in Sock Design: Episode Two- Off the Needles

Completed Socks

Success! I have Mom's birthday Green Bay Packer socks off the needle and presented to her on her birthday! My first pair of self-designed socks have been completed.






For the most part, I'm happy with how they turned out. But, of course, there are things I'd like to change, adjust, and try again. My main disappointment was the how the numbers on the heels turned out. Mom's a huge fan of Clay Matthews, hence the 52 on the heels. However, I assumed that placing the numbers centered on the heel flap would keep them high enough, but the bottom of the numbers wraps around to the bottom of the foot a little bit. That will need to be changed. I'd also like to revisit both the shape of the numbers and the G on the tops of the feet, they turned out okay, but they could look better. There's always room for improvement, right?


Despite the socks being completed, the design challenge isn't yet over. In addition to fine tuning the design features of the socks, I also need to translate the pattern from the pile of scribbled notes and charts into an actual written pattern. Since I was knitting on a deadline, I pretty much just took shorthand notes on what I was doing, which would be readable only to me, and only on a good day.


However, the socks were very well received. Mom immediately put the socks on and posted pictures onto facebook. Then, ignoring the fact that we live in Wisconsin and it was July, she wore the socks for the remainder of the evening (with an unmatching t-shirt and shorts, quite the fashion statement). That reaction is how people stay on the knit for list in my book.

Project Talk: Looming Deadlines

In knitting, I don't find myself facing a lot of deadlines (note the addition of "in knitting" to that statement, in other areas of my life, deadlines are more of an issue). This could be because I allow myself lots of time to finish a project, such as the baby blanket I had completed by May for a baby due in July, or because I mainly knit for myself. Once in a while, I do find myself up against the ticking clock. And that clock is ticking away right now.

These might actually fit!

Deadline # 1: Mom's Birthday, July 27

In a post from yesterday, I mentioned that I was in the process of designing/knitting some Green Bay Packer inspired socks for my mom's birthday. What I think I failed to mention in that post was that my mom's birthday is coming up quick. I had to start over from cast on today, which gives me one week to crank out a pair of sock (not only crank out, but develop and correct the pattern as I go). Despite making pretty decent progress today, I'm thinking mom's birthday gift may be a little bit late this year.

Deadline #2: Karen's Wedding, July 30

Harry Potter & knitting, a perfect combo

Progress so far

Karen is a dear, dear friend from elementary school. She's getting married at an outdoor wedding in Wisconsin Dells the last weekend in July. Since it's outdoors, and will most likely be hot, attire will be pretty casual. I have a navy sundress that I'm planning on wearing, but I felt that it was a little blah. And what better to add some zing to an outfit that a hand knit lace wrap? I cast on for the Invisibility Wrap from Charmed Knits, a collection of Harry Potter inspired patterns. I'm knitting it out of Knit Picks Shimmer Hand Dyed yarn in Cumulus, which is different shades of gray. I'm also adding beads to the design. The wrap is turning out beautiful, in my opinion, but I just don't know that I will be able to get it done in time for the wedding. But, as I have no backup plan for accessorizing my outfit, I am remaining optimistic. It was slow going at first, but the speed is picking up as I memorize the lace repeats in the pattern.  Fingers crossed!

Deadline #3: Bridges of Roses KAL, August 26

This is only my second Knit-A-Long (KAL). I participated in one before when I made my After Hours Shawl . This one is sponsored by the same company, Knitters Brewing Co. This time the KAL project is a pair of socks with embroidered roses. I'd love to show pictures of my progress on these socks, but truthfully, I haven't even cast on for them. I have the yarn sitting on my end table, reminding me, but the other two deadlines are just so much closer.

Thankfully, right now I only have those three knitting deadlines. But those are not the only projects on my needles. I also have another pair of socks, the Devil's Snare socks (Harry Potter inspired), but those are on hold while I work on the two other pairs.

See? It looks nothing like a sweater!

I'm also working on the Mythos Cardigan from knitty. It is a casual cardigan with beautiful drape to it. The process has been interesting, it is constructed sideways, starting with the end of one sleeve and working to the middle from there, so the work in progress looks nothing like a sweater of any kind. It is also knit out of fingering weight yarn, but on size eight needles, which is what gives the sweater it's drape. This yarn/needle combination produces a fabric that grows much bigger upon blocking, so not only does the sweater not look anything like an article of clothing, it also looks like it will be way too small. This does not create the most inspiring knitting conditions. I've finished the first half, and will cast on for the second as soon as I finish the Invisibility Wrap (or at least that's what I'm telling myself).

Not a Silver Lining

I'll admit it, I cannot sew. I can repair a tear, or put a button back on, but I cannot really sew well at all. Usually when I admit this, people look at me like I have eight or more heads and exclaim, "But you knit!" Yes, I do knit, but shockingly, to a dismaying number of people, knitting and sewing appear to be the same thing. Let me help you out, people, they are not the same thing, even if they both involve some sort of needle and some sort of string.


Anyway, I'm off subject. The point is, when it comes to finishing work, I can do the minimal amount of sewing, but I don't always expect it to look good. I managed to line my Carry All Tote, but there are some spots where it doesn't look too good (which my mom was all too happy to point out, thanks for that :)). I can live with something not being perfect, what I cannot accept is something looking like total crap.


