Gift Idea: Sock Ruler

There are so many fun knitting tools out there that would make great gifts for knitters — or to add to your own wish list — but one cool tool that’s really useful for the sock knitters is your life is the Sock Ruler.

I did a giveaway of one of these last year, and I really love mine (thought I haven’t been doing much sock knitting lately, and am still working on the sock pictured in that post).

It’s a flat, plastic, foot-shaped ruler that you can slide into your sock to more accurately measure the leg and the foot length as you go. It works cuff-down or toe-up, and of course you can just use it as a small ruler, too.

There are now adult and kid sizes, so you can use the smaller one for smaller feet. You can buy them from a variety of local yarn shops around the country, or online.

Does anyone out there have one of these? I’d love to hear how you like it.

[Photo via Sock Ruler.]

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I guess the trend of little scarves and bandanas isn’t going away, and there’s a good reason for that. These little projects are fast, and they’re good for beginners because of the low commitment and they make something that doesn’t necessarily look like a beginner made it.

And when you can combine a simple pattern with some super luxurious yarn, it’s a little treat that even more experienced knitters can get behind.

The Little Dot Bandana from Purl Soho (designed by Gianna Mueller) is a project like that. It’s a simple eyelet triangle, worked from the long side down to the point, so there’s a lot of decreasing happening but it’s a really easy project.

It calls for a hank of silk yarn and one that’s silk mohair, which gives the project a fuzziness and a little bit of a silky glow.

Of course you can use different yarn to get a different look. A linen yarn would be fun for a summer kerchief, or combine wool and mohair for a warm and cozy kerchief for cold mornings.

The pattern comes in two sizes, so you can stitch up a kerchief or a simple triangle shawl. The stitch multiple is 8 plus 23 stitches, so you can use that to make a triangle of any size you like, or you can use a heavier weight of yarn to make a different size if you prefer. The two strands held together as called for in the pattern makes a sport weight gauge, so you could try DK or worsted for a bigger and warmer project if you want.

This pattern is available for free from Purl Soho, or check out the pattern notes on Ravelry to find how other people made this project.

And if you need more options for kerchiefs to knit, check out this collection of kerchief knitting patterns.

[Photo: Purl Soho]

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