Sunday 24 July 2022
Sunday 14 March 2021
A Sock Knitting Weekend - Stylecraft Head over Heels Sock Yarn Review
It's been a sock knitting kind of weekend...
Stylecraft - Head over Heels Sock Yarn (Shade: Olympus) |
I haven't knit socks in ages, but a return to sock knitting has been on the cards for some time. Having picked up two skeins of Stylecraft Head over Heels sock yarn on a whim some time late last year, I finally got round to starting on my socks this weekend.
I am pleased to say, the first sock is now finished (I always knit them individually) and presently blocking on a makeshift cardboard sock blocker. Looking at my homemade sock shaper, I think it's fair to admit that the instep section will have to go on a diet.
Sock Blocking in progress (on homemade cardboard sock shaper) |
Today, I am planning to cast-on for sock number 2.
I am not following a pattern or attempting to produce anything fancy with this project. Instead, I wanted to get back into sock knitting by starting off with a simple, ankle-length, top-down stockinette stitch sock with a ribbed cuff.
This project is predominantly an exercise in (re-)familiarising myself with basic sock anatomy, revisiting sock construction techniques (turning the heel / picking up stitches / working toe decreases) and the calculation of measurements to achieve a good, personal fit.
All in all, a fun, simple and quick knit, which, most importantly, allows me to knit a portable project on small needles. I have just finished a condo knitting, openwork project with mohair yarn, the Winter's End Scarf, on size 2mm and size 8mm straight needles, using Yeoman's Elsa mohair fingering weight yarn, which comes on a cone, and was thus confined to my work desk to accommodate the cone and the growing mohair scarf for the duration of this project. The current sock project certainly feels like a relief in this respect. I can even knit this project standing up.
Now, after completing sock number one with my first skein of Stylecraft Head over Heels, I wanted to share my experience of knitting with this sock yarn, especially after reading some of the reviews of the yarn on the web and on Ravelry.