Which is what happened with my first attempt to line my Coco Purse. It looked bad, really, really bad. So bad that I ended up ripping out the lining and cursing. I thought about just leaving the bag as it was, but it really needed to be lined, it also needed some sort of interfacing to give the bag a little shape. So, back to the drawing board.


Background: The Coco Purse was a quickie project. I had it queued up on Ravelry for some time. I wanted a little purse for going out. In my day purse, I carry a lot of crap, but when I'm out for the night, I only need a few essentials (usually my phone, id, cash, camera, and lip gloss), and I prefer not to be burdened with a big purse to lug around. The Coco Purse was the perfect size, and the outer shell knit up quickly in some Noro Silk Garden yarn, which was a giant pain to work with, but the colors are beautiful).


First I needed to gather some new materials. I had used craft foam for the first interfacing, which worked all right, but was destroyed in the first lining fiasco. I needed something that would hold a little shape, but was still flexible and it needed to be in my house, as I was on a deadline with the bag, and didn't have time to run to a craft store.


Luckily, what turned out to be the perfect substance was sitting in my closet. Husband and I just replaced our downstairs carpet with wood laminate floors, and a roll of the under layment pad was left over. The material could be cut with scissors, was flexible, and gave just enough shape. Thankfully, I had enough fabric scraps to  use for the lining and would still be able to use the clasp and the chain handle. 





Next, I cut the interfacing material to fit inside the bag, then attached the lining fabric with some fabric glue (I was really going for a no-sew project here). So far, so good, every thing was clipping along at an easy pace. 
Then I marked the sports where the magnetic clasp would go and added that. 


Finally I glued the interfacing/lining combination to the knitted purse and let all the glue (I used a lot of it) dry overnight. The bag was mostly lined, the sides were not lined, but that would not affect the function of the bag, so I wasn't going to let that worry me.


Now, I was on the last step, adding the handle. I was reusing an chain rescued from my mother-in-law's pile of jewelry headed out the door. It was a thick, brushed gold (not real) chain, which I actually can't even picture her wearing. However, I saw it and knew it would make a great handle for a bag.


I'm pretty picky about the length of my purse handles. I like them just long enough to put over my shoulder, but short enough that the bag sits right under my arm. I used my current purse as a guide, shortened the chain, and attached it to the sides of the purse. 



Voila! My new purse was ready to hit the town!

Adventures in Sock Design: Episode One- A Bad Start

I've been knitting for some time now, eight years, give or take. During that time, I've tried my hand at designing some really simple projects, mainly iPod cozies, and modified some designs, like Sophie's Avatar inspired hoodie. However, I never really have tried to create something of my own design from the ground up.


For my first ground up design attempt, I'm doing something very familiar to me, socks. I've made lots of socks (lots of socks by my standards, not by a professional knitters standards) so I know the basic elements that go into the creation of a sock. I know roughly how many stitches to cast on, how to make a cuff, how to knit a heel flap, how to turn a heel, the amount of gusset stitches to pick up, and how to decrease for a toe. 


I've been wanting to design my own socks for awhile, but lacked that final kick in the pants motivation to actually start designing. My mom frequently requests socks from me, and her birthday is at the end of the month. So, a perfect chance to try my hand at designing.


Anyone who has met my mother knows, she is a huge die-hard fan of the Green Bay Packers. So what better for a birthday gift than a pair of Packer socks. Find some green yarn and some gold yarn, do a little stranded color work or striping, and easy-peasy a pair of socks.


Right?

The colors look better in real life!

Wrong. I should know by now, if something is easy in my head there is no chance that it will actually be easy. 




My first hurdle came in finding the correct color of sock yarn. I flipped through catalog after catalog and poured over websites with no luck. Anything I found in the right shade wasn't the right weight or was way too expensive. Finally I came across the Solid Series by the Loopy Ewe. This sock yarn comes in 90 different colors, including Kelly Green and Sunshine Yellow, which turned out to be the perfect colors that I needed. 

Inspiration Pile

I had my yarn, the next step was to pour over my resources for inspiration and ideas. I had an idea about what I wanted to do, but needed to look around and be sure. Armed with a clipboard and some knitter's graph paper (normal graph paper has squares, but knit stitches are not square), several patterns, and Charlene Schurch's Sensational Knitted Socks for reference, I began to sketch, erase, doodle, and curse. 


I had my ideas, yarn, needles, and some scribbled notes that would start to serve as my pattern, I was ready to cast on. I cruised along through the first cuff, and a stripe and started on my first chart. That's when the next problem cropped up. When I cast on, I used 64 stitches, but for some reason my chart was based on 65 stitches. Some minor modifications and onward. The I realized that when following the chart, I needed to account for a cuff-down sock essentially coming out upside down. Another rip back and more modifications.


Then I started making real progress. I finished working the first chart and the next stripe underneath it. Then, I tried on the sock to check the fit (my mom and I have about the same sized feet), and couldn't get the sock past my heel. When working the stranded colorwork, I didn't think about stretching the float (the yarn carried behind the work) enough to account for the stretch of the knitted fabric. 


And now we're ripping it out and trying again.