FinnGarian Knits

February 2, 2010

Toirneach Kilt Hose

Filed under: Knitting — Tags: — finngarianmama @ 11:29 pm

I found this pattern on Knitty and immediately wanted to try it.  I do not really have the need for kilt hose as I am not Scottish nor do I own a kilt!  (Of course I always want warm socks, that never changes!)  I do have quite a large group of friends who adore men in kilts and all things Scottish, and reading The Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon is helping me along as well!

The construction of this pair of hose is really neat.  It starts with the lace cuff, then it is decreased and some ribbing is knit with needles two sizes smaller than the rest of the sock.  This is the garter which helps them stay up.  Then the whole thing is turned inside out to complete the leg and foot, so that the cuff can be folded down to show the lace pattern.  It was very easy and fast as they are knit with worsted weight yarn on size 4 needles.  I chose Lion Brand Wool Ease for this project in a grey heather.  Wool Ease costs about $3 for a skein and I used about 2 1/2 skeins.  So for me, this was an economical project as well.  I do not care to hand wash socks so I prefer to knit my socks with machine washable fibers.

Here is the link to the pattern!  And for those of you on Ravelry, here is the link to the Ravelry page.

And here are the pictures.  I did not originally plan to use any ribbon with these socks but even with the knitted garter, for some reason they still kept falling down.  The ribbons look really sharp (I had seen other people wear these hose this way) and they were comfortable and kept my socks from falling down.

I had really good timing with the fresh snow today!  And they kept my legs toasty warm.

I love the way the calf shaping looks from the back.

And here is a closer picture of the lace cuff.  Only two repeats and that was it.  Very easy!

December 10, 2009

Big Squishy Bed Socks

Filed under: Knitting — Tags: , , — finngarianmama @ 9:23 am

Winter is such a good time of year to put on warm clothes and snuggle up with a good book!

I was looking for a pattern for socks knit with worsted weight yarn because I wanted to make my mom some socks to wear to bed or around the house as slipper socks.  We live in an area with cold winters so we both appreciate the comfort of thick, warm socks.  There aren’t too many patterns out there for simple worsted weight socks so I thought I would put one together.

This pattern is written for the magic loop method and is easily adaptable to be made larger or smaller. These socks would be wonderful for someone who has swollen ankles as they would not dig in to the skin. The yarn I chose is very soft, inexpensive and easily washed by machine. They could also be worn over a pair of thinner socks for extra warmth. I chose a cotton/acrylic blend but they could easily be done up in a wool blend or superwash wool. I am not a fan of hand washing socks so I would not choose a regular wool or something else that would felt easily. I like to buy extra yarn so that I do not run out and I found two balls to be more than enough.

Materials: (1) ball of Bernat Denim Style yarn or any other soft worsted/aran weight yarn (196 yards).  I just barely got one pair of socks out of one ball.  If you made smaller socks, one ball would be enough, but if you wanted to make a bigger pair, get two balls just to be safe.   You’ll also need one size 7 long, flexible circular needle, and one large yarn/tapestry needle for grafting the toe and weaving in ends.

Gauge: 9 stitches/2 inches worked in stockinette in the round

Abbreviations:

  • K-Knit
  • P-Purl
  • Sl – slip
  • SSK – slip, slip, knit (slip them as to knit, slide them back to left needle and knit them together through the back loops)
  • K2tog – Knit two together
  • P2tog – purl two together

Cast on 44 stitches. The long tail method of casting on is good and stretchy for a sock opening. Pull out a loop in the middle of your stitches and join, being careful not to twist.

Knit 2×2 ribbing (K2, P2) for 2 1/2 inches or as desired. Then switch to stockinette stitch and knit for another two inches or as long as desired.

Heel Flap:
Turn your work so the inside of the sock is facing you. Work back across the stitches you just knitted:
Sl 1, p across 21 stitches. Turn.  (You may need to move a couple of stitches from the other needle so you have 22 stitches across your heel flap.)
Then: Sl 1, knit across.

