I decided to join a Sock Squad this year, for the first time ever. Sock Squad is essentially a three-month knit-along where you’re sent a mystery skein of sock yarn every month, and then you choose a sock pattern and knit a pair of socks with that month’s skein. There’s a Ravelry group set up specifically for everyone in the Sock Squad so you can commisserate with each other and admire each other’s FOs. The one I joined was run by The Farmer’s Daughter Fibers, a small independent yarn dyer and shop in Montana, and whose yarn I highly recommend. Each skein of sock yarn was accompanied by a mini-skein in a contrasting color.

Emily’s Favourite Socks

The first skein I received was FDF Pintler Sock yarn in slightly speckly peachy colorway called A New Dawn, with a raspberry accent color. I selected the easiest-looking sock pattern I could find, Emily’s Favourite Socks. Having only knitted one pair of worsted socks before, working with tiny US Size 1 needles was a bit of a shock. I wasn’t entirely sure I could work with them (it’s hard to even see the stitches) but once I got in the groove, it was fine. I decided on the Small size socks so I cast on 76 stitches. With the tiny yarn and needles, it took me a week to hit 6.5 inches on the leg and begin the heel flap. A few days later I’d finished the gusset, then made my way down to the toe. I somehow ended with an extra stitch, but no big deal. Grafting the toe to finish was easier than I remembered.

Socks go pretty quickly individually, but you have to make two of them! A couple of weeks later, I was done with the second one – so one pair of socks a month is possible. Unfortunately I ran out of contrast color on the second toe, so the resulting pair has one solid colored toe and one striped one. Since these socks are for me it’s not a problem, but something to keep in mind for next time. The fit is a little bit loose but not bad.

Chapelco Socks

For the second round, I absolutely fell in love with the yarn when it arrived. This is FDF Bear Paw Sock in The Tests of Thyme Colorway. Purple and green are my favorite colors, so I wanted the sock pattern to be really special. When I found Joji Locatelli’s Chapelco Socks pattern, I knew it was just the right one. Since I’d run out of contrast color on the previous socks, I used it only for two of the three cuff stripes, and the toes.

Here is where I go on a little rant about sock pattern sizing, which is vague and unpredictable. Patterns rarely mention that you’re supposed to choose the sock size based on 1/2 – 1” of negative ease, nor do they often mention whether the sizes provided take this negative ease into account. For example, if the pattern says it makes an 8.5” foot circumference, is that the actual size of the sock, or do the socks measure 8″ or 7.5″ to fit an 8.5″ foot? I did some investigation to try to figure it out.

I measured the previous socks I made, and learned that they were a gauge of 8-9 stitches per inch in stockinette on size 1 needles. The gauge noted in this pattern is 34 st over 4” or 8.5 st per inch. Perfect! So if I have an 8” foot and want 1 inch of negative ease, I should cast on 7 x 8.5 = 61st. This is closest to the 64st noted for the size M in this pattern (size S is just 56st, which would give me a 6.5” sock). So reverse-mathing it, 64 / 8.5 = 7.5” circumference. I was fine with trying half an inch of negative ease, but I have NO IDEA why the pattern says it will end up at 8.5”. Maybe it is assuming an 8.5” foot circumference with 1” negative ease, but wouldn’t you think that would be explicitly stated? Ugh.

Anyway, once I figured all of that out, I ended up having to cast on several times to get it right. The first time I used mini circular needles, which I’d just used on the previous socks. As tiny as the minis are, 64 stitches just wasn’t enough to make joining in the round possible. My second attempt was on DPNs, and I got it joined in the round. However, the entire cuff (17 rows) alternates ktbl, ptbl, and there was just no way to get my needle tip into that back leg of the stitch for the ptbl. Finally, I tried a long size 1 circular needle for knitting in magic loop, and cast on over two needles to give myself some wiggle room until I got used to that perverse-feeling ptbl stitch. Success! This is how I start all socks now.

It took me about ten days to finish the first sock, and then another ten days or so for the second one. All of that fucking around at the beginning really paid off, though, because these socks are gorgeous and they fit me perfectly. My side seam is a little wonky because it was my first real attempt at magic loop, but I’m still really pleased.

Hermione’s Everyday Socks

For the last pair of socks, I received FDF Highwood Sock yarn in a colorway called Running With the Wolves. This is a really pretty variegated pink/purple/burgundy, with a bright gold accent color. Since the colors are a bit busy, I didn’t want to do lace for these. The pattern I chose is the slightly taller and simpler Hermione’s Everyday Socks. Again, trying not to run out of contrast color, I used it only for the cuff and the toe. The pattern begins with a longish cuff, then a simple textured stitch for the leg.

This pattern uses rows of garter stitch along both sides of the heel flap instead of slipped stitches, and it was a little tricky to find the stitches to pick up. I ended up with 17 on one side and 18 on the other but that was easy to fix. I did not knit the texture pattern on the gusset setup row but started it with the first gusset row 1. It was easier to keep track of rows this way.

Unfortunately, this pattern also had some sizing vagaries. When you reach the foot section, it says “continue until you have reached your desired length” but there’s no indication of what that should be. There’s no row gauge, and no mention of how long the toe is if you want to calculate it. Grrrr. I may be overly picky about patterns because I write technical documentation, but it seems like it would be an easy thing to clarify for potential beginner knitters who might use the pattern.

Anyway, I did some more mathing shit up. The toe of my last socks was 16 rounds and measured 1.5” long. This pattern calls for a 19-round toe and I’m knitting about 12-13 rows per inch in stockinette on this sock. So I knitted the foot to a length of 7.25″, or 1.75” shorter than my total desired length of 9”. And it worked! Despite all my bitching about the pattern, it turned out to be a very nice sock, and it fits me well. The first sock took me nearly two weeks, but the second one took just over a week. These came out nice enough that I gave them to my lovely daughter-in-law, who loves pink and happens to have the same size feet as me.

In summary…

Would I do another sock squad? Definitely. I usually try to avoid knitting to a deadline (too much stress!), but there was a lot of support in the group and the pace forced me to focus on figuring stuff out instead of giving up when I got frustrated. FDF yarn is lovely, and getting the surprise yarn package every month was fun. Ultimately, I enjoyed the process and got comfortable enough with sock knitting that I can make some pretty nice ones now.