Well, I did it! I made socks.
They may have taken me months to finish, and I may have been thisclose to giving up on more than one occasion, but I did it! And I’m so glad because these are the comfiest things to have ever graced my feet.
My online turned offline bestest Ani felt the same, but also that it was something worth trying, so we made a pack to knit out first pair together. We bought the yarn on a trip to Boston (our first time meeting in real life… It was magical) and chose the BFF pattern because, well… Hi, we’re BFFs.
We turned it into an Instagram knitalong, where I promptly proved myself to be both the slowest and least engaged knitalong host on record. Two weeks into it I was coming up with excuses to bail. Others were posting pictures of finished socks, while I was threatening to throw my measly inch of progress off a balcony.
As they say, the struggle was real.
It wasn’t because it was particularly hard or complicated… I just wasn’t into it. I had mentally filed socks under ‘things not worth knitting’, so anytime I picked them up I started thinking about all the other things I’d rather be working on. Not exactly setting yourself up for success, is it?
But a couple inches in, the cable pattern started feeling comfortable. Dare I say, this was kind of cool?
And then, the heel. Let me tell you, turning a heel is the most satisfying thing. It’s pure wizardry and was the turning point (… see what I did there?) in me decided this sock knitting thing wasn’t so bad after all.
I mean look at that gusset, it’s a thing of beauty!
(These measurements are taken before washing and blocking… I know, sue me. They’re just so comfortable I haven’t taken them off).
I’ve since been told this wasn’t a stellar sock yarn choice. Apparently you’re better off choosing a wool yarn with a little nylon blended in it, for extra durability, or a superwash wool. So I don’t know if I’m going to have issues with these wearing through or loosing their shape… I guess I’ll find out!
So far I’ve noticed that they’ve stretched out in the width, but not the length. They’re not staying as tight around my calf as I would like.
For what it’s worth coming from a first time sock knitter, I’d definitely recommend this pattern. I love the look and fit, and it’s really not too complicated once you get into it. You can also omit the cables if you like.