Any advice on teaching myself to knit socks?

[januarysnowdrop]

I have a long-held ambition to learn how to knit socks (I like the idea of a project that doesn't take too long but can still be complicated enough to be interesting) but I'm not sure where to start - I've been looking at possible books on Amazon and wondered if anybody had any recommendations?

I'm a reasonably good knitter and can follow patterns okay but I've never tried using double pointed needles or knitting in the round before, and tbh it rather intimidates me.

Any advice gratefully received!

[januarysnowdrop]

Lovely wool, sooperdooper - where's it from? I wonder what on earth activeme can have posted on a thread about knitting socks to get themselves deleted by MumsnetHQ?! This isn't exactly AIBU territory....

[sooperdooper]

Your socks are ace! I've just started learning too, I'm not as far into it as you but I've been using the Winwick mum sock along I found via Ravelry & the FB page is great too and full of excited sock knitters

I haven't done much yet, only the ribbing and a few rows of knit - getting used to the double pointed needles but it's a bit fiddly!

[januarysnowdrop]

I love the idea of fraternal rather than identical socks! Although, speaking as a fraternal twin myself, I have to say that my socks look considerably more alike than I do to my (bearded male) twin.

[Footle]

Socks made with variegated yarn are allowed, even supposed, to be fraternal rather than identical, btw.

[Footle]

The law states that you cast on the second one as soon as you finish the first. Otherwise you're in danger of developing Second Sock Syndrome.

[januarysnowdrop]

Finished! One pair of socks. I did have a go at matching the stripes, but I got the wool all tangled up and eventually decided life was too short. I quite like the slightly odd effect, anyway.

Thanks again to everyone who posted - your advice was brilliant. I would thoroughly recommend sock knitting to anyone thinking of taking it up - it's lovely to have a project that is interesting but doesn't take too long. And it amuses me greatly that the grafting-the-toes bit is named after Lord Kitchener.

[januarysnowdrop]

Well done, toofarfrom! Fancy posting a picture? I am currently working on the foot of my second sock, so not a million miles further to go.

[toofarfromcivilisation]

I've just finished my second pair (so much better than my first!). I cast on my third pair before I left fo work today & they are all I've been thinking about! Sad knitter person!

[tribpot]

Well done you! Key thing next is to learn two at a time, so you can fight the problem of not wanting to do the second sock

[januarysnowdrop]

Look! A sock! With a heel and toes and everything. Thank you so much to everyone who posted advice - I found the verypink knits videos incredibly helpful when I got confused about how to tackle things like picking up stitches for the gusset and grafting the toes, and the book was a great overall guide.

Now all I need to do is to knit another one....

[TheGreenNinja]

I love knitting in the round but have never tried a sock, you are inspiring me to give it a go!

[januarysnowdrop]

Look at this! Actually I've done a bit more than this now - I've done most of the heel flap of the first sock and have been studying youtube to work out how on earth the heel turn works. Really enjoying this project so far - I love the way I could put it down at any time when I was knitting in the round, rather than telling the small people in my life to wait until I'd finished the row.

[JoffreyBaratheon]

The clearest, most straightforward run through of every kind of sock heel and toe (and loads of really nice vintage-inspired patterns), in this book by Nancy Bush:

www.amazon.co.uk/Knitting-Vintage-Socks-Classic-Patterns/dp/1931499659?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

I always have a sock on the go although essentially knit for a living, so sometimes they may take ages to finish as I'm having to go full stream ahead on other things. But sometimes it's nice for some brainless knitting! (I know when starting out it doesn't seem brainless, but once you've done a couple of pairs... it is!)

[tribpot]

on knitting two socks at the same time.

[tribpot]

You can do two socks at once by using one very long circular needle or two shorter ones - you put both front halves of the sock on one needle and both back halves on the other. Don't worry about this now :) There is an even more insane way of doing two socks at once, where you knit one inside the other.

I would have suggested you start with a test pair in aran or DK so they go quicker, but as you've started already, crash on! I second VeryPink Knits, she is great, and also knitfreedom.com

[januarysnowdrop]

Knitting two socks at once?! Have you grown two extra arms? What an extraordinary concept - I must have a look on youtube some time and see how on earth it works.

I'm 35 rows in and counting. I'm finding I rather like knitting in the round - it looks very neat and is easy to carry around. And I love self-striping yarn!

[januarysnowdrop]

Wow, thanks everyone - I hadn't realised people were still adding to this thread. I absolutely love the fact that there are people out there who think it is exciting that I want to learn how to knit socks! Anyway, I've got everything now, apart from the book which should be with me some time this week, but I'm using the pattern on the winwick mum blog and have cast on and knitted the first 20-odd rows of my first ever sock. Still rather apprehensive about the later stages of sock-knitting but I will do my best to trust the pattern and will let you know what happens.

[HarvestMoon9]

Probably not something for your first pair of socks, but doing them two at a time is brilliant - when you've finished, you're really finished rather having to psych yourself up to do the second sock

Another thing I enjoyed with knitting my first pair of socks was using some self striping yarn as I still had a nice effect even though I was learning by doing a simple pattern. These yarns are great:

www.woolwarehouse.co.uk/yarn/regia-arne-carlos-design-line-4-ply-all-colours

Good luck!

[gasman]

Same.

Follow the pattern.

Hey presto a heel appears!

I did some really simple stripes ones (a free Rav pattern) first and am now working my way through Socktopus by Alice Yu.

Cookie A's sock patterns also get good press. She has a blog which teaches you how to knit socks too.

Experiment with all the methods. Personally I get on a heck of a lot better with magic loop than DPNs.

[MinesAPintOfTea]

Just join in the round and trust the pattern. Heels happen by magic...

[TheFurryMenace]

Can I recommend VERYPINK KNITS.com? You can download her patterns and then she puts links in to video tutorials for all the parts you might find tricky as well as getting started and finishing off. You can access the clips for free to help you through any sock making techniques but you don't have the actual pattern unless you buy it from her. She has many sock patterns - from basic to Magic loop, toe up and two at a time! I did her Christmas stocking pattern which teaches the basics of sock knitting in the round but on Aran yarn so not as fiddly for a beginner, video support with this also. I learned how to turn a heel, pick up stitches, mirror increases and Kitchener, phew!

Good luck, I like the sound of the book recommendation above - sounds good too!