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Sizing
March Kit Questions, Notorious Sock Knitters | March 25, 2008
This is less of a question and more of a warning to those already knitting. Yesterday on Ravelry there was a brief discussion about the size of the sock and if it looks larger then normal. I went home and tried mine on and found that the size medium which should fit me, fit my calf but was too loose as I went down my leg. Decreasing 6 stitches (which would make it a size small) is too much (that would be about a 9% reduction) but I found that a 4 stitch reduction made it fit much better. I am still about an inch from the ankle, and since STR tends to bloom a bit in washing I may reduce the last two stitches, but think about this as you either cast on or look at your own projects.(Oh, P.S. My Gauge is about right on par)
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10 Responses to “Sizing”
I didn’t even give a thought to the fact that I’m using 3.0mm instead of 2.75mm (they’re all 2’s to me - oops!)…so I couldn’t get gauge, but instead decided to make the leg a little longer, add shaping, and decrease to the small size. I like a good amount of negative ease anyway. Working through the gusset, tried them on, and it is a big help.
Small foot here and I was worried about the 60 stitches being too many. I’m using a 2.25 mm needle and holding tight. I think it’s going to be ok. I’m nearly at the gusset/heel and I’ll try it on again after making the turn just to see. I’ll frog it if it’s too big and reduce the number of stitches.
I haven’t thought about exactly how to reduce the number of stitches if I have to. Obviously, they will come out of the back of the sock. I’m not sure if the Cat Bordhi heel will be ok without those stitches. I’m thinking it will be, but can’t seem to think it through until (and if) I have to.
I think they run a little big too? I knit the size large for the last pattern and one of my friends knitted the medium. The medium fit me better, so I planned on knitting it this time. I started with a medium and it still seemed big? I am down to a small on size 2 needles. I don’t think I have a size small foot, but I’ve got my fingers crossed they fit!
I’ve gone down to a size 2.5 mm needle and although I like the fabric in my gauge swatch, I’m still not getting 30 sts in 4″. I’m getting somewhere between 25 and 28. Since I don’t want to go down to 2mm, because I think it will make the stitches too dense, I think I’m just going to take out some stitches before I start.
My rough plan is to take stitches away from the back, but then at the heel I’ll either (1) follow the directions like I had the correct number for the heel and just ignore how many stitches I should have at the end or (2) move stitches around from the front so that the heel has the recommended amount.
I had to modify the heel from Cat’s Veil of Leaves to fit a bigger foot and it all came out fine in the end. I used option 1 above, except I was working with more stitches instead of less. I just kept track of the differences so that sock #2 came out the same. Jeff says they fit great, and he’s worn them two days in a row (yes without washing please don’t sniff them) so he would know.
I have some details on the mods I made on ravelry.
http://www.ravelry.com/projects/thingwhatsqueeks/veil-of-leaves
My advice is to run a safety through the row before you start heel shaping so that you can easily rip it out and start again without fear.
I am about to start- normally I have knit the large and then go down to the medium (and a small heel) to get the socks to fit my less than normally shaped foot - I appreciate the feed back and will start with a medium - go down a needle size for the foot and will probably have to do a k1, p1 type gusset to have any hope of the heel fitting. I have a 12″ leg (5 inches above the ankle) - with a 8.5″ foot - with a heel that should go with a 7 to 7.5″ foot. Basically a wide foot (for a size 5.5 shoe) with a narrow heel and thick legs - The socks for January - I did a large leg (Pooled - which I like), and then deceased down to do a medium foot (which striped) and did the heel for the small. Fit wonderfully.
I lllooovvve the color and the pattern - couldn’t wait to get started. Cast on the Adult mediums with size 2 needles (larger than I usually use) and they looked so huge that I went down to the Adult small on same needles. I’m about to start the leaf pattern and will knit a bit further before deciding if this is the right size for me. Lucy Neatby says always knit the first 3″ or so before doing anything drastic.
Also, I was a little confused about the instruction to do the gauge in stockinette - I thought one was supposed to gauge tubular things in the round? And of course, wash before continuing. (okok, I didn’t)
One last thing. I wasn’t sure what Idealthursday meant about STR “blooming” in washing - can you clarify? I have some STR that are about 3 years old now. Slowly they are getting thicker - maybe gradually felting? - and the feet are getting shorter. I know my feet aren’t growing…. Anyone else run into this?
M2 - Doing all knit stitches in the round will give you the stockinette to measure your gauge across.
As far as blooming, this year’s club is my first STR experience, so I can’t help you there.
I haven’t had any problems with blooming, but older pairs have gotten thicker over time.
M2, yes you should swatch in the round if you’re going to be working in the round and as the gauge is given for stockinette, just do stockinette in the round. Not sure what is confusing about the gauge being listed in stockinette? Regardless of what stitch is being indicated for gauge purposes, you should swatch using the same knitting method as the garment. Many people have gauge differences with back-and-forth stockinette vs. in-the-round stockinette because of tension differences between their knit rows and purl rows.
I’ve used a ton of STR in various weights and have never experienced it “blooming” in the wash (if by blooming you mean getting larger). I’ve had some felt up/shrink a bit over time but never have any gotten larger.
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