Swatching for Thompson River (and other) Socks

I do recommend swatching before you begin a pair of Thompson River Socks. These socks are made with a worsted weight yarn. The gauge and number of stitches will be different from what you might have used to make a typical pair of fingering weight socks.

The good news is that a swatch for these socks, even one made in the round, will not take very much time at all. A few weeks ago, in my post on my October Baable Hat Class, I wrote about making a colorwork swatch that simulates working in the round. For the Thompson River Socks, you may easily go one step farther, and actually knit a swatch in the round -- and you will even be able to try it on for size!

There are three sizes in the sock pattern. Each size has its own Cable chart. The three sizes have finished circumferences of 6 (7¼, 8¾)". The charts have 18 (22, 26) stitches.

How to swatch for Thompson River Socks:

1) Measure the foot circumference at the widest point. Typically socks have some negative ease. Usually a sock knit with a circumference of about 1" less than what the foot actually measures is ideal. (There is a good amount of tolerance on this.) The foot in the photo measures about 8½". The swatch measures 7¼". The same foot looked comfortable and cozy wearing one of the 7¼" sized magazine sample socks. 

2) Find the chart for the size you will be making. Double the number of stitches in the chart for the amount to cast on for your sock swatch. For the three sizes that will be 36 (44, 52) stitches. Cast on with the needles you will use to knit the socks. (These will be your favorite kind of needles to make a small round: two circular, double-pointed or magic loop.) Place marker and join to work in the round. Knit 1 round.

3) Next round: Work Cable chart over 18 (22, 26) stitches, place marker, knit to end of round. Continue in pattern for about 2½" Bind off all stitches.

4) Block, if desired, and try swatch on foot. The stockinette portion represents the sole of the sock, and the cable pattern portion the instep.

(You can apply this method to swatch for other socks, as well.)

When I was working on this design for Interweave Knits, Fall 2016, I made many similar swatches.

I do enjoy swatching. Why don't you give sock-swatching a try! ♥♥♥

Thompson River Socks will be the class project for a two-session Saturday afternoon class at Gosh Yarn It! in Kingston Pennsylvania, November 12 and 19, 1:00-3:00PM. 

October Class Swatching... The Baable Hat

I will be teaching a couple of classes at Gosh Yarn It! in Kingston, Pennsylvania this fall. The first will be this Saturday, October 22. (I know it is short notice, but there are still a couple of seats left.) The official title of this class is: "THE BAA-BLE HAT: Tips & Techniques for Stranded Knitting with Carolyn Kern".

The project for the class is the Baable Hat which was designed by Donna Smith for Shetland Wool Week 2015. It became the #1 queued pattern on Ravelry last year, with over 5600 projects posted. The pattern is written using an unusually tight gauge for a worsted/aran weight yarn, though; and many knitters ended up with hats that were larger than they expected.

The bad news is that I learned all of this after I agreed to make a GYI shop sample and teach a class. For my sample, I had to go down from the suggested US size 7 needle to a US size 3. The good news is that this gave me a brand new direction from which to teach a stranded colorwork class.

In the class we will be making a colorwork gauge swatch that simulates working in the round. We will review two-handed stranded colorwork technique, and I will demonstrate making a two color pompom with a Clover pompom maker. I plan to suggest a number of choices the students have to modify the pattern (such as those used by Susan B Anderson). There is no doubt that we will also talk about the newly released Baable cowl and mitten pattern by Donna Smith.

My sample colorwork swatch:

For this kind of a swatch (known as a speed swatch*) you knit all rows from right to left like you are working in the round. The yarn has to be carried behind the work for each row. This is what it looks like from the back.

*There is a reason for the name "speed swatch". Please join me in class this Saturday to learn more.
☺️

The Fight Continues or (I Have to) Have a Hart

What my daughter said still remains quite accurate: "Those are fight'n words!"

The Leigh that I started earlier this year was frogged weeks ago. Simultaneously, I found myself swatching for a Hart.  (Both sweaters were designed by my newest favorite designer, Julie Hoover.)  I have become a bit obsessed with Shibui Knits Pebble [48% Recycled Silk, 36% Fine Merino, 16% Cashmere].  Knitting a Hart in Pebble will be a "mindless" long term knitting project.  Mindless knitting is comfort knitting.  I like a good balance of both mindless knitting and challenging knitting each and every day.  

In spite of my proclaimer at the very start of the new year, "I don't think I will ever use any other designer's patterns again", I just have to have a Hart.  It will be black and it will be featherweight and floaty. The type of cardigan you could wear over and over again.  I really want one.  It will work well in my wardrobe.  What more can I say.  (I have to) Have a Hart.

