Historical Socks

I found this pattern in the last edition of PieceWork magazine.  It is based on a pair of stockings they found in 1951, in a bog in Gunnister, Scotland.  They have dated the material to the 17th century.

These are the actual stockings.  They were repaired (not well) in several places and the bottom of the foot was a separate piece, obviously the original foot wore out.

As the pattern was written for a man, the foot measurement had to be altered to fit my smaller foot.  I also had to alter the thigh and calf measurements to fit my, rather heavy, leg.  This was a fascinating project because it is a reproduction of an actual historical garment.  The original was in a wool yarn that would have been comparable to what we call sport weight.  I used a cotton ( 75%) and poly (25%) fingering weight.  I swatched it to find a needle size, because the pattern was written for a size 1.  I ended up using a size 3.

I'm thrilled with how it came out.  There is a clock pattern on the sides of the ankle, the back seam is 14 st wide starting with a garter stitch (p1, then next row k1), 3 knit stitches, another garter stitch, 4 knit stitches, a garter stitch, 3 knit stitches and ending with a garter stitch.  It makes the decreases very neat.

 

 

 

 

Here is the clock pattern.

This is the back seam.

The color is a dove brown, the top picture is closer to the real color.  I had a lot of fun with this pattern, even if I did have to graft the toes using the Kitchner Stitch :).

Pirate Socks - Part 3 - Finished

My Pirate socks are finished.  I added a bit of Stretchtite to the top to help keep them up.  I am very proud of them.

Pirate Socks - part 2

The first sock is done.  The alterations I made after making the first pair from this pattern work very well.  It fits just right.  I will have to add a bit of elastic to the top to get it to stay up, but that is just a minor thing.

Onward to the second sock.

Pirate socks

During the late spring, summer and early fall some of my weekends are spent working as a historical re-enactor.  I play the role of a pirate, ship's Clerk of the Black Rose II.  Well, obviously I need pirate socks, but because of my heavy calfs, there are not any striped socks that fit me correctly.  So, I'm making my own. 

I'm using the same pattern as before, the Toe Up using the Eastern cast on.  I have a few things I'm changing from the last pair.  I'm making the foot an inch shorter and the leg two inches longer.  I'm using a 75% pima cotton, 25% acrylic blend from Knitpicks in a dark red and ivory color.  I'm still using the short row heel and the 2X2 ribbing, starting on the instep, stocking stitch is used on the sole.

I've seen a lot of different ways of doing a short row heel.  Most of them are very fussy and some are completely impossible to understand.  I have found a way to do them that is easier.  It's still a little fussy, but if you've ever turned a heel, well, you know that heels are just fussy no matter how you do them.  Here it is:

First a few assumptions.  You are using 3 needles, your instep stitches are all on one needle and the sole stitches are evenly divided between 2 needles.  The beginning of your rounds is in the middle of the sole stitches.  The sole stitches are on needle 1 and 3.  My sock has 34 sole stitches.  You will be working the heel straight.  Once it is done you go back to knitting rounds.

First Half:  1.  With needle 3 knit to the last stitch on needle 1.  You have one stitch on needle 1 and 33 stitches on needle 3.  Turn so the WS is facing you.
                 2.   Slip the first stitch.  Purl to the last stitch and turn.
                 3.   Slip the first stitch.  Knit to two stitches before the end, turn.
                 4.   Slip the first stitch.  Purl to two stitches before the end, turn.

Repeat rows 3 and 4, increasing by one the number of stitches left on the needle, until you have 12 stitches (or how ever many fit your pattern) left between the ones left on the needles.  There will be an obvious gap, but I have used stitch markers to help.

This is the first half in progress.  You can see the Gap.

Here is another view.

Here is the second half (and the part that I find fussy).  You should have the RS facing you:

          1.  Slip the first stitch then knit to the first stitch before the gap.  Slip that stitch and pick up the bar between the stitches on to the right needle and knit them together, turn.  This will begin closing the gap between the stitches.
          2.  Slip the first stitch then purl to the next stitch before the gap.  Slip that stitch and pick up the bar between the stitches on to the right needle and purl them together, turn.

