Friday, October 17, 2008

Marigold Socks

As the weather starts to turn, the socks get a bit taller and brighter.

Marigold Socks

Pattern: Marigold Socks by Pamela Wynne

Yarn: Life in Lilt Creations Twist! Color: Sunny Days. Bought here.

Needles:
Knitpicks Harmony 32" circular (magic loop), US size 1 and 1.5 (2.25mm, 2.5mm)

Pattern Review: I love patterns that are simple to knit but with results that appear more complicated than they really are.

These socks are worked from the toe up with a short-row heel, which I haven't done in a while but still enjoy. I basically followed the pattern as written, with a few changes I'll mention in a sec. The pattern is a variation on feather and fan, a well-known stitch that is very easy to do.

Marigold Socks

Modifications: I've got a few. I used "Judy’s magic cast on" because I've wanted to try it for a while now and don't do very many toe-up socks. I really like this cast on overall and far prefer it to the figure-8. No contest.

I also made the sock taller. I didn't want to alter the look of the pattern so I dealt with this by going up one needle size when it started to get snug. I hardly know if I'm supposed to mention this modification anymore since almost all of the socks I make for myself are taller.

I used the larger needle over the heel/ankle section as well to make them easier to get on and off. The short-row heel can be tight on the instep, depending on your ankle. I have narrow ankles but a high arch. A short-row heel with a larger needle worked perfectly.

I switched back to the smaller needle for the cuff and they do stay on well. I used Elizabeth Zimmermann's sewn bind off for the stretchy factor.

Marigold Socks

Yarn Review
: The color is very cheerful, love love love. Jess at Life in Lilt custom dyed the yarn for me to make it extra orange. She is obviously a very talented indie dyer who really knows her stuff. You may want to check out her yarns before they get hard to find... The yarn is fantastic. Have you seen the heel?

Sunny Days

Overall:
Fun pattern, easy to follow, great results. Highly recommended. I'll love wearing them on a dark and cloudy day this winter, no doubt.

2 comments:

Anne said...

Yum!

T.M. said...

Beautiful socks! And the color is fabulous. Love those fall colors.