Two Socks, One Week: Block Those Socks

Baseline: Sock 1 and 2, Day 7
Timeline: 20 minutes / Step 9

The great thing about socks is that, if you work from one continuous ball of yarn, you'll have but two ends to weave in on each sock - the one at the cuff and the one at the heel. I'm sure you'll agree, it doesn't get much less fussy than that.

Here is a tutorial about weaving in the ends, though I'm sure you're old hat at it...

And here's a photo of sock blockers, the likes of which I use:

Clio got me into these... You know how I love a gizmo.

After weaving in the ends, I like to block my socks once, by hand washing in Soak. I use the scent-free kind and add some lavender essential oil for a bit of anti-bacterial fragrance. After washing and rinsing, I roll the socks gently in a towel, first shaping them, and then pressing firmly with my hands. After this, I unroll the towel and slip the socks onto the blockers and I place them, vertically, over a heat vent. They'll dry to perfect shape in under 3 hours this way.

 
Mind you, you can almost as easily lay them out, carefully shaping so that they're exactly the same size and shape, on a dry towel and leave them overnight. That does a good job too.

From here on in, I'll put these babies in the washer and dryer.

But let's cut to the chase. Here's a shot of my finished, blocked socks:

While it doesn't look it in real life, these socks seem quite distinct from one another in photos.

Pretty cute, huh?

(In truth, this yarn, while fantastic to knit with, didn't produce the tightest fabric for me - it's perhaps a bit soft for my loose gauge. My rib is not ribby enough for my liking, though I'm sure, when machine washed, the socks will shrink a bit in the cuff area. Furthermore, now that I'm moving from British style to flicking, my gauge is much firmer. I've just bought another skein of this yarn, in a new colourway. I'm looking forward to applying new knitting techniques to this wool.)

That's the beauty of every pair of hand knit socks - they all have their own mind and hand. From now on, per my results with this sock (actually knit after the one shown in the photo above), I'm definitely going down a needle size in the ribbing, and will continue to make the rib with K2P1. I'm in the mood for a tighter cuff.)

So that's that. I'd love it if you'd link me to photos of your finished socks, or flip me a pic. I would love to see - and profile - your fabulous handiwork!

And, next time you make socks, whether you're a convert to the magic loop method or no, I hope you will bring some of the tips and techniques we've discussed over the last week and month. As always, feel free to leave any outstanding questions in the comments.

Peace out Knit Alongers. Way to start the new year :-) xo