Zach’s Socks

Hi! These are socks for my roommate’s boyfriend, Zach. According to Ruchi (roommate), Zach has sweaty feet, so either the wool content will absorb the sweat or make him sweat more, and then absorb it.

My initial problem with socks wasn’t so much heel flap or turning it, it was picking up the stitches after the fact without getting holes. When I saw the holes I’d rip the whole heel flap back because starting over is how I problem solve. So I have a lot of experience turning a heel which is the only not-boring part of a sock. Anyway, Zach’s mom is a knitter and I took this opportunity to try out a few techniques:

1. The Classic Weil Gauge Modification
   I knew I wanted to knit socks on 2s, whereas the pattern has the socks knit on 6s (WHO KNITS SOCKS ON 6s???) Hilariously, our gauges only difffered by HALF A STITCH PER INCH which would have me casting on 48 stitches ON TWOS instead of the recomended 44 ON SIXES. I cast on 52 for good luck. The mathematics of pattern adjustments aren’t difficult for me because it’s just a bunch of proportions which you can set up and solve verbosely.

2. Tubular Cast On
   This isn’t particularly new to me. I’ve practiced it a ton of times but I always thought it took too long to do for too little payback. Now that I’m a faster knitter and have sworn off the long-tail, it’s worth it.

3. Magic Loop or something like it
   I always thought this meant something else and I wish I had my facts straight before I went and did surgery on my too-long size 10 circular needles to make them small enough to accomodate my Foliage. And here I thought I was being so clever! I could have magic looped the shit out of it. Anyway I don’t think what I’m doing is exactly magic loop, just kind of beating the yarn into submission around any circumference I desire. So I’m just going to call it CHLOE’S MAGIC LOOP OF TERROR

4. THICK HEELZ and COMFY TOEZ
   I doubled the yarn for the heels and the toes. I just thought it would be more thick and comfy!

5. The stitch-markers-as-abacus method of keeping track of rows
   If I had to do something five more times I’d just put five more stitch markers at the end of the round and remove one every time I did it. It worked with 100% more efficiency than writing that information down, because when I have to write anything down I don’t, making me 0% efficient at writing things down.

I’m wearing my poms underneath these socks for added bulk to my feet so that I can try these on and photograph them. These socks are knit for a man and I have little dainty girly feet.

Some people are pigeon-toed. Some people think it’s cute to be pigeon-toed. And some people’s feet turn toward 3 o’clock when they walk down stairs when feet generally point to 12 o’clock.