Saturday, May 17, 2008

Flats for Socks










Here is a variation on my former project of knitting up 'round' on my circular sock machine. This is a 'flat' from a flatbed knitting machine and the yarn is from the trial run of my newest yarn, to be released this summer. It is W2D4 Platinum Sock, my first blend using nylon, a 75/25 blend of superwash merino with nylon in a 4-ply sock yarn. This is going to be a winner.
Since I still have not mastered the heel on my CSM, I'm going to knit up to the heel on the machine, then finish them on the needles. Will add a picture of the finished knitting as the project progresses.



Next day: Attaching picture of the upper leg of sock, knit on my circular sock machine, but since I have not yet mastered turning a heel on the machine, I knit up some waste yarn and will finish the sock on my 12" round needles-of-choice. See how nicely the dye pattern shows up in the knitting? This will be a short sock of 60 rows, which took approximately 2 minutes to knit on the machine. This toy is for those who are into instant gratification. Oh, well, the idea of 'instant' does exclude the learning curve of mastering the sock machine.



Now I know why there are CSM's out there in perfect condition. They lay in someone's attic for 100 years after everyone in the family gave up on the thing!
I will master the heel.
I will master the heel.
I will master the heel.

Few days later ... Adding a picture of one finished sock against the knitted flat. I tried to line up the colorations in the flat with the resulting fabric to show the effects of color and pattern from the flat to the fabric. This is my first experiment. I chose to use only two colors with white space, effectively 3 colors. Just dumb luck that the colorations came out so well distributed in the sock elements of leg, heel, foot and toe.
I do have a problem with the flatbed machine because it is made for worsted weight and here I am playing with fingering weight. A friend who has three machines, is playing around with some BFL Ultra! on her machines, and I hope to learn a bit more about which machines will produce the best flats for socks.
Not too bad for a first experiment!

5 comments:

ngagchu said...

I too will:

master the heel
master the heel
master the heel

After all, the CSM lay in the closet for 70 years, and it needs to do heels again! Good luck to you, Sheila, and do post your success!

op said...

The dyeing on the flat is awesome and your knitted piece, well, would you love to pass it on? I think you are doing a wonderful job, I KNOW you will master the heel---if only because we are both too stubborn not to!!! Keep on keeping on!! Page

Anonymous said...

I can't wait for the new sock yarn
Yummeeyarn

Nancy said...

Love those colors! That looks like a ton of fun, splashing dye onto knitting, unraveling it, and knitting a sock. I want to play, too!
Make a big announcement when your Platinum yarn is ready for sale. It sounds like a winner!

Anonymous said...

So cant wait for theses Sheila :) :)