Broken seed stitch socks and the first steps in knitting for a 7 year old

At the end of August I finally finished the pair of socks I started back in February. At times I didn’t think I’d ever finish them. The pattern is Broken Seed Stitch Socks, a free download on Ravelry. This wasn’t my first choice of pattern.

Broken Seed Socks

I thought I’d stretch myself with sock knitting this year and try a more complicated pattern. The first pattern I tried was Kyma, there is a fee to download this one from Ravelry but was on offer for free when I was searching for a pattern earlier in the year. I tried knitting a swatch before starting the sock but I just couldn’t get it right. There are holes in the pattern and it just wasn’t working for me. So the next pattern I looked at was My Cup Of Tea socks, also on Ravelry. No holes so I thought just maybe I could manage it. My practice swatch worked out ok-ish but when I started on the real thing I got stuck on row two of the pattern and gave up.

the pattern at the bottom is the Kyma and ‘my cup of tea’ is the top pattern – neither really working out well

That’s when I settled on the Broken Seed Stitch. I had the plain blue yarn which was from Red Heart ordered from Love Knitting so I also needed a variegated yarn. I found the same quality from Red Heart and it had the same denim blue colour in. Broken Seed stitch is just a mix of knit & purl stitches so I couldn’t really go wrong.

I did find if a faff having the two balls of yarn, which kept getting twisted and they were both 100gm balls which was way more than I needed for one pair. I lost the momentum and they dragged on for months. I’m pleased with them now they are done but I’m a little bit disillusioned with my sock knitting. I find I never quite get a perfect fit. They normally turn out slightly too long despite trying hard to get the length right. Then they are also slightly too loose.  Out of the socks I’ve knitted for myself the best pair have been these plain grey Hermione’s every day socks. Maybe it was the yarn which is cotton based so the socks aren’t too ‘wooly’ and thick. I knit socks for myself using 60 stitches and I think using 2.5 needles. So it could be the case I either go down to 56 or use smaller needles?

I was also a bit fed up that I was incapable of knitting a pattern, neither of the ones I initially chose looked that difficult. Then I remembered how much I love knitting cables. At the beginning of the year I found this jumper in a suitcase in the attic. I remember knitting this in my early 20’s so over 20 years ago (!) I gave it a wash and it became my house jumper to keep out the chills in the winter months.

Cable Patterned Jumper

Anyway – my 7 year old daughter has been asking me to teach her to knit and at the weekend she was watching CBBC and there is a programme called ‘how to be epic @ everything’ and they had a lady called Suzie showing you how to speed knit. (if you watch the link it starts at 2.55 mins). It does only last 2 mins but shows casting on and the knit stitch. It was enough to give me the push to get my daughter some big needles and a ball of wool. I cast the stitches on for her as I remember I didn’t learn this at first and we spent a quiet half hour slowly going through the steps of the knit stitch.

So far so good and she is knitting a blanket for her teddy.

First steps in knitting….

We started with 18 stitches but now at 21….

Christmas Present Socks

These were my last make of 2014. A  pair of socks as a Christmas present for my other half.
They are knitted in Regia Mix It Color with the toe,heel and cuff using West Yorkshire Spinners 4ply. I did have to buy a 100gm ball for this as the local yarn shop doesn’t sell smaller balls of sock yarn but anyway it’ll do for either a smaller pair of socks or more contrast areas.

Self patterning yarn with contrast heel and toe

These were knitted cuff down with a 1 x 1 rib for 12 rows then stocking stitch. I’ve used the short row heel, which is my heel of choice now. Then finishing off the toe with the Kitchener stitch.

As these were a present I had to do them in secret. I got most of them done when I was away on a business trip for a week. I had a the joy of there and back 12 1/2 hour flights, the return leg was a day flight so whilst I watched in flight films I managed to knit most of the second sock.

They were opened on Christmas morning and much appreciated!  🙂

 

 

Hermione’s Everyday Socks – Toe Up, With A Little Help From Judy and Jenny

I am so pleased with these; they have turned out exactly how I imagined.

