8 February 2010 · No Comments
After my shameless whinging about sock blow outs, someone asked how I wash my socks. It’s a totally valid question. There is a special washing regimen for fancy socks at Chez Violence. (Fancy socks are both the hand knit ones and the cashmere/alpaca/angora/generally spiffy ones from the store that I buy The Boy to make up for my inability or unwillingness to knit him work socks in the quantity he needs. The first hand-knit socks got him addicted to awesome socks, and this is a quicker way to feed the addiction than actually knitting a whole sock wardrobe. Yes they’re a bit expensive and require special washing. On the other hand, they don’t cost any more than the knit ones, and I’m doing special sock washing anyways. It’s a good compromise for us at the moment.) They all go in the washer together, and nothing else goes in with them. The washer is set to use cold water and run the gentle cycle. Then, and this is the bit that makes me think this is basically the same as washing by hand, I leave the washer’s lid open. On my washer, this prevents it from agitating. So basically the washer fills and sits there for a while. Then I drain it, it fills again, and I drain it again. If something was extra filthy I may do it once more. Then the socks get strewn all over the basement to dry. I’m fairly convinced that this is just a larger and more convenient version of washing them totally by hand in the bathroom sink.
I know that nylon is the secret to longevity, and I’m trying to buy only nylon-fortified sock yarn. Alas, sometimes I’m overcome by the pretty and succumb to temptation. I also have a fair amount of nylon-free yarn that I purchased before the realization of nylon’s importance had properly sunk in. I can’t quite bring myself to toss it. I have procured great quantities of wooly nylon (I am still overly entertained by the name and take unreasonable joy in saying it aloud at every opportunity), and am using it for socks knit from nylon-free yarn. It’s easy to work with and doesn’t really show, so I’m pleased so far. I’ll report back on its success once I’ve worn the socks using it enough to know how it holds up.
20 January 2010 · No Comments
You have to darn them too…
I mentioned the other day that three pairs of socks had worn thin in the heels. I considered just chucking them, but The Boy professed a fondness for his, and I (grudgingly) acknowledged that it was far less work to darn them than to make new pairs. It’s true it was less work, but it wasn’t exactly a quick process. Let’s have a little before and after.
First, the damaged sock:
You can click on the picture to see an alarmingly massive version of it if you really care. The sock is stretched over the bottom of a vitamin bottle, which made a perfectly-sized if rather noisy darning egg. You can see that the fabric is generally quite thin and that there is a spot (a little to the right of center) where the strands between the stitches are almost totally gone. There wasn’t an actual hole just yet, but there would have been if I’d worn them another few times.
You can also see that I used to twist my stitches when I worked in the round. Notice that the stitches in the heel turn (up at the top) are untwisted and the stitches in the rest of the foot are twisted. I won’t tell you how long I did this, all the while thinking ‘huh…those two bits look different…oh well’ and carrying blindly on. It’s a bit embarrassing really. However, this does bring up a small point. I’ve often seen people suggest that working twisted stitches on the heel of a sock will result in a sturdier fabric. My experience would seem to indicate otherwise. The fabric of the twisted section is far more worn than the fabric of the untwisted section. This has been the case in all of the socks I made in this fashion. I would not recommend using twisted stitches in high-wear areas.
And now for the (partially) repaired sock:
Again, a giant version awaits your click. This shows my progress about 2/3 of the way through. It’s not perfect, and it doesn’t need to be. I ended up working about 6 more rows of darning before I decided I had gone far enough. I snipped off the ends close to the sock and didn’t bother to weave them in. After a wash or two they’ll just sort of disappear.
The final verdict? Ehh…mixed. It looks ok, and it definitely thickened up the heel. The socks will certainly last much longer now. On the other hand, the process is fiddly and slow, and the darned spot feels just a tiny bit different under foot. I’m thinking that may go away after a few wearings, in which case I’ll elevate the verdict to moderate success. It just felt more like a chore than like something fun, and knitting is supposed to be fun.
I think in future I’ll hold a strand of the wooly nylon along with my yarn when I knit the heel. The stuff I ordered came, and it seems like an interesting product. It’s quite thin, but strong enough that I can’t break it no matter how hard I pull on it. I may also try running it through the soles of my existing socks to see if it makes a difference. I’ll report back as I experiment with it, but it seems promising so far.
11 January 2010 · No Comments
Over the past week or so I have had three, yes three pairs of socks wear out at the heels. One of them is an early pair of The Boy’s (made during that period of deeply unsuitable yarns I mentioned earlier). The other two are mine and were made a bit later and with more suitable yarns. Alas, even with appropriate yarn, socks are not everlasting. In all three cases I caught the damage when it was just a thin spot and not a full-fledged blow out. This means darning them isn’t actually all that hard, and I have very little excuse not to do it. I even have remnants of all the yarns. I just need to collect the necessary fortitude and dedication and actually do it. If I waver, I’ll just have to compare the time to make new socks (at least 20 hours a pair) versus the time needed to repair them (about an hour a pair) and brow beat myself into doing the right thing.
I am, however, taking the spate of holes as a sign that I need to buy some of the mythic ‘wooly nylon’ reinforcing thread. I’ve heard it’s perfect for carrying along with the main yarn while working heels and toes. My socks (and The Boy’s too for that matter) always wear out at the ball of the heel. I think it should be fairly simple to reinforce that area in upcoming socks. I may even take the reinforcing thread and work it into our existing socks in that area to see if it helps stave off future holes.
I’ve got two other small administrative notes. First, Wednesday is the last day to leave a comment on this post for a chance to win one of three free patterns. Second, a new sock is coming out either at the end of this week or the beginning of next week. This is one of the (many) secret projects that’s been depriving you of pictures over the last few months. It’s finally ready to go and will be here soon!
