for the love of sock

I have had a sock that's been my subway knitting on and off since last Friday. I wasn't happy with this sock. I was frustrated (I ranted about 72 sts not being enough just the other day), and I procrastinated for 2 days on doing the heel because I just.... wasn't happy. When your knitterly sense is tingling and you feel bad about something, the best thing to do is to STOP.

Exhibit A: The sock

Gorgeous, right? Lorna's Laces self-striping sock yarn in one of Purl's special colorways. 72 stitches cast onto 2mm Addis (I cast onto bigger needles for stretch, always do) and then K1, P1 rib for 10 rows [corrected: whoops, K2, P2], then stockinette.
Lovely. Stripes. Charming. Yes?

Exhibit B: The Tourniquet Sock

Can you see that ribbing? Can you see how tightly its stretched to go around my shapely calf? I tried it on over the course of three days, thinking maybe I was bloated - PMS being the wonderful all-purpose scapegoat that it is - and that I'd unbloat.

Well, I didn't freaking unbloat.

So then, I come up with the brilliant solution of ripping the whole sock. Mind you, I took pictures to show you that I had indeed knit something with the yarn. So you could see my fine gauge sock and how far I'd gotten (on circs no less, Cari is smiling down on me from ..... um, from Brooklyn). I was going to start again, and cast onto a size larger needle (2.5mm) to give me more ease and then switch back to my zero/2mm when I got to the ankle.

Anybody out there figure out what I'm going to say next?

I got about 20 rows into the second incarnation of the sock, past the ribbing. I hate the fabric. It's loose. Its flopsy. It doesn't feel right to me. 2mm was too tight on my leg, and almost too tight of a fabric. 2.5mm is too loose of a fabric for my taste. My 'solution' didn't work and I'm either going tohave to go back to the 2mm needles and actually do some real live sock shaping or suck it up and have yet another pair of short socks.

All this proves to me is that stockinette stitch wants to make me feel like an idiot, is conspiring against me, and is forcing me to work on nothing but lace.

A few questions....

Question 1: Why does Addi Turbo not make a 2.25mm needle?

Question 2: What kind of a person needs a needle .25mm different from the sizes she has?

Question 3: Do I order non-Addi 2.25mm circs just for this pair of socks or do I <gulp> cast on 80 sts?

Question 4: Is it wrong to just want a simple sock that FITS?

Comments

[Sibylle]

A) Addi is german and in germany we dont have neddles in ,25 sizes. (Though sometimes I would like to have one)

B)Somebody who only wants a little different in gauge or someone like me who wants to follow a pattern instruction.

C) If you can imagine to use those needles again order them, and if it is only to stop you thinking, what if I had bough them. Otherwise just let the sock and yarn ly around sometime and try it again.

Is it really a k1 p1 rip on your sock ? for me it looks like k2 p2. Did you knit it continental? I still have the problem that knitted in round my rip never looks that good, it is alway dominated by bigger knitted stitches and the purled ones seem to dissapear in it. A did everything I could imagine, combined knitting. more tension when knitting the knit stitches. Do you have a solution?

Sibylle

[Cynthia]

cast on 80 stitches! In the end, you want to like the fabric AND the fit. You like the fabric you're getting, so don't change needle size. Adjust the pattern. Although, 80 may be more than you have to....76 might work - it's still a multiple of 4...

[RK]

I should have taken pre-blocking pictures of the pieces of my Elizabeth I sweater. They demonstrate how less than .25 mm in needle size can completely screw with gauge. (The needles were listed as the same size, and weren't a complete .25mm off from each other, but I do know that someone at Crystal Palace is smoking crack. No quality control!)

[Janet]

What's wrong with shorter socks? I have shapely calves (read short and full) too. I always shorten my socks. Longer socks just roll, creep, move down on me anyway. Stay with the smaller needle and adjust the stitch count I say!

[Beth]

I didn't know Purl had those special colorways! Very pretty! Especially the turquoise and aqua.

1. The same reason they don't make a 2.75mm needle (I knit tightly)
2. An anal retentive one?
3. Go for the 80 stitches - you might not like the join on non-addi needles - that would put a halt to your knitting as fast as too few stitches. Or send you back to your dpns. (where you can probably get your 2.25mm needles, btw)
4. Nope - aren't I lucky I can do it with 72 stitches? If you have to do 8 more stitches per row (times) X number of rows per sock, how much longer will it take you to finish your sock than me?!?!?!?! bwahahahahaha

[Kathleen]

Use dpn's instead.