Hermione’s Everyday Socks, toe up with a short row heel

The yarn was from Five Moons. 75% superwash merino 25% nylon. It was first time I have used them. My order arrived the next day with a gift of a 5gm mini skein. The colours I used were Raincloud and Miss Scarlet.

hand painted yarn from Five Moons. It just looked so beautiful when I unwrapped the package!

The pattern is the ‘Hermione everyday socks’  which I have knitted before, using a short row heel. I used 2.5mm double pointed bamboo needles.

The grey was a 50gm skein and the red 20gms. Normally I buy 100gms to knit a pair of socks but usually have quite a bit left over so I took a chance that 70gm would do the job. As I knew it was going to be tight I thought that toe up would be the sensible way to knit the socks – as you have flexibility with the leg length but the foot length must be right. I divided each ball into two. I’m lucky to have access to fabric weighing scales at work so with the 50gms I rolled into two balls and weighed before I separated.

Toe up is new for me. After a search of You Tube I came across ‘Judy’s magic cast on’. I struggled a bit to start with and had to put it down and come back to it the next evening. A lot of the knitting tutorials like this use bigger needles and thicker yarn as it makes it easier and clearer to demonstrate.  When I tried again I used slightly bigger needles just to cast on and this time it worked out.

knitting toe up using Judy’s magic cast on

I used the short row heel again; I think for a colour blocked heel it’s going to be the only way. I learnt on my first pair that you need to keep your yarn tight when wrapping the stitches. I followed this tutorial from ‘come to silver’.

I knitted the leg the full length of 25gm ball and finished with 15 rows of 1×1 rib. I was near to the end of casting off the first sock when I realised that there wasn’t much stretch in the opening. I unpicked the cast off and started again trying to keep some slack. I could get it on my foot – just, and realised there must be a better method. After a Google search I found ‘Jenny’s surprisingly stretchy bind off’. I don’t know why I didn’t look after the first attempt! This involves creating a new stitch next to each stitch whilst casting off. You can see the difference in stretch in the photo below.

Top sock shows the limited amount of stretch in the normal cast off. The bottom sock shows the stretch cast off method

 

The top sock shows the standard cast off method and the bottom sock shows the stretch cast off method

When I cast on the second sock I was able to use the smaller needles and remember the method from memory. I finished the second sock with the new cast off method then went back and unpicked the cast off from the first sock and re-did it. Luckily I hadn’t cut the tail from casting off and it was long enough to include the extra stitches I needed (I took a chance with this and only just made it 🙂 ).

Toe up or cuff down – I like both methods, I think the toe up has been more of a challenge for me and it’s definitely the way to go if you have a limited amount of yarn.

 

 

Autumn Sewing Plans

I am trying to focus my mind on what items of clothing I need to sew for this coming autumn and winter. I’ve been fabric shopping and have a bit of a plan.

From top: Black wool single jersey, navy and white striped jersey, bird print woven cotton and dark navy denim

Denim fabric, £8.99 per metre from Leon’s Fabrics in Chorlton. 100% cotton with no stretch. This is to make an A line skirt with an inverted centre front pleat. It is to replace a Boden skirt that has nearly come to the end of its life. I’ve had it for 5 years and it is beginning to look shabby with a hole at the top of the pleat, ok for home but not for work anymore. It’s going to be a self draft pattern which I need to pull my finger out and do.

Bird fabric, £5.99 per metre is also from Leon’s Fabrics. Bright white with a small dark navy bird print. It’s a quilting cotton weight which I think is 100% cotton. I’m going to make a shirt based on Burdastyle 7136. After making two shirts earlier this year it’s taken a while to even think about making another one but at least there’s no matching of checks.

