[Knitting] Razors Edge Socks, Finished!

[kniteracy]

I completed these last night and wove the ends in this morning.

Razors Edge Socks -- Finished! Here's a full-on view.

Side By Side Here's one of the few places you can tell the socks don't match exactly -- and it isn't even my fault! There was a strangely long stripe of one of the variegated colours, twice as long as the one on the previous sock. I ended up removing the orange stripe from the left sock, as it's theone you barely see in the front. |In retrospect, possibly I should have gone with the green variegate, but I couldn't tell 100% at that point that the socks weren't going to match unless I moved some colours around. Once again, the i-cord bindoff proved very simple but required more than one colour stripe of blue; however, since these are toe-up socks, fudging and futzing around with the wool colours at the cuff point won't get you into *too* much trouble. ;-)

Close-up of slipped razor pattern I like the way this pattern frames the gusset of the sock.

The pattern seemed OK to me as I knit the second sock, but obviously as I wrote it I won't find errors the way someone who didn't write it, might. I'm open to anybody knitting these and telling me how they get on; you can find the pattern here. I hope to have it linked on Ravelry as an actual pattern sometime soon, but I'm having trouble with this process.

ETA: One thing I'm concerned about with the pattern is that knitters used to knitting socks may find the distribution of stitches at the heel turn a little confusing. I should probably go back and edit it so that you always know the number of stitches you should have on the instep and heel sides of the sock. And alas, since the numbers aren't regular, I probably won't be able to design this for different sizes using Sock Wizard. However, since I knit the socks on 3.25mm needles, I think a lot of sizing leeway would be possible if you used needle sizes down to say 2.0mm.

The Ravelry Project Page for these socks is here.

Comments

[bardling.livejournal.com]

While I prefer non-hole-y socks to lacework, these do look great!

[telynor.livejournal.com]

My next design might be more to your taste. I don't have it charted yet, but it will be called Forest Bower.

[muninnhuginn]

These are really gorgeous. I might even be tempted into trying toe-ups to make them.

[telynor.livejournal.com]

The toe-up construction on these socks is made after a technique I learned from Lucy Neatby's book Cool Socks, Warm Feet. You knit a garter stitch square, then pick up stitches around the three extra edges, then do toe increases on each corner. It makes a very comfortable, roundish toe, which my toes appreciate, since they're quite big and wide. The stretchy garter stitch also provides some cushion. Of course, if you search around and find a toe-up toe you like better, it would work with this pattern as well. The only toe-up toe I really don't recommend and don't like is the one most people were teaching prior to the popularity of Turkish-style castons/Judy's magic cast-on/Queen Kahuna's Crazy Toes And Heels: it's the one where you do a provisional cast-on, knit a short-row toe (exactly like a short-row heel), then pick up stitches for the foot. I've never found a way to make the pick-up as invisible or smooth as I like it, so as soon as I found a different way, I stopped using it. And now that there are good, popular, simple techniques to knit toe-up socks with gussets and heel 'flaps', I stay away from short-row heels as well: in my experience, they always have holes at the join, and I just can't be bothered with all that finishing!

[otherdeb.livejournal.com]

THey should be the next project I cast-on, since I did promise to beta-knit them for you.

[telynor.livejournal.com]

I'd be really pleased if you'd do that. Incidentally, I scanned that pattern for you and emailed it, but I got a bounce, which I didn't see until today, that said your gmail address was unavailable? Possibly the .jpgs were just too big. If that addy, your lj name at gmail, is the right one, I'll try sending again with one .jpg apiece, or I can .pdf them for you if you'd prefer.

[otherdeb.livejournal.com]

You have my address correct. And either way is good for me.

But you are right that the file probably was too big.

[chirosinger.livejournal.com]

How fun! I love seeing your finished projects.

I just picked up some sock yarn for the sock knitting class which Bonnie and I are taking in May. Although (la la la) I may have to try a pair of socks (la la la) before the class actually starts (la la la). But then again, Mother's Day is coming up and I have a couple of tea cozies to knit first.

[gingicat]

Pretty!

[natf]

Just a heads up - the link you ave to Ravelry fails. This works instead, though:
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/razors-edge-socks