Well, this was not a resounding success - but I learned a bunch of things that were worth finding out :)
In general…
Initially I was really pleased at how things were turning out. Once the ribbing was completed the razor shell part of the sock began with a segment of the yarn that was self-striping. The stripes formed up as chevrons as the pattern played out and I thought they looked pretty good.
As I continued, however, it became clear that there were problems that needed to be worked out.
Problem 1
It’s too big :) I had thought I knew what the stitch count should have been and I’m not certain why it’s not right. It isn’t too big by a lot - just enough so that when it’s worn the sock would be sloppy. Not what I want really.
The solution will be to subtract a few stitches and recalculate the pattern. I don’t think this will be difficult.
Problem 2
Because of the sl1-k2tog-psso, the tip of the razor shell forms a deep dimple or pucker at the ribbing line. If there weren’t other problems, I’d be tempted to let this lie because it will probably smooth out in the wearing. But because there are other issues, I want to try to figure this one out too.
Pucker up!
I’m not really sure how to address this but I think knitting a few rounds plain past the ribbing might ammeliorate the effect, if not get rid of it. I will try this next time.
Problem 3
The striping section past the ribbing looked really nice to me, but as soon as the yarn transitioned to a pattern things muddied up.
If you can’t see the stitch pattern, you’re using the wrong yarn
I’m not sure the solution to this is to use a solid or less pattern-cluttered yarn. Part of the issue to my eye is that so many of the colors are dark. I’m not sure lighter colors wouldn’t work better - even if nothing else were to change. Certainly a yarn that was strictly self-striping (or a sock yarn that was variegated the way a regular worsted weight yarn might be) would probably yeild more aesthetically pleasing results.
Problem 4
Finally there was the ribbing and the eyelets. Initially I was pleased at their appearance except for one thing - the ribbing appeared loose and no matter how I tried to tighten up the gauge, it remained sloppy looking. So I decided that I would work the knit stitches of the ribbing through the back loop to tighten them up. That did work but…
These are not baby backs…
You can see that the eyelets went to hell as soon as I changed the way I was knitting the rib stitches.
As a re-do, I think I’d leave the knitted rib stitches alone and knit them in the ordinary way. They might look a bit sloppy at first, but I imagine washing would even out a lot of things. I’m also trying to consider other ways of making an eyelet. I could do an M1, lifting the running thread between the stitches and then knitting into the front of the stitch so that a small hole results. Perhaps that would make the eyelet a little more stable.
All in all, it’s been interesting to work this through and see where the pitfalls and problems are. I can’t imagine any other way to do it but by setting the thing up and having a whack at it :) This attempt will be frogged and a new attempt (perhaps with different yarn) will be made before long.
And it was way fun to play with!
No trackbacks yet.
the most amazing thing is that you *think* about the problems rather than have a temper fit and throw the offending sock across the room!
i think much of the problem is the color patterning in the yarn- while quite lovely, it does allow problems (real or imagined) to be apparent- call me a fuddy-duddy, but i like solid yarns for patterned socks and the multis for either plain or just rib-only patterning-
stay happy-
Barb - Oh I’ve had tantrums too and I contemplated pouting when it became apparent that this wasn’t going to work the way I wanted it to :) But that wouldn’t have solved anything. The thing was to figure out how to get it to do what I wanted.
I’m not sure I have figured it out, but I’m ready for another try in the near future :)
Thanks for sharing the experiment, anyway! I learned a lot! Have a GREAT week. :-)
Wow! Helpful…. and interesting. I’m just learning to sit down and really *think* about the whys and wherefores of what I am doing when it comes to knitting, so it’s really fascinating to me to get to watch your process and see what it is that you are thinking about, exactly.
Stasia - THe experiment isn’t over yet - that was just the first phase :)
Rainy - Well, I’m glad you find it useful. Once I got my head around the fact that yarn is re-usable (if it doesn’t work, rip it out and try something else!) and that even the time isn’t wasted if I’ve learned something, the path was open to try any and everything!
Very interesting, dearie - even if they ARE socks. :::wink:::
Bron - Well, I guess we’re both ripping things today, eh? Not the most fun thing, but nessecary sometimes and, surprisingly often, useful :)
I’m exhausted just reading your entry! Too much thinking! 
Ryan - Heheh…Blame it on my knitting pixie. Thank goodness he sleeps most of the time or I never would!
Yes, realizing that frogging/reknitting something wasn’t a ‘waste’ was helpful to me. I am starting to think about *why* the yarn is acting a certain way or not, what fibers do what and about color and pattern and there’s been a lot of trial and error in that process. I guess most knitters go through this process in the beginning.
Vive le Frog! Vive le Rippit! Vive le Casting On Again For The Umpteenth Time!
Rainy - Vive le Rippit? LOL! I may concede that ripping is sometimes a good, even a necessary thing but it’s always going to be a bit painful - for me anyways. What can I say, I get attached to things :)
Robbyn, re producing a hat from the prosthetic—I just saw this: http://knitty.com/ISSUEsummer05/PATTpinky.html 
I fell in love with a book, “Designing Knitwear” (I think that was the name anyway) at the library last year. It inspired me to experiment, experiment, experiment! Your posts on your process are just the same, they inspire me to “just do it”. One of the reasons I read blogs is for inspiration….not just in what’s the new hot project of the season or whatever, but seeing how people THINK through their knitting. You are one of the top “thinking” knitters I enjoy reading. Thanks for sharing your process!
Rob - (excuse me while I get the impolite snickering under control) That’s quite a hat - and I only call it that because it’s perched atop someone’s head.
To be fair, while I will probably never make it, it might just be somebody’s perfect cup of tea and more power to them.
As for it being mammary shaped - we’re talking about a 36 long here, right?
Lisa - I guess process knitting isn’t to everybody’s taste but I can’t not do it that way. I mean I’m quite incapable of taking a pattern and following it through to the end without thinking about it or (even worse) fiddling with it - often in public, here on the blog.
If any of that has been beneficial or useful to you, I am absolutely thrilled. Thank you for your nice words :)