The striped jersey is going to be a Coco top from Tilly & the Buttons. I spent a long time searching for Breton stripe yarn dyed fabric (stripes knitted in rather than printed) and kept coming across Dragonfly Fabrics which Handmade Jane used when she made her dress version of the Coco but at £19.50 per metre I kept holding off. When Jane had a 10% discount code earlier in the summer I went for it. Considering I was so keen to get this fabric I’m surprised how long it’s taking me to get around to it. I thought I would have jumped on it when the fabric arrived but instead the pattern and fabric have been sitting in a bag for a couple of months. The overlocker is still out for fixing so this can be its first knit project when it comes home.

Sewaholic Renfrew, Tilly & the buttons Coco & Simplicity S1696

The black wool jersey comes from Myfabrics.co.uk. It was an impulse buy; I came across it when I was looking for cotton single jersey for the pyjama top. I was attracted by the sale price of £4 per metre so I ordered 1.5mts with plans to make a cowl neck long sleeve Renfrew. I think it’s going to need hand washing so I’ll need to take care to keep it looking its best.

I haven’t done any knitting for a while and to complete my range of hand knitted socks I need a darkish plain pair.  I love a self-patterning sock but sometimes you need a more sober pair to wear with trousers. I’ve chosen a grey so they will go with both navy and back trousers but will add a pop of hidden red at the cuff, heel and toe. I’ll knit the same pattern as the ‘Hermione everyday socks’ using a short row heel. I know, I don’t really push myself by trying any fancy patterns.

I’ve bought a red 20gm mini skein and 50gm for the main sock. I figured that when I usually knit myself socks from a 100gm ball I must have ¼ to 1/3 left over so 70gm overall should do it. I could be skimping it here…. What I think I need to do is split the balls equally in half and knit toe up…. You can’t skimp on foot length but a shorter leg length than usual isn’t a problem. I’ve never knitted toe up so could be time to learn. The yarn was from Five Moons. I found them when I googled ‘mini skein’. I just loved their range of plains and the colour descriptions.

The red mini skein is described as “A solid true red, strong and clear, the colour of pillar boxes, fire engines and peril”

When it arrived – super speedy next day – I received a bonus 5gm skein in pinky red.

Sock yarn from Five Moons. It just looked so beautiful when I unwrapped the package!

I haven’t made a pair of trousers for donkey’s years and I’ve never tried to sew a fly front zip so I’ve bought Simplicity pattern S1696 Amazing Fit. I’ve ordered some swatches of navy stretch cotton from Calico Laine. The trouser is a style that I know suits me so I hope I can get to grips with them and achieve a good looking well-fitting pair of trousers.

cotton stretch swatches from Calico Laine

I think all of the above will keep my busy through to November, I also have plans for a long sleeve Lady Skater, fabric yet undecided. I need to actually get started……..

Any autumn sewing plans on the go?

Me Made May 14 – completed!

It’s the 31st May and I am pleased to say that for the last 31 days I have worn at least one ‘me-made’ item a day. I did start taking a photo everyday but there was a lot of repetition and frankly they were a bit boring.

Looking at the picture my me-made wardrobe seems quite limited. I do have a couple of dresses and a couple of blouses but they seemed ‘too dressy’ for everyday wear. I’m so glad I sorted out the Liberty jersey skirt, this got a few wears with the black Maria of Denmark Kimono tee.

all the items worn during May – only picture missing is of a black tee which I hadn’t taken a photo of

From top left
Socks – Denim Shirt Burdastyle 7136 – Liberty Jersey Skirt – Sewaholic Renfrew top –  Maria of Denmark Kimono tee in grey – Checked shirt Burdastyle 7136 – Denim dress Butterick B5600 – PJ bottoms –  Hermione’s everyday socks – Maria of Denmark Kimono tee in red – tartan shirt Burdastyle 7136

This month has shown up some gaps in my wardrobe. Mainly skirts and dresses. My next 3 projects are already planned and fabric has been bought for a denim skirt, a Kitschy Coo skater dress and a dress that I’m not quite sure what it will look like yet.

If you were taking part, how did you do?

 

Hermione’s Everyday Socks

All the socks I have knitted so far have either been in stocking stitch or rib so I thought it was time to move into something with a pattern. I found the ‘Hermione’s Everyday Socks’ from reading Chris’s Make & Wear blog. It’s a simple pattern, just adding a purl stitch every other row but I think it looks quite effective.

Hermione’s Everyday Socks

You can get the pattern as a free download from Ravelry.

The pattern is set up for knitting on two circular needles. I haven’t knitted socks like this before so I used my tried and tested method of knitting on 4 double pointed needles. I knitted on 60 stitches rather than 64 and spread my stitches 30, 15, 15.

I sort of lost my momentum with these and they took nearly 8 weeks to knit. There were a few mishaps along the way. Somehow I added an extra stitch which created a little hole so I did the right thing and unravelled. On the second sock I started increasing the stitches for the gusset before I hand turned the heel and was wondering why it wasn’t looking right. So again, a bit more unravelling.

Hermione’s Everyday Socks in progress

Also I didn’t read the pattern correctly for the heel flap. The pattern is a 4 row repeat and I was working on a two row repeat. I left this as it looked fine as was how I usually knitted heel flaps.

The yarn was from my local habby shop, Regia Summerspray Cotton Stretch Color in colour 03033 which is a very pale grey. And it does stretch and they feel more light weight than the previous Regia yarns I have used. These are 41% cotton, 39% wool, 13% nylon and 7% polyester.

I thought my love affair with knitting socks was coming to an end but I think I dragged these out too long which made them seem never ending.

I’ve already bought yarn for the next pair. I’m going back to the Regia Mix It Color, the same yarn that I knitted this pair in. This time I have colour 09384,second from left in the bottom row of the link which is a grape colour.

Regia Mix It Color Socks

Next week I’m flying long haul so I plan to while away the hours with a bit of knitting. I’m going back to stocking stitch as this yarn doesn’t need a pattern to give it interest but I’m going to try a new technique of a ‘short row’ heel. This gives the look you get with RTW socks with that diagonal line in the heel gusset. I’m not quite sure where airline security stands these days with knitting needles so I have bought a set of double pointed needles in bamboo which I am presuming won’t show up in an x-ray or does anybody know any different?

Next ball of Regia Mix It Color with Prym bamboo needles

 

 

 

Fluormania Socks Finished

The second Fluormania sock in this pair was put on hold to get my dad’s pair done in time for Christmas. I picked these up again in the new year and the second sock is now finished.

To get them to match I made sure I started the second sock in the same colour position as the first sock. My daughter actually mentioned how she likes that they match properly, so my effort wasn’t wasted!

The yarn is Regia 4ply Fluormania which I bought from my local wool shop. (I can’t find a link to the actual colour on-line). I thought the colour was way to bright to start with but it soon grew on me and the finished pair are fab. I knitted on 52 stitches with a 1×1 rib at the top and a 2×2 rib for the leg and instep. My only wish is that I knitted them longer. I did measure up to the knee but I under estimated how much they shrink down when stretched around the width of the leg and also I’m always worried that I’ll use more than half for the first sock and run out of yarn. But of course I had loads left so could have knitted longer, though I did add an extra bit of length to the foot to allow for growth.

I feel like I have mastered the toe grafting ‘Kitchener stitch’ and can do it without looking at it written down every 5 seconds.

Out of left overs from other sock yarn I knitted a pair for the toddler, not such a success. They did just about fit but the length of the foot could have been longer. He’s also just moved up a shoe size so the window of wear for these was about 2 weeks. But since I’ve finished his sister’s pair he has had a renewed interest in them.

I knitted these on 40 stitches, if I do some again for him I’ll do 44 and definitely knit the foot with some growing room.
Despite not really being a success I did enjoy knitting them, at times I felt like the shoemakers wife from ‘The Elves and the Shoemaker’
I have access to some fabric weighing scales so I’ve weighed the left overs of the fluormania yarn and I have 33gms left out of the 100gm ball so I think I have enough to knit him up a short pair.

