Monthly Archives: October 2016

Knitted cuff down socks

As the temperatures cool and the nights start drawing in, my thoughts turn to cosy clothing and a spot of knitting. I really like my first pair of knitted socks and was keen to make some more, but also to try different styles. So when I saw the Craftsy knit original cuff down socks class on sale, I enrolled right away.

If you want to knit socks with easy customisation options I would highly recommend this class (there is also an equivalent toe up class if that is your preference). The tutor Donna Druchunas takes you through the fundamentals of sock construction, including a variety of stitch patterns suitable for socks along with both video walk throughs and written patterns for 3 heals and 3 toes so you can mix and match to your heart’s content.

cuff down knitted socks

While I love the self striping pattern of my first pair, my skin is quite sensitive to wool so I can only comfortably wear them over tights or other socks. Hence for my next pair, I wanted a yarn that was cotton based with no wool content – turns out this is not easy to find in a sock yarn! Eventually I found a yarn called superba cotton stretch which is 79% cotton, 18% polyamide, 3% polyester at Liss Wools, a lovely village shop in Hampshire near my parents. I’m afraid I can’t find a link to the same yarn, but I brought colours 003 and 004.

knitted cuff down socks

Despite the many stitch options covered in the class, I felt that a classic pair of socks in stocking stitch would work well with the solid colour yarn I had. Although I used a contrast colour for the cuff, heal and toe to add interest. I ended up unraveling and restarting twice in order to get them the right size as they started out way too baggy. I see now why the rib pattern of my first version was such a good choice, far more forgiving fit wise!

knitted cuff down socks

For the cuff I did a simple 1×1 rib then the heal and toe are short rows which I hadn’t done before. It wasn’t until I’d done the heal of a sock that I could try them on to make accurate assessment of the fit, so the unraveling meant I got plenty of practice at short rows! Once I got the hang of it, I didn’t find it very difficult and like the look it gives with the solid colour socks. The heals get quite stretched out when wearing which shows a few small holes where the heals start, which probably means my technique could do with some improvement!

I really enjoyed working on the socks – a great project to work on while watching TV or chilling out with friends/family as the majority is just simple knitting in the round. So it wasn’t long before I had the next pair cast on using the opposite colour combination.

striped knitted cuff down socks

I decided to go for a stripe pattern this time as I wasn’t sure I wanted so much pink. I don’t think I was carrying the blue yarn in the best way as there is a bit of a ridge down the stitches on which I was switching, but I don’t think it really matters for a project. I might even call it a design feature!

striped knitted cuff down socks

The yarn is lovely and I like the colours together, but I think there were only one or two other solid colours to choose from at the shop. Must admit I feel a little disappointed at the fact that of the many lovely self striping sock yarns out there I couldn’t find any that had no wool, so if you know of any non wool sock yarns, especially of the self patterning variety, please let me know!

striped knitted cuff down socks

I’m very tempted to make myself another pair as I enjoy knitting them, but if I’m honest with myself 3 pairs of knitted socks is really all I need. Perhaps I should switch to a pair of mittens for a similarly straight forward knitting project!

Are you a sock knitter? Do you have a favourite heal and toe style or preference between knitting them cuff down or toe up?

Grainline Scout Tee

This make is all about the fabric for me – it is a gorgeous soft viscose that I brought on sale at John Lewis a couple of years ago. Back then I didn’t yet appreciate the value of a good quality fabric and even at half price this was the most expensive fabric I’d brought at that time so I only purchased a metre. I dutifully prewashed it as soon as I got home, but then it was left sitting in my stash as I didn’t feel confident enough to do it justice.

A few more successful makes under my belt and it was time for this to come out of the stash. Having only a metre meant I couldn’t use my go to top pattern the Sewaholic Belcarra (I need 1.25 metres for that) but thought it would be good to try something different anyway!

Grainline Scout Tee

Enter the Grainline Scout Tee. I’d only heard good things about this pattern from my friend Caroline – check out seven of her Scout Tees that she wore this year for one week one pattern here. Her day five Scout is actually the same fabric in a different colour way so I knew this pattern would be a good choice! Also, I was keen to try another woven top without darts for a design that doesn’t break up the pattern of the fabric (not that it would matter much with this abstract print!) and it is one less thing to worry about when fitting the garment.

Grainline Scout Tee

My bust measurement would put me at a size 8 but I went for size 10 since I have broad shoulders and didn’t want to make a toile. I also lengthened the top a bit since I’m tall. I’m pretty happy with the fit of this in the soft flowing fabric, but think it would be too boxy for me in a stiffer fabric.

Grainline Scout Tee side view

It is my first Grainline pattern and got on fine with the instructions (although this is quite a simple make so not much of a test). One thing to take note of is that the seam allowance is half an inch rather than the usual 5/8. I wanted to use french seams and found the smaller seam allowance a bit tricky for this on the shoulder seams as I don’t have a quarter inch foot. So for the side seams I decided to make it a bit easier on myself and sewed a 5/8 seam allowance, given there was plenty of ease and I’d sized up this wasn’t a problem.

With the flowing fabric and smaller seam/hem allowances I also found the neckline and sleeve hem a bit tricky to sew up neatly so next time I’ll probably use slightly wider allowances there to make it quicker to sew.

Grainline Scout Tee back view

Overall I’m very happy with this make and it has been worn quite a lot already! I love the print and the bright colours and even though it is a basic design think the quality of the fabric really steps it up so this top can be easily dressed up as well as down. Also I have been totally convinced that it is worth paying a bit more for good quality fabric as it makes this such a joy to wear!

Grainline Scout Tee