The Elizabeth Zimmerman Mocassin Sock
Well, it's that time of year again - in fact my son tells me I'm several months late - for knitting him some new work socks! No let me be clear - I am happy to knit him socks, but it's always so depressing that the cuffs stay in great shape and the toes and heels are shot. Then it occurred to me that I had read something about that very idea in one of Elizabeth's books and eventually found my way into her Knitter's Almanac. She had indeed given long consideration to this dilemma and engineered a resole-able sock, based on a baby bootie pattern.
I started the first "test" sock without making a gauge swatch (brilliant, no?). I reasoned that my regular toe-up pattern used 40 stitches and hers called for 44 so I figured they were close enough I'd end up with a more or less useable sock. I mean, how much difference could 4 stitches make?? Yes, I can hear you chuckling! At this gauge, (4 stitches to the inch) it makes a difference! But I digress!
The first modification I made is that her pattern calls for the cuff to be knit flat then seamed. D'oh! Out came the DPNs and I finished it in the round. Then you knit down the instep and around the end of the toe. Then stitches are picked up all around the edge of the sole and the bottom finished on a small circ going round and round. Totally bizarre when you're knitting with only her pithy written instructions and NO pictures! The heel is an odd little triangle you make using short rows. I discovered that if I wrapped the turns they were more firm and less hole-y as her instructions didn't mention wrapping the turns. I felt this was an important improvement. At any rate it took me almost a week to complete the test sock and nearly 2 weeks to complete the first pair after making all the adjustments my son needed after he tried on the test sock.
And of course, being a total stranger to Kitchener stitch, since I make all my regular socks toe-up and seamless, I did a nasty poor job sewing up the seam on the sole of the test sock. So now I'm done the first pair, with marginally better seams, and waiting for him to come home on New Year's to try them out. Wish me luck - I'm not sure he's going to like them as well as my regulars but I figured it was worth a try because next year I'd rather be re-soling than knitting from scratch again!
I started the first "test" sock without making a gauge swatch (brilliant, no?). I reasoned that my regular toe-up pattern used 40 stitches and hers called for 44 so I figured they were close enough I'd end up with a more or less useable sock. I mean, how much difference could 4 stitches make?? Yes, I can hear you chuckling! At this gauge, (4 stitches to the inch) it makes a difference! But I digress!
The first modification I made is that her pattern calls for the cuff to be knit flat then seamed. D'oh! Out came the DPNs and I finished it in the round. Then you knit down the instep and around the end of the toe. Then stitches are picked up all around the edge of the sole and the bottom finished on a small circ going round and round. Totally bizarre when you're knitting with only her pithy written instructions and NO pictures! The heel is an odd little triangle you make using short rows. I discovered that if I wrapped the turns they were more firm and less hole-y as her instructions didn't mention wrapping the turns. I felt this was an important improvement. At any rate it took me almost a week to complete the test sock and nearly 2 weeks to complete the first pair after making all the adjustments my son needed after he tried on the test sock.
And of course, being a total stranger to Kitchener stitch, since I make all my regular socks toe-up and seamless, I did a nasty poor job sewing up the seam on the sole of the test sock. So now I'm done the first pair, with marginally better seams, and waiting for him to come home on New Year's to try them out. Wish me luck - I'm not sure he's going to like them as well as my regulars but I figured it was worth a try because next year I'd rather be re-soling than knitting from scratch again!
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