Attempting A Sock

from JoeUser Forums
I've been really curious about using 4 double pointed needles (DPNS) to knit in the round so I'm taking a little break from the scarf to give it a try. I don't have enough sport weight yarn to make a pair of socks so I have to use worsted weight. The trouble is, the only DPNS I have are US size 3. Not the ideal combination and I had to adjust the pattern accordingly. I just hope I adjusted correctly or they'll be an odd looking pair of socks for sure.

This is the first time I've attempted using DPNS, and while I feel like I'm all thumbs trying to handle all 4 needles at the same time, I managed to complete the first round without poking out an eye or anything.

Nothing like a bit of a challenge to pass the time.
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5,372 views 15 replies
Reply #1 from JoeUser Forums Top

You're a brave man, Mason.  Not so much for the DPN's, but for the sz 3 needles and worsted weight yarn. 

Socks can be tricky, especially when you've made your heel flap and have to pick up stitches to create your instep.  If you need help, let me know....and this site has been very helpful to me:http://www.royea.net/sockdemo1.html

Stitch N Bitch also recommends this site for sock knitters:http://www.socknitters.com/sockpatterns/sockpatterns.htm

Good luck!  Oh, and if you're looking for sock yarn, I highly recommend www.knitpicks.com . Look under their sock and fingering yarn categories; you can get sock yarn starting at $1.99 for a couple of hundred yards.

Reply #2 from JoeUser Forums Top
Thanks Dharma. I just frogged it as the worsted weight just wasn't working on those tiny needles. I'm going to get some sock yarn to use as well as an assortment of larger DPNS.

Thanks for the links, I'll check them out.
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Reply #3 from JoeUser Forums Top
Wow I really tried to grasp this but the jargon! Might as well have been a Swahili discourse on the nature of evil...
Reply #4 from JoeUser Forums Top
Reply #5 from JoeUser Forums Top
You can also use circs instead of dpn... there is a magic loop method. Good luck.. Amy has video's on socks on web site... Good luck.. know you can do it!
Reply #6 from JoeUser Forums Top
You can also use circs instead of dpn... there is a magic loop method. Good luck.. Amy has video's on socks on web site... Good luck.. know you can do it!
Reply #7 from JoeUser Forums Top
What a coinkidink! I'm reading a book about a woman who just opened a knitting store and she's knitting a pair of socks! She's using circular needles, two of them! She said that's the modern method. The name of the book is The Shop on Blossom Street by Debbie MaComber. When I got it from the library I didn't realised it was about knitting. It's interesting so far!


Good luck with the socks - and yeah, pictures please!
Reply #8 from JoeUser Forums Top
Huh...well...I managed to get sock and double point needles out of that...the rest is all Greek to me.

~Zoo
Reply #9 from JoeUser Forums Top
You can also use circs instead of dpn... there is a magic loop method. Good luck.. Amy has video's on socks on web site... Good luck.. know you can do it!


Thanks. I'll try circs eventually but want to master DPNS first. I just have to have the right yarn and needles for the job. Those size 3 would be fine with a decent sock yarn, but no way with worsted.
Reply #10 from JoeUser Forums Top
She's using circular needles, two of them! She said that's the modern method.


Yeah, that seems to be a popular way to go these days. I'll try it some time but I want to learn the more traditional styles first.

Good luck with the socks - and yeah, pictures please!


Thanks. Since I already frogged it due to a serious yarn/needle mismatch they'll have to be on hold for a little while.
Reply #11 from JoeUser Forums Top
Huh...well...I managed to get sock and double point needles out of that...the rest is all Greek to me.

~Zoo


Gotta love jargon eh?
Reply #12 from JoeUser Forums Top
Gotta love jargon eh?


Only when I know it...now I'm pretty sure I know what my parents feel like when I talk to them about anything that interests me in this day and age.

~Zoo
Reply #13 from JoeUser Forums Top
Only when I know it...now I'm pretty sure I know what my parents feel like when I talk to them about anything that interests me in this day and age.

~Zoo


Reply #14 from JoeUser Forums Top
The double points are a pain in the ass on the smaller sizes. I'm doing better with a set of size 4s....or is it 4mm. Meh.

Regardless, I'm using worsted weight merino following that pattern on Socks 101 and coming out okay, but starting was an absolute nightmare.

Jargon translation, DPN = double pointed needles. Circs (circular needles) are two needles joined in the middle by some fishing line or nylon.

Usually you transfer yarn from one needle to another in traditional knitting, but with circular needles you just join the two ends of whatever you're working on, go round and round and slide it on the line.

Worsted weight is a yarn thickness that's erm, maybe a third the thickness of thin clothesline. Sports weight is thinner yarn, so your socks don't come out something like .5" thick.

A heel flap is a heel flap, and an instep is an instep.
Reply #15 from JoeUser Forums Top
Regardless, I'm using worsted weight merino following that pattern on Socks 101 and coming out okay, but starting was an absolute nightmare.


I can well imagine. I'll be trying it again when I get some larger needle sizes. I want to make a pair of socks using worsted weight so they'll be nice and warm, but it's almost impossible using the size 3 needles.

Getting started was tricky, and probably made worse by the needle/yarn size mismatch. I did learn a lot in the attempt.

Doing it on circs does sound interesting and I'm sure I'll eventually give that a try as well.