Hand Knitted Socks – Dad’s Christmas Present

I think out of the few pairs of socks I have knitted so far these have got to be my favourite. I just love the way the self patterning yarn has knitted up. It is Regia 4 ply ‘Mix it color’ which I bought from my local wool shop. The colour I have used is 09381 Lagune.

Really all the work to make these look good is done by the pattered yarn as these have just been knitted in stocking stitch with 12 rows of 1×1 rib at the top.

I made sure when starting the second sock that I began in the same colour point to ensure that they matched. I had to wind off about 5cm worth sock length to get to this point. My dad doesn’t have massive feet so I was sure I’d have enough but it got me thinking that if I was making to fit size 11 it could be quite possible I may not have enough. It’s a bit like pattern matching the drop for curtains – but without knowing how big the pattern match is when you start.

Pattern matching did make knitting the second sock easy, I didn’t have to do any measuring, I just followed the pattern from the first sock.

I only thought about making these about 10 days before Christmas so I was knitting at every opportunity. I was even up at 6.30am on a few days to get in half an hour before breakfast. I finished them on the 23rd but due to illness I didn’t get to see my parents until 5th January – I could have done two pairs…..

2013 Hits ……. and Misses

Lots of craft bloggers are reviewing their year with the hits and misses, here’s mine.
2013 has been one of my most productive years for a long time, there has been…
3 pairs of PJ bottoms
2 blouses
2 dresses
2 skirts
2 shirts
1 t-shirt
1 pair of boys trousers
4 pairs of socks
1 upcycled adults skirt into a girls dress

18 projects in total, 1.5 a month.

THE HITS
The top hits are the two dresses.
Butterick B5600 and the Kitschy Coo girl skater dress. The denim Butterick dress has had a lot of wear over the summer and is really comfortable. I’m sure there’ll be another version next year.  As for the girl skater dress it is one of her favourites.

Kitschy Coo girl skater dress

The Burdastyle 7136 denim shirt was also a success. I wasn’t expecting it to turn out so well but I love it.

Burdastyle 7136 denim shirt

I’ve also re-discovered knitting, just socks so far and I was really pleased with my first pair.

First ever pair of socks…..

And finally I got over the fear of sewing with knits and made up the Maria of Denmark Kimono Tee which gave me the confidence to make up the skater dress.

THE MISSES
It’s not finished, not sure it’ll ever be finished so the Sewaholic Robson Trench will have to be put down as a miss. It’s not past saving, I put a lot of work into those bound button holes so in the new year I will take another look.

Sewaholic Robson Trench Coat

Overall not bad really!
See you in 2014

Fluormania Socks In Progress And Measuring Feet For Socks

Socks for my six year old in the Regia 4ply fluormania are coming on well.

I picked up the wool in my local wool haberdashery shop. I hadn’t paid much attention to their sock yarn offering thinking they didn’t have many but looking again there was a good selection with prices not much different to on-line and without the P&P.

When I first saw this ball of wool I thought it was horrendous and even after paying was saying to my daughter “are you sure you like this ….” How wrong I was, I love the colours especially the red going into the orange.

These are going to be knee length and to make sure these are a pair I need to start the second sock just where the orange starts going into the red.

The top starts 16 rows of 1×1 rib then the leg and instep are 2×2 rib with stocking stitch for the base of the sole and toe.

Measuring Feet for Socks
For her size foot I am knitting on 52 stitches. The first sock pattern I used from Viridian Yarns had the formula for working out how many stitches you need.
Measure around the ball of the foot in centimetres, multiply by 2.8 then take the nearest number divisible by 4.

e.g. ball of foot measured 17cm X by 2.8 = 49
I could have cast on 48 stitches but as I like to ensure my children’s clothes last as long as possible I went up to 52. Then obviously you just knit the lengths you want for the foot and ankle.

One sock is finished but the 2^nd is on hold as I decided to knit a pair for my dad as a Christmas present. I started last Saturday and I’m now 2 inches into the second one, with 4 evenings of knitting time left I think I may just get them done.

This will probably be the last post of 2013, thank you for reading and a very merry Christmas!