Untitled Document

By Natalie Langkilde

Sock Yarn Comparisons and Getting the Second Sock to Match Up

I've used a lot of different ones and I'll try to keep a running comment on each brand as I try them. One opinion I came away with was that the yarn seems expensive if you compare it to buying a sock. Or if you compare it to another ball of yarn in the store. But remember, this is a one ball project! And the result will fit you on fat days, skinny days, bloated days..... It will never go out of style, either. It is a quickie in-between project for me and makes great presents or carry along projects when I do the rib by hand. It's like going out for an ice cream. The cost for an ice cream cone seems way more than just getting a gallon of ice cream, but it's a treat for me. Worth it! Try buying other people's stash when they have gone nuts and overbought (like e-bay) or discount clearance. Some colorways are also discontinued prices. The other yarns you can use instead might not wear as well, or feel the same, so try at least one "real" sock yarn. I tend to like Opal best for the price and the quality. (washability without shrink, soft,non itchy, wears forever), as well as the fact that it seems to have more yardage.

You will want 100g for an adult sock. You might be able to get a child sock pair from a 50g ball with a short cuff. You will find them cozy and dry. Non binding. You might never want to wear store bought again! For a circular

(all $ are US dollar estimates)

Lane Cervenia-- I found inexpensive at maybe $5 - $7 for 100g, great earthy colors, but itchy and scratchy. Not enough to avoid, but enough to prefer another yarn first.

Regia-- You can expect to pay about the same as Opal to get 2 - 50g balls. But there is many different colorways and yarn contents so there will be price variety and sales to be had. After washing and drying becomes a little plastic like harsh feeling for the wool blend. But not enough to hate. The silk, cotton, and bamboo will be different. I tried the silk and was very happy with it! The cotton bagged more than I liked. The bamboo is on my list to try. Great colors with defined stops and stops, no bleeding of the colorway into the next color. Color and pattern always makes the sock look brand new, even 3 years later. Wears like iron. Shrinks about a half an inch in first wash and dryer, like many will do. The price and availability is always better than many others. Great variety.

Sockotta--Economical at $7 to $10 for 100g. Very nice, soft, no itch and knits well. Has a cotton content along with the usual wool and synthetic blend. So it's got a tweedy sort of effect because I think it's the cotton wrapped around a color. Washes and dries fine.

Berrocco Comfort --has a sock yarn for about $7 for 100g, but I was very dissapointed because the sock yarn was all acrylic. This might have been a good thing for allergies. It knit like buttah and was soft/non pilling. It had great contemporary earthy colors. But as acrylic can do, it bagged out with wear and was soggy on the foot by the end of the day. I won't be buying that brand anymore for socks. It would be nice for a sock yarn style of something else besides socks. Say, a sweater.

Opal--Usually $14 - $20. More yardage, especially nice if you have a very large foot to fit. Or especially nice if your making a child's sweater or something where you need more yarn. Incredible range of patterns and colors. Don't just think this will fair isle, the yarn range does everything from dots to stripes depending on the particular pattern you buy. No itch, and great long wear. No shrinkage in the washer and dryer. Soft, not itchy. Middle range priced.

On-Line--This yarn reminds me of Opal and Jawoll. Less expensive. Priced around $10 for a 100g ball. Many great colorways. No shrinkage in washing and drying so don't make it larger than necessary. Soft hand.

Trampoline--A wool blend that has some stretch to the yarn. Maybe $7.50 per 50g skein. There is probably less options on colorways than, say Opal or Regia. Less earthy and more loud colors. I didn't feel like it was so special that I had to go find it again, but it was just fine. I think it had a little shrinkage, but no more than half an inch if it did.

Jawoll-- You can find it from $8 - maybe $12 a 100g ball. This yarn has a soft hand and no shrinkage. It comes with a generous spool in each 100g ball of reinforcement yarn. Same colorway but thinner and probably stronger yarn content. You could keep this for repairs or actually reinforce the heels and toes. Good in the ways Opal and On-Line is nice, but does tend to be so soft it nearly bags. Moreso than On-Line. I had to adjust my pattern to make them a little snugger, but then the were very nice. Very nice colors.

Lorna's Laces--This was the very nicest yarn I tried! $11 and up for 100g? Hand dyed wool blends and 100% wools. It knit like buttah and felt like cotton without bagging. Beautiful!

I've tried a few brands from Germany and Denmark that I've forgotten the names of. They were very good and nice to wear. When I remember I'll add to this tip.

Getting the Second Sock to Match Up

Getting the 2nd Sock to Match in Self Patterning Sock Yarn is a challenge. Knitting it circular is also necessary to match up the patterning. Sometimes it works perfectly with effort. Sometimes it just looks pretty good at a glance.

Here are some tips to help you get socks that match.

Start the sock at the same place in the color pattern for each sock in the pair. This sounds easy enough. Sock yarns often come in 100g or 50g balls. You want 50g per sock for an adult. It takes about 100g ball divided into 2 socks to make an adult pair of socks. A child's sock can sometimes be made from 25 g of yarn for each sock. So 50g would make a pair.

First you need to find out where the color sequence begins. Pull out a long length of the yarn and study the color sequence. Find one color in the sequence that's easy to identify, and make sure you know where it is in the pattern. It might be a much longer color sequence than you think. Just because it starts with red, and then goes to blue, you might not have the correct place in the pattern just because you start with red that sits next to blue. Investigate further!

Second, you are going to wind off a ball that will start each sock in the same color sequence of the pattern. If you have a 50g ball you will do this with each of the 2 balls for an adult sock. If you have a 100g ball you will have to split this into 2 socks and wind those into 2 separate approximately 50g balls. A 100g ball will require a scale to weigh the 2 balls to get them approximately the same. Buying a kitchen scale is going to be very helpful. A gram scale will make your life simpler.

Third, you want the balls to begin at the same starting place in the color pattern. So start both 50g balls with the same color in the correct beginning of the sequence by wasting some of the 2nd ball to get to the correct starting place, or pulling back some from the first ball is a possibility in a 100g ball, until you get your second ball to start at that same spot in the pattern. You are going to periodically weigh the 100g ball as you wind it until about 50g is left. Try to stop at the same place in the pattern where the next ball will start. Then begin the second ball.

The end result is that your balls will not be exactly the same weight if your color sequence is at the same spot in each newly wound ball. You have 2 choices, waste some of the heavier ball, or don't worry about it. If one ball is just a bit lighter, and it's a toe up knitted sock, you can start with the lighter ball. Then you will know how much you can knit in rib at the end for the second sock before you stop.