Lene asked me if I have crocheted socks. I have made a couple of attempts. I've never been entirely happy with them. Here's some evidence as to why:There are several things wrong with these socks. The primary one is that they are made of acrylic (I didn't discover wool yarn until I started knitting, because I thought that Michael's and Beverly's (craft stores) were the only stores where you could buy yarn. Oh, and Wal-Mart, but I don't want to shop there).
But you'll also note the square heel. This could have been fixed — it's a pattern problem, crochet is very good at making three-dimensional shapes — but I was following the pattern strictly at the time.
The cuff is an issue as well. Crochet is good at making stretchy horizontal ribbing, but not so much vertical ribbing. This is "fake" ribbing — it doesn't really stretch at all. One could do the cuffs horizontally, then seam into a tube, then pick up for the feet; if I were doing it again, I would do it this way.
Finally, though this is made with fingering-weight yarn, the sock is several times as thick as a knitted sock. This is simply the nature of crochet. I love crochet, think it kicks knitting's ass for several applications, and I believe it's easier to learn and more forgiving than knitting (admittedly, I'm biased because I've crocheted so long!), but I don't think it applies well to socks. These do better as slippers, really.
You could use crochet for some *gorgeous* lacy trims on top edges of socks.. picot has nothing on crocheted edgings, trust me. Maybe I'll try that sometime and show y'all.
On the other hand this pattern had a pretty shell motif (click to enlarge and see), and I thought that was pretty.
Lene, by the way, writes like petals on silk and you should read her blog.
No comments:
Post a Comment