Great Tips for Knitting Faster Socks

January 6, 2017 by Sarah White

Sock knitting is a lot of fun, but the sad truth of the matter is that knitting a pair of socks takes a long time. So many little stitches, so many knitting needles (often) and you have to knit two of them.

It’s worth it, but anything you can do to speed up the process and get those glorious socks on your feet would be great, right?

This Knitted Life has a great collection of tips for knitting socks faster, including using metal needles in your preferred configuration, knitting plain socks and using fewer stitches, both for better fit and faster knitting (I usually do 60 stitches instead of the more common 64, but could probably go even smaller).

I’d also add that I think working on fewer needles, once you get used to it, makes it go faster because there’s less fiddling with the other needles to do. I love Magic Loop, but you can also knit a sock on two circular needles instead of one long one.

And of course there is always the option to knit two socks at once. Have you ever tried that?

I’d love to hear any thoughts you have on making sock knitting faster or easier!

[Photo via This Knitted Life.]

Looking for more knitted socks designs and patterns to keep you warm this winter? Check out these knitted sock patterns Etsy. And these Knitting Pattern books on Amazon.

Looking to buy your Yarn online? Check out these online yarn specials.

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Comments

Rita says
January 7, 2017 at 11:14 pm
I knit my socks flat and seam them. The seam is never a problem as I just make sure to join it carefully as it is on the bottom. They go way faster than four needle socks. Thanks to Ms. Gail Thomas, these socks are the best pattern I have found. http://www.crochetnmore.com/knitted babysocksbygailthomas.htm.

Have you read?

Knit a Swirly Square in Any Size You Like

This swirly square stitch knitting pattern from Studio Knit is a lot of fun, and it looks kind of complicated without being difficult at all.

The swirly nature of the block comes from regularly placed increases, as the pattern is worked in rounds from the center out. Switching between sections of all knit stitches and all purl stitches (which gives you stockinette and reverse stockinette respectively when worked in the round) adds to the off-kilter flair but makes it really easy to knit.

You can work it in a single color or change colors regularly. This isn’t really a change colors randomly kind of pattern just because it looks better if you work a full repeat in a single color, but you know there are no rules so you can do whatever you want.

You can also make it any size you like, and indeed use any yarn you want. This one is blanket sized and used five colors of worsted weight yarn, but you can use any yarn and corresponding needles (you’ll need double pointed needles and circulars of various lengths, depending on how big you want to make your square).

For a start, why not grab some cotton yarn and stitch up a swirly washcloth? You could still use a couple of colors if you want, jsut for fun.

Once you try that, you’ll probably want to make a bigger version, and you could definitely use more colors than Kristen did (or just one color if you prefer), you just need to make sure you change colors at the beginning of the pattern repeat to keep everything looking good.

If you’re ready to start (and I know I am!) you can grab the free pattern and check out a video to help you get started at Studio Knit.

[Photo: Studio Knit]