[margene]

Cast on 80....decrease down the back of the leg to 72...what's the big deal? (See I am in a mood.) Almost all my sock knitting is on 1.5 needles (don't know the mm) but it's what works for me. "How can a half size matter?" I always ask too, BUT it does. If it works....go with it. The sock would be pretty with a bit of a lacy cuff, too. Make it yours.

[Jan]

I've never tried Addis (am I the last knitblogger standing?). Not touching #2. Am anxiously waiting to see how you solve this one.

I also have a *shapely calf* (two, actually!) and have always stayed away from the stockinette socks because of it. But I do love the look of how that LL knits up in SS. Should've bought the gray skein. Ah, well, July!

[Kim]

I vote with casting on more stitches.....although I do believe that Suzanne's rosewood or ebony needles come in that middle size and they are lovely to work with :-)

[Laurie]

I agree with Margene. Cast on more, shape. I'm doing it with Marla right now. And THAT is an "s" word.

[Valerie]

Why does the sock have to be stockinette? Why not throw in a couple ribs or a couple cables...that would give you the ease that you need. I never knit stockinette socks because they don't have the needed elasticity for a superb fit.

[Cassie]

I vote shaping. Of course, I am the lunatic who measured my leg every 2 inches from top to bottom so I could completely rewrite the pattern for knitty's v. long socks to fit my leg accurately, so a bit of calf shaping seems incidental.

[Adelaide]

I suggest plastic surgery as the solution.

[stephanie]

I could tell you what to do, but you already know what I'm going to say.

[Kathy]

I really like the striping going on with that colorway. (I am a sock newbie, so I can offer no advice -- at this point, all I want to do is FINISH one sock -- fit is optional.)

[Beth S.]

How about trying again with a picot hem instead of ribbing? Picot hems are like candy... well, it's more accurate to say they're like crack, but I don't want to scare you off. ;-) The top of the sock will probably still be a bit tight (it has to be, to keep the sock up; Claudia says so) but maybe you won't care about that because you'll be so charmed by the lovely little picots.

[Em]

Me, I'd just go eat a bunch of candy and move on.

For some reason Lorna's just doesn't cooperate gauge-wise with me either--my socks always come out a little too small.

[jody]

i vote for the 80 as well. you like the fabric so stick with it!

[Norma]

Em makes me laugh. But what about the stretching and/or growing after the bath angle?

[Teresa C]

1. I am not sure, but a German could tell you.
2. Me
3. Yes or yes. Sorry, no help there.
4. Hell no!

[Juno]

No there is nothing wrong with wanting a simple sock that fits.

Cast on the 80 and experiment with the shaping. It'll give you a nice focus for your rage and you might find a solution.

Once you've got the kinks out you'll have a pattern you can use easily again for a nice simple sock.

Buy what ever needles you want. It isn't like this is the only pair of socks you are going to make.

Or you could make a lace sock wich will be pretty and not make you mad.

[Jo in Ottawa]

1) who knows but I can see that it is annoying
2) Remember that the measurement is the diameter so at those low diameters .25 mm makes a significant difference to the circumference. There is math involved but I think that's right.
3) I use 2.25mm needles for socks all the time so I'd say get some. But I probably don't knit the way you do or want my socks to fit the way you do so, I don't know. Maybe get yourself some 2.25 mm needles. Or try casting on 80 stitches and see if you are happier with that. If you like the fabric with the 2mm ones, go for that.
4) No, of course not. If you wanted to compromise on sock fit you'd just go buy one instead of knitting it (well, except for the superiour materials and all that). But you may have to suck up the shaping thing to get the sock that fits.

BTW why do you knit stockingnette socks when you don't like the stitch? I though those feather and fan ones were pretty mindless for you or are they not mindless enough for the subway?

Consider also that your stress about the sock may be redirected stress about the trip to Peru...

[cari]

Actually, I'm smiling at you from Midtown at the moment.

Why not cast on 80 for your calf and then throw in a couple of decreases two inches into it? Presto, chango, shaped sock that hugs your lovely calf.

[mindy]

How about knitting it from the toe up, and adjusting the stitch count up your calf as you go?

[Lynette]

Long socks are too hot. What about ankle socks instead?

1) I am not knowing.
2) The anal retentive kind. Like moi. I have them.
3) Yes. Why not? They're not expensive.
4) Everyone deserves a perfect fit.