(no subject)

[avendya]

Socks! Someone tell me about socks!

Or, rather, tell me how one gets started on making them. I am a beginning knitter, about two feet into an Irish Hiking Scarf. I was playing around with some size 3 needles, and really, really liked them. It seems like socks are the most common thing made on small needles, and I would rather like a nice warm, fuzzy pair of socks. (Emphasis on warm -- my goal would be socks that can be worn in the house, instead of shoes, by a person with the world's worst circulation.)

DPNs look slightly terrifying, but they are probably manageable, right? Anyone want to give me pattern recs? The nicest looking pattern I've found is the skew sock, but oh dear god complicated stitchwork. (At least to a beginner.) A Coraline sock looks less terrifying, but also less pretty.

So: should I avoid socks for the time being, and knit a couple other things that use increases/decreases (the Saroyan scarf comes to mind), or try to make socks anyway? And, if I should knit socks: pattern recs?

Comments

[starfish]

Fleegle has a good basic sock recipe here which I have used with great success. I would advise using a sport-weight or maybe DK-weight yarn for house-socks on your size 3 needles, that should work out. Don't be afraid of toe-up, it's really an easier cast-on (fewer stitches, not as wobbly) and when you get to the ankle, it's up to you how long you want to make them.

Knitpicks.com has some tutorial videos that might be helpful if you want to see how it works as far as heel-turns and such.

ETA: Your first pair will likely not be perfect. That's okay. You have the choice of hiding them in a drawer or unraveling them and trying again.

SOCKS ARE AWESOME!