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FRIENDSHIP SOCKS

15 June 2014 by

As soon I saw these orange and fuchsia skeins of yarn, I knew they were destined for greatness and friendship. Coordinating socks, one pair for me, and the other for my truly lovely friend Gigi. Gigi and I once had coordinating purple pants, bought at H&M when we were living in rural France, so there is a precedent for these socks. The fuchsia pair is for my friend, and the orange pair is for me.

worsted weight socks, made by Julianne

Here are Gigi’s footsies:

friendship socks, made by Julianne

And mine:

friendship socks, made by Julianne

Oh dear, they really do look tight. Perhaps I should re-knit the heel, working 3-4 rounds before starting the decreases.

These are my first worsted weight socks, which are obviously much faster than fingering weight! I used Cascade 220 superwash, one ball of each color to make both socks (and the tiniest bit left over). Cascade was easy to work with, the colors are deliciously vibrant, and affordable at $12 each, but there were about 4 snags in each skein.

Once again I used Liat Gatt’s tutorial for socks, but these socks were knit two at a time. I really loved this technique, and will be using it for all socks from now on! I remembered this tip on keeping simultaneous balls from getting tangled, which I added onto by lining the yarn opening with painter’s tape (this let the yarn slide smoothly across the zipper lip).

I tried short row heel, but after three attempts and increasing frustration I returned to the afterthought heel. My main reason for avoiding afterthought in the first place was Kitchener grafting. This stitch gets a lot of grief, and I’d struggled with it before. With a sigh, I threaded my tapestry needle and prepared for 20 minutes of annoyance. And then… I remembered all the steps without looking up a tutorial, and it turned out perfect. Kitchener and I are friends now.

worsted weight socks, made by Julianne

So it looks like afterthought heels will be my go-to, as I simply love the contrasting heels. I still need to perfect my corners, but that will be an easy adjustment. Also, I think I should have created a wider opening for the heel (I did 5/9 opening, a little less than 2/3). Next time!

The twisted ribbing is knit 1 through the back loop, purl 1, which creates a very neat ribbing. I bound off with Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off, because it’s easy and works great, and I really don’t care about binding off in the rib pattern.

worsted weight socks, made by Julianne

Gigi has tiny feet, so I hope these will fit! And they were only a few days late for her birthday.

worsted weight socks, made by Julianne

Any readers have any tips or preferences for heels they’d like to share?

4 Responses to FRIENDSHIP SOCKS

  1. Pam

    Julianne!

    Great to meet you at the meet up in LA. Love the knitted socks and your blog. These techniques still elude me (the ability to knit socks).

    XOXO, Pam

    • Julianne Post author

      I see on your blog that you knit other things! What about socks are a challenge for you? They’re just about my favorite thing to knit, but I haven’t started on sweaters yet.

  2. Nhi

    Awwww it’s so sweet of you to make socks for your friend. Not only socks but friendship socks. I don’t knit so friendship frocks may be more up my alley.

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