I finished the Chevron Scarf just after the Giants kicked New England’s patootie on Sunday night (I wasn’t so much rooting for the Giants to win, as I was rooting for New England to lose). No FO pictures of that one yet — gotta wash and block first because it’s rolling so much it looks more like a drainpipe cozy than a scarf. But in the meantime, I can start a new project!
Before I go and make another pair of socks for moi, I decided to take a stab at knitting up a pair of infant socks for my nephew, Billy. Because it’s just not enough that his grandmother and great aunt make all sorts of handknitted stuff for him. The cutest baby on the planet (I may be biased) just can’t have too many handknits. Anyhoo… here’s the first sock I made — the “test” version is what it has become, because I want to make some changes for the final pair (which may end up leading to more pairs…).
I had some Red Heart Baby Teri lying around. (Yes, it’s acrylic. No, I’m not a yarn snob.) I picked it up a while back at I forget where — probably Michael’s — to use for swatching some new handwoven baby blanket designs, which of course I never got around to. And since I only picked up one skein each of four colors (blue, yellow, pink, purple), I don’t have enough for anything but swatching or small items. I already made one hat each from the yellow and purple for (now former) coworkers. I hadn’t even started using the pink or blue at all.
On Sunday, it dawned on me that this yarn might make a cute pair of infant socks — it’s supposedly a worsted weight (I’m not completely sold on that fact), so it’s too thick for feet that need to fit into shoes. But hey, 6-week-old babies don’t need shoes! So infant socks in winter sounded like a good use for this yarn.
It’s not a complicated “pattern”. In fact, I hate to really call it a pattern at all. It’s just some ribbing, short rows, stockinette, toe shaping with decreases and kitchener stitch to close up the tootsies. OK, written out it looks like a lot — but really, it’s simple. I did write down a bunch of pattern notes (so I remember how to repeat), and if the final socks actually fit Billy, I will post the so-called pattern if anyone is actually reading this and is interested.
When I make the final pair of socks, I’ll be casting on more stitches for a slightly larger circumference, not doing as many short rows for the heel (it looks a bit “nippley” to me), making the cuff ribbing longer, and I think I might make the foot just a hair longer, too. (Billy is only going to grow, he ain’t gonna shrink!)
For source material, I relied on Vogue Knitting’s Ultimate Sock Book (for short-row instruction and sizing guidelines) and the experience I gained from knitting my first pair of socks, as well as several sock patterns and short-row instructions I found online.
Well… gotta get going and work on those final socks!
