No-Think Socks? I Think So!

My mom was a woman of short cuts. If there was a product out there labeled "instant," she'd be on it. Once, she painted the living room and kept changing the color because it wasn't quite right. Then, all the layers of paint peeled off and fell to the floor because she didn't let the paint dry in between coats.

Although I do get impatient from time to time, I didn't get that gene. I like to make things from scratch. I like to watch things grow. I don't mind waiting. Maybe that's why knitting is so much fun for me. I'm really not in too much of a hurry and it's okay if the instructions are tedious once in awhile. I mean, there's a place and time for a challenge and a place and time for something quick and dirty. Sometimes, I like to knit a plain ol' vanilla sock, and sometimes I like to be presented with something that takes more thought.

But here's the thing: When I saw Arne & Carlos' Regia Pairfect sock yarn, I nearly swooned.

Now, this stuff delivers the ultimate in "no-think socks." All you do is start from the center of the ball (I'm someone who takes from the outside, but I can deal with it), remove the yellow "leader" yarn, cast on, work your cuff in the contrast color, and when it starts self-patterning, you just knit the body of the sock. After that, when the contrast color starts coming at you, you work your heel and when you're done, you just keep knitting until you again hit the solid contrast color and work your toe. When you've finished with the toe and kitchener the thing together (I'm assuming you could work toe-up socks with this as well), you just remove the rest of the yarn, including a second length of "leader" yarn and do it all over again for the second sock.

You're probably wondering how the patterning accounts for different sized socks. I knit the blue pair using 64 stitches and making about a size 8 ladies size sock. So, if you just use the yarn as intended, you will have a longer cuff with a longer leg than you would with a pair of socks that start out with, say 72 stitches.

The only issue I had was with the heel. I usually make a heel flap but if you want the contrast heel to look correct, you pretty much have to do a short-row heel. I have only done one once a long time ago and had to look up how to do it. Man, that first heel was a mess with all the double wraps you have to fix. There were so many holes, I had to go in and darn them closed. With the second sock, I did make a short row heel again, but this time I didn't try to fix the wraps. Leaving them alone was much neater. You can see how wonky and thick the heel of the first sock looks.

I have nearly finished this blue pair and have one more pair to do. Then, I'm going to buy some more of this yarn. Like I said, this stuff is the ultimate in "no-think socks"!

BTW: I bought my Pairfect yarn at Simply Socks Yarn Company. They have great customer service and fast shipping. They also carry lots of other sock yarns.

Second BTW: I was very pleased to hear that Knit and Tonic is featured in Crafty Like Granny's Top 100 Blogs to Read in 2018. (I guess I better start writing more often!)

Comments

[Just a reader]

Hi! Messy wraps issue in short rows can be easily eliminated by using German method for short rows. For example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6n561SMZXQ (part 1 - Purl to knit) and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KooKdm0YBbw (part 2 - Knit to purl)
It's my favourite method now. )))

[Andrea]

Hi. I hated short rows with a flaming passion until I switched to shadow wrap short rows. There are a few tutorials online. No wraps, no holes and no messing around. They are amazing for sock heels and are very straightforward.

[Marsha]

WOW...............it's about time there was a sock yarn that did the thinking for you. LOL How great is that?

[Wendy]

Thanks for the tips! I just started the other pair and I'll be sure to watch the videos before I do the next set of heels!