I’m sorry to say that my first foray into making socks with actual sock yarn did not start well. I mean, I thought it did. I cast on fine, knit the 20 rows of ribbing, thought, “Wow, that’s a really long ribbed section,” and moved on to the leg. It was going quicker than I expected, and while I did think it seemed like a loose fabric, I figured that was just how socks were. I thought for sure I’d found a new addiction: I would be a Sock Knitter, always with a half-knit sock in my purse, always with a drawer full of beautiful handknit socks.
Monday afternoon, I had to pick up my daughter from the airport. (Lucky kid had been to Princeton for a choir competition. She even got to go into Manhattan. Ugh. So jealous.) I was happily waiting outside the gate, knitting away on my sock, and suddenly my eyes fell on the printing on the needle. I saw a number 3. That wasn’t right; I was knitting with size 1 needles…right? I checked the pattern: yep, it called for size 1. I checked the needles again: they were still size 3. I know I meant to grab the 1s. I thought I was using 1s. I still don’t have a clue how I ended up with 3s. In any case, I had just enough time to frog my half-knit sock before the plane landed.
That night I found the right needles and cast on again. These needles are like toothpicks. It’s ridiculous. Now I’m back to thinking socks will never be an obsession for me, but maybe that will change once these are done and I wear them. It’s just going to take a while, because these tiny needles make for much slower knitting!
bonnyknits 
Famous last words I once uttered! 😜
Bummer you had to frog and start over! Have you tried magic loop or maybe shorter DPN’s? Knit Picks has them reasonably priced. The first sock I knit would have fit the Hulk! That was a good first lesson in gage
I do have some shorter DPNs that I use for gloves, so maybe I’ll try those. I’m not ready for magic loop yet. 😉
I like to start my toe up socks on DPN’s and then I switch to magic loop. Magic loop doesn’t feel as messy with knitting that is established if that makes any sense?
Keep with it! The first pair of socks is always less than perfect, but it gets much easier and the product improves immensely after that first effort.
Thanks! I’m just stubborn enough to finish at least one pair!
Nothing more disheartening than a sock that doesn’t fit!!
At least I caught it before the sock was done!!
Sorry to hear about the misstep! Socks can be tricky, but super rewarding in the end 😊
I keep hearing that, so I’ll keep going! 🙂
size ones do feel like toothpicks, but handmade socks feel wonderful on feet, so it is worth the effort. I use a tiny circular for my socks – 8 or 9 inches. Not everyone likes them, but I find the round go very fast when I am not juggling toothpicks. 🙂
I’ve thought about that too. I love my tiny circs for baby hats but don’t have tiny sizes. If I like my hand knit socks, I’ll probably invest in some!
It will change your world. Your feet will thank You ! 🙂
I like to use US 1.5 needles, which don’t feel as small as the ones but I know that some people use US 2s or even 3s – it may just throw off your gauge a little. Possibly try knitting a sock on the 3s but do the stitch count for a size smaller. 🙂
Thanks! I did ponder that but the pattern I chose was one size only and I didn’t want to try to mess around with numbers too much. Next time I’ll look for a pattern with size options!
This pattern looks like more work than it actually is, super easy 🙂 http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/hermiones-everyday-socks
lol that’s what I’m making.
sorry to hear about the troubles! You can use larger needles if you cast on fewer stitches . . . maybe they would be more comfortable? I know size 1 needles can seem TINY
Thanks, I’ll definitely consider that for future socks. Math isn’t my favorite, so I was trying to avoid having to change stitch counts, but I think I’d enjoy the process a lot more on at least 2s!
If you are determined to finish the socks you will have time to adapt to the size of the needles and by the time you get to knitting the foot your hands and muscles will adapt well to the “tiny” feel of the needles. If you decide you hate dpns, you can try other methods (magic loop, two circs, mini circs). If you discover that the finer yarn and smaller needles are not your thing, there a few light DK sock yarns you can try (Rav search some). The light DK sock yarns can be knit on U.S. 2 needles or a bit larger (even U.S. 3) depending on your individual tension. Sock knitting is a very useful exploration of garment instruction. It’s like a miniature experiment in all the ways you can knit shapes and join fabrics together, so if you decide you hate knitting socks, at least you will have learned some things about constructing garments that will be useful to you in the future. That’s a little better, right? Anyway, reading this post, I see a sock knitting addict in the making right here! I remember my first sock. I dreamed about destroying it with nuclear weapons.
Oh, I have no problem with DPNs in general. I’ve used them for ages. I already know I’m not a fan of how long it takes to make something with tiny yarn and tiny needles. And having to make two of them. I might just decide I like being a hat and cowl knitter!
Oh no! I’ve gotten to work on a project before and found that I grabbed the wrong needles. Luckily, I realized my mistake before I got too far in, but I just kept looking at the number on the needles, hoping that it would change to the number I needed, ha ha!
But the yarn you’re using is gorgeous! Can’t wait to see the finished project! 🙂
Haha yes, I kept thinking surely I was looking at the wrong number!
Your feet will be happier with size 1’s, trust me. The purl bumps can make your feet hurt after a while if you make them with size 3’s. Plus you get a tighter fabric and longer wear with smaller needles. Once you wear a pair of hand knit socks you will never want to go back to commercially made ones – especially when you learn to tweak a pattern to fit YOUR foot specifically. It’s well worth the work!
I do think I’ll like the tighter fabric with the smaller needles. I just need to figure out how to get the best fit!