Five mistakes I made as a new sock knitter

Mistakes are part of life - there is no getting away from that. But when it comes to sock knitting there are a few simple concepts that it is helpful to grasp before you pick up the needles. Why not learn from my mistakes so that you don’t have to:

1. Not using specific sock yarn. Most sock yarn has a small acrylic component to help with wear and tear - and also to provide much needed stretch. Common blends are 75% wool/25% nylon or 80/20. Yarn with a higher acrylic component may not be as breathable and no one wants cold, clammy feet.

2. Not realising the importance of gauge. It’s essential to get socks that actually fit and are comfortable to wear. I tried to knit socks in DK yarn on 2.5mm needles and let’s just say they weren’t a success. If armour plated booties were a thing they might have had a role.

3. Negative Ease. It took me ages to figure out why my socks were always too big and slid off my feet. Well fitting socks need to stretch in order to hug the foot properly. This means that when you are deciding on heel placement or when to do the toe decreases, it helps to stretch the sock fabric quite firmly - not just a polite pull.

4. Persevering with DPNs because I thought everyone used them - and not realising that other options would suit me better. There are whole host of sock knitting options available to you - from magic loop to small circulars, Flexiflips or two-at-a-time. Don’t be afraid to experiment until you find the method that suits you best.

5. Offering to knit them for neighbours - never again!

If you take one piece of advice from this article it would be number 5. Trust me on this 😂

Can a beginner knit socks?

The BOB socks - ideal for an adventurous beginner

The answer, as with so many things in life is “It depends”.

Sock knitting is often perceived to be hard, for reasons that I’m yet to fully get to grips with. Some people seem to attribute almost mystical levels of skill to turning a heel and the often heard refrain is that ‘sock knitting is hard’.

But really, it’s like so many other things with knitting. A few skills are needed but they aren’t anything that you wouldn’t use on other knitting projects. If you can do the knit stitch in the round then you can knit socks.

Honestly, in my view socks are no more difficult than any other piece of knitting - with the possible exception of a flat garter stitch scarf. Although with socks you are far less likely to die of sheer boredom.

I've known knitters of over 40 years who have yet to knit a sock - and who are too nervous to try. And I've known brand new knitters pick up a set of DPNs or a long circular needle and start knitting socks with complete gusto.

It's more about attitude and willingness to embrace something new than it is about the length of time you've known how to knit and purl.

Like any knitting project, a beginner knitter may need a hand getting started. Any type of cast on can be tricky at first, whether you are knitting flat or in the round. But the majority of sock knitting is just working stocking stitch round and round - totally achievable for a beginner and an absolutely brilliant confidence booster.

The only part that I would say could be a little tricky is when you come to graft the toe closed (with cuff down socks). But the BOB socks shown here have a rounded toe - with absolutely no grafting needed.

If you don’t want to work a heel (although it really isn’t that bad) you could just knit a tube sock.

And at the end of the day, you have nothing to lose. If it all goes pear shaped (and oh - how I wish I’d kept my first sock attempt where the heel mysteriously appeared on the side of the sock rather than in the back) you can just rip the yarn out and try again.

At the very least, it’s more entertaining and you’ll learn far more than you ever will slogging away on a 6-foot garter stitch scarf.

If you'd like to know more, I've put together a blog post with some resources and suggestions for the adventurous sock knitter to be.

Link here

Things I wished I'd known when I started knitting

I remember vividly standing in John Lewis (a large UK department store) with a birthday voucher and a vague hope of taking up knitting again - after not touching the needles for over 15 years. The choice was overwhelming and I had absolutely no idea where to start in selecting something for my first project. In the end I bought a Rowan pattern book and the specified yarn/needles to make a striped sweater.

Overall, the knitting of it was a success. I remembered how to do the basics and I produced a flat, seamed sweater that was fine in all respects - apart from the matter of the too tight bind off at the neck which meant I couldn’t actually get the thing over my head.

And then I accidentally felted it, but that’s another story altogether.

The point being that if I could go back in time and tell my baby-knitter self a few things, it would be these:

1. Don’t bother buying a lot of straight needles. Interchangeable circular needles are so much more adaptable to a variety of projects and better for travelling and ergnomics. If you do happen to need a pair of straight needles, you can pick them up in charity shops for pennies.

2. Buy the good yarn. Enough said.

3. Don’t buy yarn just because it’s on sale. Especially the large 10x50g packs of DK/aran weight yarn unless you are absolutely certain you are going to use it. They take up a lot of space and sales are generally repeated from time to time. There are always bargains to be had.

4. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking there is only one way to do things. Whether it’s different cast-offs, cast-on’s, cabling with and without a needle etc, there’s always more than one way to do something and it pays to have a few of them up your sleeve.

5. If you are a Continental knitter, learn to throw the yarn - and vica versa. As with point no. 4 it’s good to have more than one way of doing something at your disposal and changing things up from time to time can be a good way to avoid repetitive injury.

6. Gauge matters. It really does. In time you might be able to wing it a little based on experience but in the beginning at least, a gauge swatch is absolutely essential if you want something to turn out how the designer intended.

How about you? Is there anything you would go back and tell yourself when you were a beginner? Do let me know in the comments.