Repeat these two rows a total of 10 times.

Turning the heel:
You will have just finished a knitted row. Turn the work so you will be purling (you will be looking at the inside of the sock):
P13, p2tog, p1, turn
Sl1, k5, SSK, k1, turn
Sl1, p to the gap you made in the last row, p2tog to close gap, p1, turn
Sl1, k to the gap you made in the last row, SSK, k1, turn
Continue decreasing to close the gaps made in the previous row until all stitches have been worked. You will have 14 stitches left.

Picking up for the gusset:
You will have a line of large loops made from slipping stitches on the edge of the heel flap. Pick up each of these loops, along with a couple of extra stitches near the beginning of the instep. This will help prevent a hole where the gusset joins the heel flap.
Then knit across the instep.
Then pick up the same number of stitches on the other side of the heel flap as you just picked up on the first side. Knit 7 stitches on the heel part you just turned and place a marker. This marker will be the beginning of your round.

Gusset shaping:
You should have the instep (top of foot) on one needle, and the gussets and sole on the other. The marker should be in the middle of the heel. You will start a round at this marker.
Knit one round.
On the second round, knit until 3 stitches before the end of the needle. K2tog, k1. Then knit across the instep needle. When you get to the beginning of the sole needle, k1, SSK, then knit to the end of the round.

You will then knit one round plain. Then work a decrease round, and then a knit round, and repeat until you have 22 stitches on the sole needle (44 stitches total). The foot will be the same diameter as the leg. Continue in stockinette stitch until your foot is as long as desired. I like to start the toe when the foot comes up to the base of my big toe.

Toe Decreases:
Starting at the marker, knit until 3 stitches before the instep needle. K2tog, K1.
At the beginning of the instep needle, K1, SSK, knit until 3 stitches left on instep needle, then K2tog, K1. At the beginning of the sole needle, K1, SSK, then knit to the end of the round.
Then knit the next round plain.
You will alternate a decrease round with a knit round until you have 10 stitches left on each needle – 20 stitches total.

Use the kitchener stitch to graft the toe closed. Weave in ends.

I am more than happy to answer questions or address problems or mistakes in the pattern.  Please feel free to leave a comment and I will address any issues or questions that come up.

August 29, 2009

A few summer projects

Filed under: Knitting — Tags: , , , , — finngarianmama @ 6:01 pm

I have not blogged here in quite a while, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been knitting! Summer seems to be a good time for small projects. Socks, for example.

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This is “Cables and Corrugations” by Cat Bordhi. She is a genius in the engineering of her sock patterns! The fit of this sock is amazing and I am looking forward to completing more pairs of her socks.

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A while back I started a little knit dress for my daughter with some vintage-y yarn that I got from a friend. This is “Soli”, a free pattern on Ravelry, and the yarn is “Roulette” by Columbia Minerva. It’s a cotton/rayon blend. The dress is a little big for her but she should be able to wear it within the next year.

Rainbow Pig

Rainbow Pig

Just a little pig I made for my son! He wanted a pig and wanted a rainbow pig. So, a rainbow pig it was. This was also a free Ravelry pattern.

A few things on tap: a lace sweater (Decimal from Knitty) made from a sport weight cotton/modal blend (Shine sport from Knitpicks). A hexagon afghan crocheted from the mountain of acrylic I have laying around. Moderne Baby Blanket from the first Mason Dixon book. More socks! (No surprise there, right?) Stay tuned!

June 14, 2009

Just in time for summer!