Let me throw in a quick knit tip:  Try remembering when swatching with black yarn... whose stitches, especially at such a fine gauge, are notoriously difficult to count... that, if the same yarn is available to you in a lighter color... use the light color yarn to swatch for the black project.  I had to learn this after a couple of not totally helpful black swatches!

  
I do not need a Leigh.  I loved the idea of a light and loose top made in the Ash colorway of Pebble.  But Leigh is probably a bit too boxy and shapeless for a short person like me.  I don't want to look like I am wearing a gray paper bag.  I will be thinking of an original summer top to make with the ash colored yarn... it will be a design of my own making.  Which will not be mindless knitting, at all.

♥♥♥

Knit Tip: Two Halves -- and a Scale

Last week I took this photo to document the halfway point of my newest Paper Lanterns shawlette.

Paper Lanterns WIP in Frabjous Fibers Mad Hatter

Paper Lanterns is a rather simple, sideways knit, shawlette.  For the first half of the project you have increase rows.  For the second half, decrease rows take their place.

If you think that you might not have enough yarn to knit a two-halves type of pattern as written, but you know that you probably have enough...

Or, if you are using a treasured skein of yarn, and you desire to use as much of the yarn as possible... by making the first half as long and as wide as you can with a minimal amount of wasted yarn...

You will need a scale.

A small kitchen scale like the one that I bought from Amazon in 2010 (still available here) will work quite well.

You should weigh your yarn before you start (as I mentioned in this post).  My yarn weighed 113g.  When I got to the halfway point of the shawlette last week, I weighed the remaining yarn and shot the photo above.  The remaining yarn weighed 58g.  Half of 113 would be 56.5.  This showed me that I did have enough yarn to finish because what remained was more than what was used.  It also showed me that for this particular project, there could be no extra pattern repeats to make a larger shawlette.

Your scale will come in handy whenever you knit a project that has two halves.

I use mine every time I make toe up socks.  Before I start, I take my initial ball of yarn and wind a ball off of it, weighing both, until I get two equal balls.  Mr K likes tall socks.  My scale allows me make them as tall as I like but no taller than the yarn allows.

Fingering Weight TATU Socks FO in Cascade Yarns Heritage Paints

This FO photo of a pair that I knit for him last spring, shows what remains of the two balls that I started out with.  These are the tallest socks that I ever knit.

I currently am knitting Mr K a new pair of TATU socks and I was also at the halfway point with these earlier this month.  Now I am quite far beyond that.

Fingering Weight TATU Socks WIP in Austermann Step 6

I use my scale to check how much yarn I have used (or how much yarn I have remaining) in many of my projects especially when I design new patterns.  It has been a very worthwhile tool in my knitting tool box.

Knit Tip: What to do with mixed dye lots & kettle dyed yarns?

I have named my red vest project "Crimson and Garnet" and I have made a project page for it on Ravelry.  I ripped out the entire piece that I showed you in my Reentry post last month.

My latest photo shows my color blending in progress.

Garnet Lite Lopi & Garnet Létt-Lopi

The Garnet Létt-Lopi in my previous knitting was a bit lighter and pinker than the Garnet Lite Lopi.  And the Garnet Lite Lopi was a bit deeper red with a hint of purple.

I could not see these differences when I laid them out in the grass (approximately two years ago).

Two Reds (or was it Four?)

But it did show up in the knitting.

Two Dye Lots

"Knit Tip":  Whenever you DO need to knit with two or more skeins that are not from the same dye lot, knit two rows with dye lot ball #1, and then knit two rows with dye lot ball #2.

You could alternate with each round if you are knitting in the round.  But when knitting back and forth in rows, alternate knitting a right side and then a wrong side row from one skein and then from the other.  Just carry the unused yarn up the side.

I used this same technique when knitting my Color of Flowers pullover with the kettle dyed Canopy Fingering yarn.

Detail Kettle Dyed Canopy Fingering

From the Kelbourne Woolens website:  "The unique blend of fibers [in Canopy] are spun into a smooth yarn and then kettle dyed, and the different way the fibers absorb the dye creates a beautiful depth of color with subtle heathered tones."  And on the yarn label: "This yarn has been intentionally hand-crafted with subtle texture and color variances... In order to achieve optimum results, we encourage you to alternate skeins for an overall blended effect."

That is why you can see two balls of yarn in my work in progress photo.

And that is why the colors blend as well as they do in the finished sweater.

The Color of Flowers