(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

[evilawyer]

DPNs are totally manageable. You can always put those little tips on the ends if you have more trouble with the stitches falling out the back end (I use them when I jamb my knitting into a bag or briefcase for that very reason).

I've become a huge fan of toe-up socks. I got a huge amount of really useful input from this comm a while back when I asked for toe-up patterns. One that helped me visualize what to do while turning the heel was http://www.wendyjohnson.net/blog/sockpattern.htm, and I like the heel on http://knitty.com/ISSUEsummer06/PATTwiddershins.html. I would, however, stay away from cables and curly-ques until you've done a few plain stockinette socks (well, knit since it's in the round). You can get some really pretty variegated yarns that are best shown off by the plain knit.