I started a pair of socks for myself. I mentioned this on the knitting site - the yarn turned out to be something called “self striping” yarn, which just means that you get very cool stripes without changing yarns - the stripes are built into the dyed yarn. So I decided to use a pattern out of sensational knitted socks, which has become my SOCK BIBLE that’s specifically designed for self-striping yarn.
The only issue is that I’ve only done toe up socks before - that is, start knitting at the toe end, and then moving up to the leg and cuff. The chevron self-striping sock pattern starts at the cuff and leg, and then moves down to the toe. This doesn’t seem like such a big deal, but it is when it comes to the heel. There are all kinds of ways to turn a heel, and they’re all a bit complicated. With the toe first socks, I used a short row heel. OK, I did start at the cuff for the baby socks I made a while back, and I used a flap heel. But they were tiny and easy.
This pattern uses something called an “afterthought” heel. I believe this is a way of doing the heel so that the stripes will match up perfectly. Maybe other methods would do the same, I’m not sure. Whatever, I’ll deal with it when I get there, right? I happily knit away at the cuff and leg of the sock.
Now I’m at the part where I should start the heel. I have to use another needle and do a provisional cast on (blah blah blah, to the non-knitters), OK, done…
And I read this:
Take yarn from other side of skein. Locate part of painted pattern you’re currently working in, and start using that.
What’s the problem? you ask. Just pull the yarn from the other side of the skein!
THIS IS THE PROBLEM!!!
Do you see a skein???? NO. It’s a ball. I wind EVERY skein into a ball, because inevitably, if I use a skein as is, halfway through I pull out some god-awful knot of satan that is PAIN to straighten out. So I wind everything into balls.
Leaving the yarn from the “other end” quite inaccessible.
OK, 3 choices, and I ask the knitters out there.
1. Unwind the ball into another ball to get to the other end, and then REWIND it back when the heel is finished.
2. Cut the yarn and try to match up color patterns when all joining occurs.
3. try another heel method that works with self-striping yarns.
any ideas?
and OH MY GOD, if a pattern is going to call for using BOTH ends of the yarn, they SHOULD WARN YOU ABOUT THAT AHEAD OF TIME, BEFORE YOU WIND IT INTO A FUCKING BALL!!!!
The question is: How much do you care about whether the heel stripes are perfectly continuous with the rest of the sock? If you care, you’ll need to find that end. Your best bet is to unwind it and rewind it later, that way you don’t interrupt the sequence for the next bit. If you don’t care, just keep knitting the heel with the end you’re using. Personally, I am not burdened down with the perfectionist’s curse, so I’d just knit along and then think to myself how NEXT TIME I was gonna try that special striping heel thing. If I remembered.
I’m with Jen, I just don’t care that much. And after the fun of unwinding a ball of yarn last week to wind it into two center pull balls so I could knit two socks at once? Not anxious to do that again or inflict that pain upon others.
And PS, maybe it’s called an afterthought because that part of the directions was an afterthought?
If they were thin stripes of lots of colors, I wouldn’t mind so much. But these are fairly wide stripes of only 3 colors. It would be very obvious if they didn’t match up.
too…anal retentive…can’t…not….match!!!
I’m thinking I’m cutting. I’ll just have more ends to weave in at the end, that’s all.
I posted at craftster to see if anyone has any ideas there. So far…not much.
I guess this is my fault since I did in fact start with a skein. But what if I had started from a hank? Not everyone has the skilz to do a center pull ball (hello, ME!) These instructions are just WHACK!!!
Being both a guy and a non-knitter, I would just keep going and end up with a funky looking sock. Which I would proudly wear cause it was funky looking.
I thought the meds were supposed to help with anal retentive?
hmmm…if anything they might make me MORE so. Wellbutrin is supposed to help with staying focused.
ESC likes hitting the skein and playing with balls.
See, Michael, that would have been funnier if you had said “slapping some skein.”
I enjoy your blogs very much….can’t wait to read the next one
Jesse, are you real or are you a spammer? Because that SOUNDS like a spam comment…except that there is no link. And your email looks legit.
Mikey - leave it to you to make something innocent seem so very dirty. and that’s what we all love about you
Short row heels.
They’ll match from where they start, and the part that doesn’t match will be under your foot.
*Supposedly* the afterthought heel’s purpose was so the heels could be easily replaced when they wore out. Back when they used to do that kind of stuff. I’ve also heard they’re like so/totally/rad when you don’t know exactly how long someone’s foot is, you can just keep knitting and then go back later and place the heel where it needs to be. I know a sales pitch when I hear one, and I’m thinking someone’s getting rich off this afterthought heel scam. Now how do we get in on the cash?
Oh but hey couldn’t you just leave off the heel, go knit the other sock until you find the end you need and then you’re ahead on sock 2 AND have stripey goodness? Dude, I’m gonna be so rich.