It was time to use up a stashed yarn that was bought without a clear purpose.

These socks were knit from the top down with the intention of using just the Regia Design Line “Garden Effects” yarn, but the more ribbing I knit the more I knew that this yarn needed help from a friend to make it interesting. I added in a ball of grey Regia that appears almost purple-blue next to the the pinks and reds from the Garden Effects yarn. Stripes to the rescue!

 

Yarns:
Both of the yarns are 4 ply sock yarns (75% wool, 25% polyamide).
Multi-coloured: Regia Design Line “Garden Effects” by Kristin Nicholas
Grey: Regia 4 fädig

Yarn usage:
66 grams

Knitting needles:
2.5mm wood double-pointed needles.

Pattern:
Basic adult female sock pattern, cast on with 60 stitches for 50 rows of k2 p2 rib, 30 rows on the heel flap, and an 8-point star toe.

Lessons learned:

• The length of DPNs affects knitting tension (perhaps?!) – I knit the first sock on 20cm double-pointed needles, but decided to use the 15cm versions for the second sock (they were closest to hand after swapping to them to finish up the toe of the first sock). After completing the socks I could see that the second sock was knit a bit tighter than the first. The difference isn’t so much that it’s a concern, but it suggests that I ought to stick with the same needle lengths on future projects. I’ll need to experiment to see if this is always the case with me (shorter needles = tighter gauge) or whether it was a random occurrence because I was on a roll.
• Count for the toe when casting on the leg – When I cast on 60 stitches I thought about it being divisible by 4 for the rib knit, but forgot to think that for the 8-point star toe it should also have been divisible by 8. Reaching the toe I realised that I had one extra stitch per needle so I made a k2tog decrease per needle a few rows before the real decreases began. It’s slightly visible (to a knitter who knows it’s there) and I could have thought through a better solution.
• Carrying yarn over rows in sock stripes – I hadn’t knit socks with more than a stripe or two on the foot and I was worried about whether the carried yarn would feel bulky or annoying and where it should be placed. I couldn’t find any advice online so I carried the yarn underneath the foot (between knitting needles 4 and 1), tried it on as I went, and felt… nothing. Testing the finished socks I feel nothing as well. It had been worry over nothing :)
• Avoid randomly coloured yarn – I bought this yarn because it was on sale and I wanted to experiment with different types of yarn. Ultimately I don’t find the randomness of the colours attractive on its own but the approach I took has added interest to the yarn and these socks will be perfect for the friend who’s going to receive them. I’ve got a small stash of similar Regia sock yarns so I’ll continue to experiment with ways to make randomly coloured yarn more interesting.