Finally it’s over finally i can share.
This year, i mean last year, i finished uni in September and, although i had a few selfish knits on the go and planned, i decided to knit some of my Christmas presents. I admit the initial plan was much more grand than the outcome, but i still think i did well.
Three pairs of socks & a scarf in just a couple of months
I started with some rich red socks with a fluffy cuff. These were meant for a lovely lady that loves all things fluffy and her favourite colour is red. I was very worried at first to knit for someone else especially because i knew that her shoe size is quite a bit smaller. How do you know when to start the toe?! Somehow i managed, it involved googling foot lengths and getting her husband to measure her feet at night. Long story, it is creepy.
I used an after thought heel method for this and even nailed the kitchener stitch on one heel and toe, the other kinda went to shit but still were okay. I got angry with that stitch though every single time. Not a fan!
I made up the pattern as i went along. Most of the sock is done in plain knit apart form the fluffy cuff and the pattern on the ankle using single purl stitches to create diamond shapes. For this project i used Debbie Bliss Rialto DK in the shade Scarlet and 3.5mm knitpro dpn’s. Oh and for the cuff i used Sirdar Alpine DK in shade Oxblood – softest thing in the universe.
On the side i started my second gift knit – a scarf for my co-worker Oliver. He’s been bugging me for a golf jumper ever since he found out i’m knitting and i have been turning him down for the same amount of time… Reason being that i just don’t feel confident enough for a gift knit of that scale and precision… Anyhow, i did feel bad so i decided to knit him a scarf as i thought socks wouldn’t really be his thing, but a good scarf is a very useful thing for everyone.
It was quite a ball-ache to come up with the colour scheme. He kinda likes bright and colourful things, yet every time i tried to ask about what colours he liked, turned out he didn’t like most of them. He’s a nightmare basically…
I decided on a neutral grey for the main body with some colourful accents using yarns from other Christmas gift knits. I got the inspiration form a golf jumper in fact, i took the crossed diamond pattern and added my variation of it at both ends of the scarf. Just to make it a tad more personal i included his name on one end as well.
Obviously i didn’t think everything through completely prior starting this scarf. What do you do with the ends and the wrong side of the colour work pattern bit??? It’s a mess that no level of end weaving skills can fix. I eventually decided to pick up stitches just below the pattern on the wrong side and knit a cover in plain stockinette just the size of the patterned square to hide the messy bits. I’m very confident to say my idea worked brilliantly. Chuffed to bits.
Oh, and the main body of the scarf is done in double seed stitch i think, if i’m not wrong. I used two (not all of second) 50g Patons 4 ply virgin wool balls in shade Pewter, plus bits of Debbie Bliss Rialto DK and 3.5mm knitpro needles.
The second set of socks was also done using after thought heel technique where i grew to hate the kitchener stitch even more…
Again, my style, i was making the pattern as i was going along. I did two by two rib cuff then moved onto the plain stockinette where i used purl stitches to create a pattern of some kind. I normally grab a piece of paper with dots or squares and mock up the sock pattern. I assume one square is one stitch and then i just decide which squares/stitches will be purled which knitted.
These were also made in Debbie Bliss Rialto DK (shades Teal & Mustard) using 3.5mm knitpro dpn’s. I kinda went mad on the DB DK, it was on sale, what can i say…
And the last Christmas knit was also a pair of socks but this time using the normal, standard, traditional, all time favourite method of mine with heel flaps, gussets and all that jazz. Screw the kitchener stich, ain’t using you again.
These were also meant for a feisty precious flower so i decided to make a fluffy cuff using Sirdar Snuggly Snowflake yarn in shade 0627. Main body is also done in Sirdar but this time in their Snuggly DK in shade 0446. Again, i used the same technique as previously – made the pattern up as i went along mainly in stockinette with purl stitches for a snowflake pattern.
So that is that, my Christmas gift knits. I enjoy knitting and i enjoy knitting for others because it is a nice feeling knowing somebody is wearing and enjoying what you’ve made. Selfish knits are cool, don’t get me wrong, but i can only wear so many things myself… i can’t justify only knitting for myself…
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Oh, i lied. Snowflake socks weren’t my last Christmas knit. Well, no, it was, i suppose as what i mean is crochet… hmm… got myself confused. Nonetheless, here, i crochet some vans slippers as part of my Secret Santa gift. 😀
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