It’s been a while since I’ve had a finished project to share, but back at the end of March I decided to cast on my first pair of socks. Like a lot of crafters I thought socks were the holy grail of knitting and would be highly complicated, but since I prefer technical knitting to long straight rows of scarves, I wanted to give it a try. I purchased some indie dyed sock yarn from Mamie & Florrie at East Anglia Yarn Festival 2023 – I don’t tend to buy much yarn as I spin so much of my own, but I spotted this gorgeous skein on the stand and I loved that it was geolocated using what3words to the location that inspired the colourway (in my case the Rembrandt Self Portrait in the Rijks Museum).
I wanted to start with a basic sock pattern and since I have wide feet I was also looking for one that was adjustable in some way. I had a Google and several people were giving Winwick Mum’s free pattern a good write up, so I thought I would try that since there were also diagrams on her ‘sockalong’ to help clarify some of the instructions if I got stuck. Knitting it up was a fairly straightforward process, though I realised I had got the width measurement slightly too big as I turned the heel, so I did a few more decreases around the gusset to get a better fit around the foot. This means the cuff isn’t as fitted as it could be (although I haven’t blocked them yet), but I’m not too worried as it gives off cosy autumnal vibes and I do want the cuffs to be able to go over the top of trousers to show off the beautiful colours of the yarn.
Overall I can highly recommend both the yarn and the pattern. I think I’ve now finally joined the throng of knitters all telling everyone that socks aren’t as hard to knit as you think (and I’ll definitely be making some more in future)!
Happy Crafting!
Loose Ends 
They came out great. I see lots of people being adventurous knitting lots of different sock patterns but as I found the perfect fit with the first couple of patterns I used I tend to just make those over and over. I’m wondering now whether you’ll be one of those adventurous sock knitters or like me.
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Thank you! I know there’s a debate between knitting toe up or cuff down, so I may attempt the alternate way of knitting to see what the difference is. As much as I admire all the lace and cable patterns I’m not sure I have the patience to knit them on something that won’t be seen if it’s in a shoe, so will probably stick to plain knit and perhaps jazz up the cuffs since I can show those off even wearing my usual ankle boots!
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Your socks look fabulous and I am so glad you were able to adjust the pattern to get the fit you needed. The next pair will be even better! 🙂 xx
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Thank you! I was very pleased with how they turned out considering it was my first attempt. I’ve made notes about my pattern edits so hopefully I’ll be able to knit my next pair even faster! 🙂
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Oh, the second pair is always easier and faster as you’ve done all your learning on your first … 🙂 xx
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Your socks turned out beautifully! I was very intimidated by socks before I tried knitting a pair. After knitting quite a few pairs, I think the hard part is not figuring out the pattern, but getting them to fit right.
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Thank you! I think it helps that socks are essentially knitted stages so it doesn’t seem quite as complicated as you’re knitting – they’re definitely quite addictive to knit! Figuring out the fit was definitely the hardest part, but it was reassuring to know that I’ve been knitting for long enough now to be able to identify and ‘fix’ an issue mid pattern rather than frogging and starting from scratch!
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