Beginner's sock

[snakeling]

I've got cotton yarn and needles and I'm ready to knit my first sock. Except that I'm kinda overwhelmed by the choice available, so could you recommend a good beginner's pattern?

I've only one circular needle, but on the other hand, I actually like double-pointed needles (actually I like them better :D).

Comments

[james]

Honestly, my usual recommendation for first socks is to make felted slippers with worsted weight wool. That way you can do all the usual sock construction things, but with fewer stitches and they knit up faster (because you're using thicker yarn and bigger needles) and then you get to felt away all the imperfections! :-)

Also, do you know that cotton yarn won't be elastic, unless it has elastic either blended in, or you're knitting it with a strand of elastic thread? Cotton socks will stretch, and won't bounce back into shape, so they will start getting loose as you wear them (even with ribbing to help keep them tight). I do have cotton socks, and they are fine for what they are - I'd just hate for your first socks to be a disappointment if you didn't realise how the yarn is going to behave.

[snakeling]

Oh, damn it, I hadn't thought of the elastic problem. Very good point.

Hmm, then I'll have to shelve the sock idea until I acquire more suitable yarn. *delves into yarn stash for something else to make*

[aedifica]

Agreed about cotton not being ideal for sock yarn, especially first socks (unless maybe it's one of those cotton sock yarns that's really a blend with something else for stretch).

snakeling, socks can be fun and not too difficult, but wool is a much easier yarn to work with for them! If you're allergic to wool, I still recommend something stretchier than cotton.

Of the sock patterns I've used, the one I'd most recommend to a sock beginner is this one, for worsted weight yarn: Beginner Socks # 9728. It's not a free pattern, alas, but it helped me get used to sock construction and then I was able to branch out to other patterns. What weight is the yarn you intend to use?

[james]

Yeah, the first five or six pairs of socks I ever made were all 100% cotton, and while they feel really nice for the first five minutes I wear them, after that they're so loose they don't stay on. But I enjoyed making them, so I don't call them a total loss.

You could also make baby socks with the cotton yarn as a way to practice, and it won't matter so much about fit because the baby won't be walking around in them. (Of course, babies wriggle out of socks no matter what you make them out of, so you are free to say it isn't the yarn at all! ;-) )

Most of the sock patterns for beginners that I can think of are all in books. Wendy Johnson has some great learn-to-make-socks patterns, but I'd hate to suggest buying a book unless you know you're gonna love it.

[damned_colonial]

Wrt sock patterns, I find that different people respond to different patterns in different ways, and you need to find one that matches how your brain works. I quite like the Yarn Harlot's recipe from "Knitting Rules" (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/sock-recipe-a-good-plain-sock), but there are many others out there.

I don't know if you know or not, but socks come in a variety of flavours. The old-fashioned traditional sock pattern is knitted top-down, with a turned heel (you knit a flap for the back, then "turn the heel" by doing a short row thing, then pick up stitches to form a gusset, then decrease down to the body of the foot). I like this kind of sock knitting and can now do it without a pattern, to make simple plain socks. Other people hate it, and prefer doing a different kind of heel (such as a short row heel), or knitting from the toe up, or even less common styles like moccassin-soled socks (which let you replace the sole) or afterthought heels.

What I'm saying is... the Yarn Harlot pattern I recommended is a traditional top down sock with a turned heel, and by all means you should try that and see how it works, but if you hate it, don't give up on socks, but try another way -- maybe toe-up with a short row heel, which is the next most common.

Oh, also, I always knit socks on DPNs, but there are techniques for knitting them on two circulars, which you could look into if you wanted. But if you like DPNs, I say stick with them!

[rainkatt]

I like the Ann Norling Adult Sock pattern #12. It's got variations for several different yarn weights, clear explanations, and descriptions of how to get the different looks shown. It's a pamphlet, usually about $3, and you can get it online or at a local yarn store. It's for dpns, top down.

I have a pair of machine-knit cotton socks, and they fit fine--but they are "small" when I put them on. Maybe not the best for your first sock, but once you get going, you try the cotton yarn and go down a needle size, maybe?

Good luck! Socks are fun!

[snakeling]

Loose socks drive me batty. I think I can find cotton-elastic yarn, though, so I'll look for that next time I'm at the yarn shop.

Good point about baby socks, especially as I have a new niece :D

Having not read the other comments...

[pinesandmaples]

Actually, a cotton-nylon-something blend would be best. I have a pair of socks made with Regia Cotton Top that have all the lovely properties of cotton socks (cool) with all the staying power of wool. Yarns like that are a nice medium.

People also seem to like Cascade Fixation (which also comes in a solid) as a cotton sock yarn that doesn't suck.

