Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Less than a month late!


Anna socks (aka Cute Librarian Stockings)
Yarn: Two balls (100 g) of Jaeger's Matchmaker merino 4-ply, from This Is Knit
Needles: 3.0 mm, 2.5 mm, and 2.0 mm dpn's
Pattern: Anna socks from Rowan 40

Notes: These are a -belated!- birthday gift for my sister, who is a librarian. I thought lace knee highs would be super cute, and kept imagining her wearing them with a gray wool skirt. I chose this purply colour just to match this imaginary wool skirt. This lace pattern is easy. YOs and K2togs, no purls, even. 4 row repeat, easily memorised and easy for learning how to read your knitting, as well, since the pattern is so simple.
I had reservations about this pattern. It only comes in one size, and some have found it too large. It has no calf shaping, so everyone who has knit these in the blogosphere (The Daily Purl, Knitlit, and basically every link that comes up when you google "Rowan Anna socks") has suggested switching needle sizes for calf shaping.
So I took everyone's advice. I started with 3.0 mm needles, switched to 2.5 mm once past the largest part of the calf, and switched down even further to 2.0 mm needles at the ankle and for the foot. As for the sizing issue, I basically ignored the pattern altogether. I used it to get the lace pattern, but then just knit until it fit. I'm a small person, and my sister is an inch shorter and a size smaller in shoes, so I figured it was definitely going to be too big for her if I followed instructions. In addition, these are lace, so I knew they'd look better if the lace had a chance to stretch, so, whenever I could (one lace repeat more or less, needle sizing, etc), I estimated to err on the small side. I also did my preferred short row heel instead of the pattern's heel flap one.

I think they turned out really well. They mostly stay up, but I think I will add elastic to the ribbing, just so there's no need to pull them up during a busy library day.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous socks! Love the color you used-very elegant.

LauraLili said...

These are lovely! Do you know, if you'd kept on with Hedera/ Sodera, we would have made twin socks.