Repeat these two rows until all the stitches have been used up and you have your original number of stitches on the needle.

Here is the second half in progress.  You can see the heel cup forming.

Here is the WS view.

It really is the easiest way I have seen to turn a heel.  I'm not sure if this helps anyone or makes it more confusing.  I hope it helps. 

If you have found a better way to do this, please leave a comment and let me know.  I love knitting socks but really DON'T like heels.

Finished Heel

Knitting

So the second sock is done and I'm very happy with the set.  Next time I will make the leg a little longer, about 1.5 to 2 inches and taper the top a bit.  Ah live and learn.

Speaking of learning, most of my Christmas presents are handmade.  It is just too expensive otherwise, I have a huge amount of nieces and nephews.  Plus the few friends I make gifts for seem to appreciate them.  In making a scarf for one of my friends I learned a great cast on technique when making ribbing.  It is the long tail and reverse long tail method.  It actually makes your first row for you.

Thanks to knittinghelp.com and knitdaily.com for the videos and emails that helped me learn them.  I love learning new ways to make things look nice.

Knitting Socks - the second sock

I found a much easier way to do short row heels.  Thank you Gia for suggesting the website knitting help.  It was invaluable.  It also gave me a few pointers about how to do the Turkish toes.

As anyone who has ever had to pull out rows, it is always hard to pick the stitches back up again.  When you have to do it for over 12 rounds and the yarn is superfine fingering weight and the needles are size 3...argh.  It is my own fault for not paying attention to my count.

Onward and upward.

Knitting socks - It's a knee sock!

It's finished.  It is the first knee sock that I've had that comes up my leg.  Next time I will make it about 2 inches longer as it doesn't quite reach my knee, but I'm still very happy with it.  I need to get some 16 inch circular needles.

1 x 1 ribbing at the top

Knitting Socks - The Increase

If I did the math right (knitting math, hmmm) I have the calf increasing to fit my larger calf.  I have been increasing at the back almost every round.  This should, un-stretched, be about 19" (yes, I have huge calves).  This should fit with a little stretching.

This is why I'm trying to learn how to knit socks.  I have very large calves so forget about finding any knee socks that actually fit in the store.

Knitting Socks - Turning the heel

On these socks the heel is done by what is called "Short Row Heel".  I followed the directions I have after several readings and an internet search for help (YouTube has great videos to help you).  Wow, these directions are wicked fussy.  There's YO front and back, increases and decreases, and parts missing from the directions.  Yikes.

I persevered and was able to get the heel turned.  I have to say, though, on the next sock in this pair I will try a technique I found while trying to figure out these instructions.  On YouTube it has this tittle :
"Short Row Heel Demo - Lifestyle Toe Up Socks, No wraps!"
It seems much easier and still makes a heel.

Onward and Upward (literally :))

Knitting socks

Not really doing a lot of sewing right now.  I'm in Christmas present mode and while looking for a new hat brim pattern for one of my little ones, I stumbled across a pattern for knitting socks from the toe up using the Turkish or Eastern cast on method.  I was very intrigued so I decided to try.  Wow, I had to try it several times before I got it right, I'm not sure trying to learn it with super fine yarn and size 3 dpn was the smartest thing, but I finally got it.  If you are curious there is a wonderful video on YouTube that explains it better than the directions that came with the pattern.

One of the reasons knitting socks intrigues me is because I have very heavy calves and can NEVER find knee socks that fit.  So now I'm trying to make a pair that will.  I knit a gauge swatch so I know how many stitches are in an inch.  When I get to the part of the pattern where the leg is being formed I'm going to do some math to figure out how many to add.

If you are curious about how far I've gotten, here it is.  This is four inches or so into the foot.  It is a 2 x 2 rib pattern.

I'll keep you posted on how it's coming.