Guess what I wore yesterday? My first very own knitted socks! :)
This has been a long time coming, but better late than never. I got my basic instructions and stitch counts from Wendy Johnson’s book Socks from the toe up. I really can’t recommend this book enough, if you’re a sock beginner it’s the perfect thing, with detailed explanations of sock construction, many drawings for basic techniques, and a choice of several techniques to use for each section of the sock. (And after you go through all that, there’s a good number of sock patterns too.)
My socks are constructed with:
Judy’s magic cast-on – a small miracle, if you ask me! If you don’t know this method, you should really check it out.

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A short-row heel – this was OK, but not great. There are definitely some holes on the join between the short rows and the front of the foot (even though I picked up extra stitches to prevent it – it didn’t help), and the heel doesn’t feel terribly sturdy. Having tried a slipped-stitch heel in the meantime, I’d say I much prefer it to this method.

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A Russian bind-off – again, I was so-so about this one, and I’ll be looking for improvements. It’s just stretchy enough, getting the socks over my heel is a bit of an effort but it works. Next time I do a toe-up sock I’ll be trying Jeny’s surprisingly stretchy bind-off (don’t you just love these names?).


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And there you go – I made my first socks. I’m so happy that this watershed is behind me now and I’m looking forward to many more socks to come. There was a special kind of thrill yesterday when I realized all my socks were in the laundry and I had to wear my handknitted ones. ;) Oh, and yes – they are as warm as people say…
