Somewhere over the rainbow...

...there's another rainbow! (Anyone get the Arrested Development reference? Anyone? ...*crickets chirping*...okay, never mind.)

Once I finished Anya's rainbow socks, I couldn't get the next pair for Daniel done fast enough. I think it took me about three days.



I think he's pretty pleased with them:



He's already asked for another pair. I weighed the finished socks as well as the yarn remaining in each skein of yarn, and I have enough to make each of my kids a second pair, which would be lovely if I weren't starting to get a little tired of rainbow yarn! Oh well. My kids are worth every single stitch.

Pattern: None, just a plain sock with short-row heel and spiral toe.
Yarn: Knitpicks Felici (fingering weight) in the "rainbow" color way
Sticks/Gauge: size 1 DPNs; I used KP nickel-plated needles and got a gauge of 9 spi, which is why I had to cast on 64 stitches to make a sock to fit a skinny 5yo boy. (Aside: Yo, Knitpicks, how about some of this rainbow striped yarn in the SPORT WEIGHT version?)

For Daniel's socks, I tried a spiral toe instead of the grafted wedge toe, another departure from my usual modus operandi with socks. I've noticed that the wedge toe can get kind of twisted when one is putting on the sock, and the spiral toe helps avoid this problem.



Another change I want to try next time around is using more stitches for the short row heel. I used half the stitches, but the heel seems a little shallow. I recently read a suggestion (perhaps it was Clara Parkes? I don't remember) to use 60% of the total stitches for the heel instead of just 50% to help compensate for this problem. I still prefer a traditional heel flap, but the short-row heel really does work better for self-striping yarn, and I have to admit it's a little faster. When you're trying to churn out several pairs of socks for cold little feet, speed is of the essence!

I promise the next post I will pictures of something other than rainbow stripes! Variety is the spice of life, after all.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I certainly those rainbow socks come to Kentucky when you all do.
Oma
Anonymous said…
The short row heel is a little shallow. If you make your sock a little longer than usual before you start it - say half an inch, it seems to compensate somewhat (from the cuff down that is.)

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