I have finished my Plain Vanilla Socks knitted in Serenity Sock Yarn (Premier yarns), colorway Amethyst. This is the yarn that I wrote about in a previous post: “A Study of Pooling in a Variegated Sock Yarn”. As I discovered in my study of how this yarn pools, by using 54 stitches on size US 2 (2.75mm) needles, I got a “striping” effect as the yarn pooled. You can see the result in the picture above.
Serenity Sock Yarn is a variegated yarn with color changes that are fairly short and don’t necessarily produce stripes when the number of stitches increases. The yarn itself has a nice soft feel to it and it knits up nicely, but I did experience a tendency of the yarn to split at times. The yarn is 50% Merino Wool, 25% Bamboo and 25% Nylon and has sufficient stretch for a well-fitting pair of socks. Anyone planning on using this yarn should definitely knit a swatch with the number of stitches they are planning to use for their socks to see if it knits up in a way that they like.
There was a pattern printed on the inner label that called for a gauge of 9 spi on US 2 (2.75mm) needles. The pattern is based upon 64 stitches. Now, I got an spi of 6.25 on US 2 needles, which is a significant difference and I cannot speak to how it would pool at the stated gauge of 9 spi. I know that I knit more loosely and guess that in order to obtain 9 spi, I would have to use US 0 (2.25 mm) or US 00 (1.75 mm). I really prefer to knit socks on a little bigger needles. These socks were for me to wear around the house and they fit my feet perfectly.
As for the pattern used for these socks — I really didn’t use one. I knit a 3 X 1 ribbing for 1.5 inches, then switched to stockinette stitch and knit until the cuff measured 6.5 inches. I did a short row or mitered heel and then knit the foot and toe in stockinette and grafted the toe when I had 9 stitches remaining on each side of the sock. I used the Magic Loop method and knit the socks two at a time.
It took me a good bit of time to decide if I thought it was necessary to knit swatches in the round if I was knitting an item in the round rather than flat. The practice of knitting sweaters flat in pieces that are sewn together versus knitting sweaters in the round is, in itself, a whole topic with proponents for each practice. I may take this topic up at a later time, but for now I will focus on knitting a swatch in the round.
First, there are many knitters and designers who only use gauge swatches knit flat to determine their stitch gauge even if the pattern is knit in the round, and second, most patterns do not state how the gauge swatch was done. All you see in the pattern is the gauge statement.
Do you know if your gauge is the same if you knit in the round as when you knit flat? There’s a good chance that it’s not. As I’ve said before, gauge is a measure of how an individual knitter knits.
Think about how you knit when you knit in the round. One of the biggest differences is that you only knit on the right side of the fabric when you knit in the round. Using stockinette stitch as an example: When you knit flat, you knit one row (right side) and then turn your work and purl the next (wrong side). When you knit in the round, you join the stitches to make a circle and then knit every round.
Now, if you are one of the many knitters whose purls are looser than their knits, there is going to be a difference in tension between something you knit flat and something you knit in the round. Plus, you may modify your technique for knitting when knitting in round from when you knit flat. If you use straight needles when knitting flat, then switch to using circular needles or double point needles (dpns) to knit circular – your gauge may be significantly different. This is why I have come to the conclusion that it is good practice to swatch in the round when planning a project that will be knit in the round.
So how does one knit a swatch in the round? The first method is to cast on a enough stitches to give you a knitted tube that will be at least 4+ inches when laid flat. This could be the start of a sock or a hat. (Elizabeth Zimmerman said that “a hat makes a good swatch”.) Once you have a tube knitted of sufficient length for a good measurement, you treat this swatch the same way you would if your swatch that was knitted flat – i.e. measure, block, re-measure.
The second method goes by a couple of different names: “Speed Swatch” and “Circular Swatch with Floats” are two that I have found in my research. In this method, you use a circular needle and cast on the same number of stitches you would if you were knitting flat. But instead of knitting a row and then turning the swatch and knitting back to the end of the row, you slide your stitches to the needle on the opposite end and strand the working yarn loosely across the back and start knitting the next row. You keep repeating this process until you have a long enough swatch for good measurements. See pictures below:
Front of Swatch ITR — Knit with US 8 and Us 7 Needles
Back of Swatch ITR
Once you have the swatch completed, you treat it the same way as any swatch – measure unblocked, block, re-measure. A note about measuring this swatch: Some sources suggest that it is easier to measure this swatch after cutting the loose strands so that the swatch will lay flat. Others simply say to measure the swatch by laying it as flat as you can. Logically, you are not going to want to cut the strands if you plan to reuse the yarn in the swatch. I’ve tried both ways and did not find a significant difference in measurements. Here are pictures of the swatch above after I blocked it and cut the floats to take the measurements:
So if you plan to knit a sweater in the round, please do your swatch in the round.
