Monday, February 6, 2012

I wore my mittens today.  They are warm (all that double layers of yarn) and beautiful.  I'm going to leave them alone for now.  The pink yarn is superwash but the brown is not and I have a feeling they would not look good if I threw then in the dryer and only the brown shrank.(shrunk? shrinked?)

But, today I want to show you something I found interesting.  Backstory:  One of my knitting group members wants to make socks but is intimidated by "all those needles".  It doesn't matter than I have shown her over and over how you only use two needles at a time.  She's afraid.  She has no self confidence.  She has crocheted so many things including a Christmas stocking out of red and white cotton but if it doesn't come easy, she's afraid of it.  "YOU can do all these fancy things but I can't". 

So, I decided to help her make a pair of crocheted socks.  I found a pattern with a lot of instructions that seemed fairly easy.  She bought some yarn and a hook and we tried to figure it out together last Thursday.  She was not enjoying it because it took too much concentration.  (She likes things where she can just crochet along and not pay lots of attention).

I found a ball of yarn and my small hook and tried the pattern myself yesterday afternoon.  This is what I have so far.   It's a little thicker than if I had knitted the same yarn.  It's Knitpicks Felici self striping yarn.  It's light fingering.  I'm using a size F (3.75 mm) hook.



I'm halfway down my foot and starting to read the directions for the heel (they sound interesting). 

I generally like the way crochet looks but I'm not sure I like these.  Maybe if I used a smaller hook, it might be a tighter fabric.  The F was the only one I could find at the time and I didn't feel like going out to buy a smaller one on Sunday afternoon.  I'm going to finish at least one of them (although I should probably finish a pair). 

What do you think? 

7 comments:

amy said...

I would think crochet fabric wouldn't have enough give to be comfortable as socks. How does it feel?

Donna Lee said...

They're surprisingly stretchy. It's all single crochet.

Rose Red said...

I would like to make crochet socks one day. I must just bite the bullet and do it, because I am interested to see how they feel and wear too.

If you like the way they feel so far, and you are interested to see how to do the heel etc, then I would keep going, if I were you.

roxie said...

I love the self-stripes. Crochet has its place in the fiber world, and if these socks are comfy, then rock on!

The instructions might be easier if they are written one to an index card (numbered clearly on top of each) I have punched a hole in the bottom of each card and fastened them together in order on a ring.

It's much easier to face a big project if you break it into little steps.

Dianne said...

I am intrigued by crocheted socks. Is the fabric thin enough to feel comfortable in a pair of shoes? I like how they look!

Saren Johnson said...

Crochet socks look interesting. I don't like how crochet looks, so I'm not the best person to ask.

Amy Lane said...

I'll stick to kn itting--but you're so sweet going to all that trouble for a coworker.

Happy Sunday!  I am sitting here working on my sweater made with the cashmere yarn my husband gave me for my birthday last year. I’m further...