[snakeling]

No, I'm not allergic to wool, but it's so hot here that cotton is just more comfortable to knit. I'll have a look for cotton blended with something stretchy. I'll ask my local yarn shop :)

The yarn is fingering, I think. French yarn doesn't have weight level, so I go by recommended needle size to find out.

I'd prefer not to buy patterns, because there are a lot of nice free ones out there, and yarn is expensive enough ;) Plus apparently those aren't available as download, so getting hold of them would be a pain. But I'll keep it in mind if I can't find anything better. Thanks :)

[seryn]

Not sure about the yarn being right for these, but this was the first sock pattern that made sense to me:
http://media.wendyknits.net/knit/featherandfansock.pdf

[snakeling]

I knew about toe-up socks, but not about mocassin-soled socks. This sounds like fun :D

The problem with English-language books is that I'm unlikely to find them here, so I can't leaf through them at the bookstore to find out whether I want to shell out for them :/

Yay DPNs :D

[snakeling]

That sounds quite useful, thanks!

I'm going to keep the plain cotton for something else, and find some cotton-stretchy yarn-blend for the socks, so it'll be easier. Also, I'm a tight knitter; if I go down a needle size, I probably won't be able to fit the needle in the stitches ;)

[snakeling]

Oh, that's a nice pattern, thanks!

[damned_colonial]

Are you on Ravelry? You could do a search there for basic free sock patterns. Here's one for easy free sock patterns: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/search?r=&e=&free=yes&category=socks&query=&sort=difficulty&view=thumblist&facets=#r=&e=&free=yes&category=socks&query=&sort=difficulty&view=thumblist&add_id=4&add=knitting&apply=1&history=1

[seryn]

The only thing I recommend is keeping track of whether the yarn you use felts.... I loved my socks made to that pattern until they got washed. Mine turned from adult sock size to mittens for tiny hands size. (So I put a slit in the heel and picked up stitches to add a thumb.)

That's one really excellent thing about cotton yarn... no felting.

For me what really worked was buying sock yarn, and sock size needles and just assuming I was going to get that gauge the pattern said. Because when I did the swatch it looked all airy and was enormous. But once I got into the actual sock, I was pulling my stitches a lot tighter. So what I needed was a pattern that promised it was going to work if I just trusted it. That might not be what you need.

I really like wool socks. Everyone thinks wool is hot, but compared to my commercial socks (which have a shockingly high non-cotton percentage for "cotton socks") I find that my feet are less sweaty and my toes are not overly warm. If you're seeking good sock yarn, look for more than 2-plies, look for it being tightly twisted with lots of "bounce", and look for it knitting to the standard sock gauge of 8sts/inch (at least until you have more experience). There's a lot of fingering yarn out there that just won't hold up to being socks no matter what the label says.

Good luck!

ps. when I was starting, everyone told me I wanted to knit Monkey socks by Cookie A. If you're adventurous enough to try it; they are cute.

[aunty_marion]

Amazon should be able to get you some books. The Wendy Johnson patterns recommended above are great - I have her book 'Socks from the Toe Up', which has instructions for the basics, with different toes and heels, and then you add in different stitch patterns on the foot and legs. It has patterns for heavier yarns as well.

If it's too hot for wool, you could try some of the other interesting yarns around - Wendy Happy may be available, and that's mostly bamboo! 75% bamboo/25% nylon. I've also used Zitron Trekking Pro Natura, which is also 25% bamboo/75% wool.

[ironed_orchid]

I knit my first sock using Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's basic sock recipe, which is great, but it's in her book, so probably not free on the webs.

I would look for things labeled "simple" or "easy" sock patterns. I've been doing that now that I'm leaning how to do toe up socks.

[ironed_orchid]

That's the pattern I used to knit my first socks. And the next pair, and the pair after that.

I also love dpns, and I found it easier at first to read instructions for knitting socks on dpns than ones for two circs. Now that I have the hang of sock construction, I can read patterns for 2 circs and translate them in my head.

[snakeling]

Oh, yes, that's what I did. It was part of the problem, because there just was too much choice :D

[snakeling]

Thanks for all the advice!

I've read somewhere that you just don't knit with the same tightness in the round, so ideally you should do the swatch in the round too.

[snakeling]

That's what I've been doing, but there are way too many different patterns out there, and some aren't actually that simple. :/

[ironed_orchid]

What I also did is practise turning a heel on scrap yarn swatches, so once I came to it in an actual sock, I know how it worked.

I also found that picking up and working the instep got a LOT easier when I swicthed from 4 needles to 5 - some brands ony sell 4 in a pack of dpns, but 5 makes socks so much easier.