Filed under: Knitting — finngarianmama @ 8:07 pm

The wool hoodie is done! Of course I finished it just in time for the 80 degree weather. I am so very pleased at how this came out. I did add extra cable repeats in the body because I don’t like short sweaters, and I had to make the sleeves longer, well, because I have long arms. It blocked up beautifully. If you are considering knitting this sweater, please do the biased hem. I cannot imagine how it would have turned out with ribbing. I think it makes the hem lay very flat and nice. I will let the photos speak for themselves.

closeup

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June 1, 2009

Just a little something :)

Filed under: Knitting — finngarianmama @ 4:49 pm

My friend Autum at Smith Family Stories had a baby in December and his dedication was this Sunday. I bought him a little outfit but because his mom is a knitter, I had to make something and needed a quick project. She has red, white and blue socks, so now baby Daniel has a burp cloth to match! Pattern: Baby Genius Burp Cloth by Mason-Dixon Knitting.

burp cloth

Other knitting progress has been light as I have been busy with other things (gasp!). However I did complete the cable charts on my Rogue sweater. Once I finish the sleeves, it’s blocking/sewing and then I will get some good pictures.

May 18, 2009

Do knitters garden?

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , — finngarianmama @ 3:49 pm

I think many knitters and quilters like to garden as well. (Scrapbookers too!) I have been doing more gardening than knitting lately, and don’t really have much to show for my work. I did get the hood finished on my Rogue sweater and I am currently working on the sleeves. I’m making a little blanket for my daughter as well which is all garter stitch and because of that will probably take 1,000,000 years.

So, do knitters garden? Comments please!

April 29, 2009

Finally, more pictures to share

Filed under: Uncategorized — finngarianmama @ 12:42 pm

I finally got to taking some pictures of a few things I’ve been working on lately. The first is my latest obsession – a Cat Bordhi pattern. This is called “Cables and Corrugations” and while it got off to a bumpy start, I am so very pleased at how it looks and fits. I love purple but I am finding that it is difficult to get true color pictures indoors. It is a lot less blue in person. I just cast on for the second sock this afternoon. It is in the “New Pathways” book. I was becoming bored with the usual sock construction and thought one of her patterns would be a good challenge. Now I think I want to knit everything in the book!

The arch construction fits very well:

CC1

There is a wonderful braided cable up the back of the leg:

CC2

I also completed one Shur’tagal sock from a previous entry:

Shur'tagal2

And, to prove that I knit other things than socks, here is a picture of a kitchen towel I made recently:

towel2

All it needs is a button! This is a Mason Dixon pattern and it’s free, it can be found here.

Earlier in the month I tested this pattern, and gave the results to Nancy at Running Chick, because she rocks! She has been so very supportive in my running efforts. (More news on that to follow in my regular blog, This Finngarian Mama.)

towel1

April 22, 2009

I really have been knitting!

Filed under: Blogging — finngarianmama @ 9:44 pm

I just haven’t been in much of a picture taking mood. I have recently made a couple of knitted kitchen towels, and I finished one Shur’tagal sock. I also picked up Cat Bordhi’s book “New Pathways for Sock Knitters” which I am really enjoying. I am making a pair of cabled socks from that book with some Knitpicks sock yarn. I promise to have some photos up soon!

March 27, 2009

Rogue

Filed under: Knitting — Tags: , , , , — finngarianmama @ 3:29 pm

I have been working on a sweater since Fall, and after a break from it, I’ve picked it up again. The name of the pattern is called Rogue and I’m using Cascade 220 Heathers which is 100% wool. It’s a pullover with a hood, was supposed to have a front pocket but I decided to make it without it. It’s got some neat Celtic cables on it and I am happy to say that after getting this far, I can finally interpret the cable chart most of the time without looking at the key. It’s like I just all of a sudden “got it” the other day.

Please note that for some reason these pictures always look washed out. The yarn is much darker than it looks in the picture. Also it was hard to get a good picture of the last few rows I did. I am finding out that hoods are quite large and this one is taking a very long time to make.

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March 19, 2009

Sneak Peek

Filed under: Knitting — Tags: , , — finngarianmama @ 10:49 am

I just had a moment where the spelling of my title looked all wrong. Don’t you hate it when that happens?

I am loving working on my Shur’tagal socks. It’s a fun pattern! I’ve done two repeats on the first sock so far and here is a quick pic!

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