Fine and Dandy
These photos don’t look very “winter” do they? It’s Second Spring here in Southeast Texas, but I’m knitting away on the wool socks anyhow. You probably recognize the Fine and Dandy sock pattern. If you knit and are on Instagram, you’ve seen them. If you knit socks at all, you’ve seen them. If you don’t knit and don’t think you’ve seen them, you have and they’re rattling around in your subconscious.
They are a big hit with the sock knitting crowd. I’d be interested to know how many pairs of these have been entered in the Box o Sox Knit-along, but that thread is so monstrous that by the time I finish looking my son will be standing in front of a darkened school building with a long, white beard. So, let’s assume there are tons of them.
I started my pair months ago with the Indie Designers KAL hosted by the designer, Jessica Gore (The Sweater Collective.) I failed to finish them with the group, but it wasn’t for lack of interest. These have a tricky little stitch to them that is sort of addictive to work on. The OCD part of my brain that quotes my grandfather saying, “Never put off ’til tomorrow what you can do today.” compelled me to knit row after row, swearing each would be my last. That’s the crazy-eyed, driven part of my brain that gets things done. We’re all secretly grateful for that part.
I am so pleased with how they turned out. The stitch pattern and delicate yarn, along with the eye of partridge heel, look so vintage and sweet.
I opted to do cuffs, heels, and toes in a cream color from Valley Yarns Huntington. That’s a great, inexpensive yarn for contrast colors.
Details: I used size US 0 Karbonz needles and Miss Mothballs‘ Soft Sock base in the Bird’s Egg colorway. Tell me this doesn’t look like it’s namesake!
It’s an 80% merino wool /20% nylon yarn. That little extra 5% of merino makes such a difference in softness and halo. I don’t really have to worry about durability as much as most knitters because I don’t have many weeks in which to wear wool socks. I’m not sure if I have a preference between 20% or 25% nylon, but my heels and toes were knit with a 75/25 yarn, so I should be good.
Before this year, I didn’t have enough hand knit socks to experiment with fiber types. Two pair were knee socks that required the right outfit and so were rarely worn. The other pair was knit in Lion Brand Magic Stripes with Knit Picks Stroll for the heels and toes. That’s a 75/25 sock yarn and it’s still going strong, even after being thrown in the dryer a few times.
My big Box o Sox will give me plenty of opportunities to decide my favorite sock yarn composition. But, guys!! I am so far behind on this challenge. The Fine and Dandy socks are pair number 8. I will Kitchener the toe closed on pair 9 tonight but that still leaves three pairs to be knit in December. Ugh! My many cabled sweater plans are fading out of view. RSI here I come!!
(more on ravelry, kollabora, instagram, and flickr)
My previous post on these socks is here.