If you would like to see a video on this technique, here are three helpful ones:
It has been nearly 6 months since I last wrote a post. This was due in part to the fact that my office was in the process of being remodeled, as well as the busy holiday seasons (Thanskgiving, Christmas, & New Year’s). I am glad to say that my office is now finished and looks quite lovely — but I am still unpacking things. I have made a promise to myself that when I unpacked the hastily packed boxes, that I would take the time to go through them and eliminate things that I no longer used, need or want. So far I have kept that promise and I am gradually putting the things I have decided to keep in their new homes. I have 4 boxes left to unpack.
One of the most difficult tasks for me as I unpacked was to sort through the many years accumulation of knitting and crochet magazines, patterns and pattern books. I love books. And I have a lot of knitting and crochet books. I am proud to say that I was focused enough to really let go of those that I will never use and those that are really out of date. I gave a few to some of my knitting friends, but in the end — most of the old magazines ended up being recycled. Are you someone who collects books and magazines? If you are — you know how much of a struggle it was for me to finally let them go.
But now — I have plenty of room for NEW BOOKS! 🙂
One of the changes that I have made over my 50 years (yes, 50!) of knitting is that I no longer buy knitting patterns, books of knitting patterns or those knitting magazines that you can find in your local supermarket. As I have written in this blog before, since I first read Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Knitting Without Tears, I have moved from buying patterns to buying books on techniques and stitch libraries. These days when I see something in a magazine that I think I would like to knit — I study it for the details — i.e. the design elements, the stitchery, etc. — and then I sit down and figure out how to knit it up without the pattern — I draft my own essentially. I find I am much happier with the results.
I am doing that now — what I have on my needles is a raglan cardigan sweater, knitted from the top down — size 18 months. I hope when I finish this little sweater that I will be able to develop another sweater calculator for doing top down raglan sweaters. I’ll post it when I am certain that it works correctly.
For those of you who wish to move beyond following written patterns — Elizabeth Zimmerman’s books are a great way to start.
When I started knitting decades ago, the choices and types of knitting needles were limited. I started out using the Boye brand of aluminum straight single point needles in US size 10.5 – I think they were about 8 inches long. My next set of needles were US size 8 and were 14 inches in length. I continued acquiring single point aluminum needles – buying them one set at a time as I needed for the project I was working on. I still have most of those sets and I don’t use them much anymore.
I also acquired double point needles(dpns) as I learned to knit in the round or circular. These were purchased generally from big box type stores that carried knitting supplies. I have a mix of aluminum. bamboo, and birch needles. Again, I still have these needles but I rarely use them.
My first sets of circular needles were also purchased at big box stores and are aluminum or bamboo with thicker cables. I eventually found a local yarn shop in my area and this opened up a whole new avenue for buying knitting needles. The needles carried by the shop were of a much higher quality than what was available through the big box stores. My first purchases of fixed circular needles were Addi brand. Over time, I acquired a collection of these needles in various lengths. Again, I bought the size and length of needles as I needed them for projects.
I purchased my first set of interchangeable knitting needles about 25 years after I started knitting. I still use this set regularly but I also have acquired additional interchangeable needles and cables over time.
What I describe above is a process that I believe most knitters go through as they progress in the craft of knitting. You start out with what you are introduced to as a beginner and go from there. Today’s knitter has a much wider array of choices in knitting needles.
There are many different brands available as well as many different materials, not only aluminum and bamboo, but different types of woods, stainless steel, nickel, and acrylic. There are also many different options for where to buy knitting needles today. Knitters now have the option of buying knitting supplies online in addition to stores/shops in their area. It is wonderful to have so many different choices – but it can also be challenging for the new knitter. In my next post, I will discuss tips for selecting needles that I hope will help you the next time you wish to buy a set of needles.
Those socks look really comfy! I love the color too. I really like how you experimented with the pooling.