The Trouble With Socks...

...is that they need to be knit at a tight gauge, and I am a loose knitter. So I spent a frustrating day Monday swatching yarn, trying to find small enough needles to knit socks out of a DK weight yarn.

Let me back up just a bit. Last Saturday, on the way to pick up my dh for the housewarming party, I had time to stop by another LYS and have a look around. Of course I didn't walk out of the store empty handed! I bought 2 skeins of Reynolds Odyssey, a beautifully colored wool, for another triangular scarf, a skein of Cascade 220 for a pair of socks, some Plymouth Jelli Beenz for a couple of children's hats, and 2 skeins of Sirdar Snuggly in an off white with flecks of blue and brown, also for a pair of socks. On Monday, I decided that I would try to start my second pair of socks with the Sirdar. I thought I would use the same Yankee Knitter Designs pattern that I had used for the first pair, since it is a simple, straightforward pattern. You know, get some more practice before tackling a harder, lace pattern.

So I started to swatch. By the time I had got down to size 2 needles, I was still getting 5 1/2 stitches per inch, and I needed 6 1/2 stitches. I didn't have any smaller needles, but I estimated I would need to use size 0s for DK weight. In my frustration, I placed a Knit Picks order for sizes 1 & 0 dps, as well as for some Alpaca Cloud laceweight yarn.

My other concern, however, is that I also want to make socks using fingering weight yarn, and at this point my best estimate is that I will probably need to use a size 000 needle. I know that Addi Turbo does make dps, as well as circulars, in sizes 00 and 000. But in addition to being incredibly hard to find, I have to wonder about the wisdom of trying to knit socks on such small needles. It will probably take forever to make one sock! Yes, I can continue to make socks out of worsted weight yarn. I only need to go down one needle size to get gauge, which is doable. However, while very warm, socks made out of ww yarn are very thick. I might be able to wear them with clogs, but not with other shoes. And I really like working with the finer yarns. I am willing to try with the smaller needles, but I have to be honest. My career as a sock knitter may be over before it ever gets started.

On the bright side, this actually bodes well for my career as a lace knitter. Lace uses the finer yarns knitted at a much larger gauge, which should be right up my alley. Knitting items for felting shouldn't be a problem either. And finally, I had to smile when it occurred to me that while I seem to be working with ever larger crochet hooks, my knitting needles are shrinking at an alarming rate!