KALs – Knitting

Or Knit-A-Longs

I’ve taken part in a few of these, they’re fun. The problem I have is time. With working and farming I don’t have a scheduled amount of time to knit (funny how hobbies are like that!).

But, I want to do another one.

This time, rather than surfing the internet to find just the right KAL for my hockey project, I want to hear from you. If left to my own devices, I’d choose something like Rowan’s Helsinki, which is a “hat scarf” with armholes. It’s gorgeous. There is a picture here: https://colorfulstitches.com/store/DisplayProduct.php?sku=Helsinki

And Rowan’s Cocoon yarn, chosen for this project, has names like Tundra, Shale, Mountain, and Polar. Who wouldn’t want to knit with that? The problem here is that for my lifestyle this yarn isn’t really practical, only because it would need to be durable, and “farmy” rather than soft and elegant. So I’ll head over to www.yarndex.com to see what I can find there. Or, I could visit my stash where I have a lot of Lopi. But what I have enough of is dark brown. Yuk. Actually that is really pretty yarn, just not for this project.

And here are knitting.craftgossip.com we are all about matching our yarns with our lifestyles. Yeah right!

Ok, I have a long, long, snowy cold winter coming up. I need to get all of my ducks in one puddle. And all of my patterns and yarns matched up. No one has ever had too many WIP’s so that’s not really an issue is it?

So, what do you think? A hat scarf knit-a-long? Something else? How about a stash-a-long?

I’m waiting…..

I feel like when it comes to things that people are afraid to knit, socks probably top the list. I’ve heard people say they would never knit socks because they look too hard, but really you just need to know a few basic things (and trust the pattern even though it sounds wrong the first time you do it) to master socks.

Denise DeSantis aims to take the worry out of knitting socks with No Fear Sock Knitting. Based on a class on her YouTube channel, it includes all the basic information you need to make sock knitting feel easier, along with eight patterns for both top down and toe up socks.

The book generally covers types of needles and yarn you might use to knit socks, as well as other supplies you will need. It looks at the parts of the sock, different knitting needle configurations used to knit socks, how to read a pattern (including abbreviations and terms you might find in sock patterns), discussion of ease, how to measure your foot and choosing the correct size to knit.

It includes two options each for casting on cuff down and toe up socks, as well as four options for cuff treatment. It explores the heel flap and turn method for top down and toe up socks, as well as short row heels using a shadow wrap (worked with a leg from the stitch below) and a square heel. There’s a discussion of avoiding holes and fixing other problems in heels.

Likewise with toes there are several options, including a wedge toe, round toe and anatomical toe (different on each foot) for both cuff down and toe up socks. There are also tutorials for grafting and Jeny’s surprisingly stretchy bind off, depending on which direction you’re going. There’s also a tips section that covers things like avoiding ladders, changing colors. matching stripes and more.

After all that preparation, there are eight patterns to choose from: short socks worked from the top down that are a perfect first-sock sock, a basic ankle-length toe-up sock, a DK weight sock worked from the top down with different length options, a “vanilla” sock with a short row heel worked top down, an ankle sock with a garter stitch cuff, one with a leg worked in alternating colors with a contrasting heel and toe, a sock worked in a helical stripe pattern and a striped sock with a garter stitch heel.

Three of the patterns are rated at skill level two on a scale of three, while the rest are level one. They’re all pretty straightforward, they just use different techniques you might not have tried before. Since only one is made to be toe up, there are also tips for converting the other patterns to toe up if you’d rather work that way. Each pattern includes three size options.

This book is a nice introduction to sock knitting, with lots of techniques to reference and simple patterns to take the fear out of the process. I’m not sure these are patterns you’ll come back to time and again but they are a good place to start if you’ve never knit socks before.

About the book: 128 pages, paperback, 8 patterns. Published 2025 by David & Charles. Suggested retail price $24.99.

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