A flat sock complete - a holey flat sock. My previous flat sock attempt was done using a #4 yarn with #6 (4mm) straight needles. As you can see in my previous blog entry, that sock came out looking like a medieval bootie - not good. However, I learned quite a bit from that effort.
I'd used the First Sock pattern from the Knit Your Socks On Straight book in my last attempt. I decided to use the Green Leaves pattern for this attempt.
From my ever-growing stash, I gathered Serenity sock yarn and 2.5mm straight needles.
This would be my first use of needles of this size. I had previously tried this yarn using the KB original sock loom but I lost patience as it seemed to take forever to make progress on that loom. It might have been my lack of skill but that is why I decided to try to make flat socks using straight needles.
After a few false starts - I found it difficult to cast on and get the first ribbing row started - these stitches were so small - I managed to make it all the way to the toe.
I counted about 5 holes - not too bad, I thought. You see the final stitches on a holder in the above photo. I wanted to fix the holes before sewing the seam so I put those stitches on a holder and held the wound seam yarn with a stitch holder. A few holes were large enough to easily pick out in normal lighting. However, to ensure I found them all, I held the sock up to the light - holes quickly showed themselves!
To fix the holes, I simply darned them using yarn matching the area of the hole. Because these stitches were so small, I used a large bore sewing needle instead of a yarn needle to make the patches.
The photo shows the finished darn with loose ends on the right side of the sock. The next step would be to pull the loose ends to the wrong side using a crochet hook.
With the ends of the repair yarn now on the wrong side of the fabric, you can knot the ends and weave the ends into the fabric.
I used the sewing needle to sew the seam. The pattern calls for using a crochet hook. To keep the seam as flat as possible, I sewed the seam using a running type stitch being careful to match the tension of the sock fabric.
At the end, the sock didn't fit me - it was too short in the foot. My lack of patience again - argh! I think it will fit my grandson. He's coming to visit next week. If it fits him, I'll make the other one for the pair.
I'm still determined to make myself a pair of socks and have already started this pattern again using a bigger stitch count.
Wish me luck!
Update: 6/13/2020
I didn't make a matching sock for my grandson. He lives in Florida - not much need for wool socks in Florida. As my knitting increased, I decided to purchase a set of needles. I prefer stainless steel or aluminum needles.
Here are links to the products I used: