Sock Fix: Swiss Darning

My mending pile now remains filled with MY items...always the last to be looked after...what is it they say about the cobbler's shoes?

My first pair of socks that I knit for myself are from 2007, and although its held up quite well, the heels were getting 'weak' so they needed some boosting before I actually created holes.  It's much easier to mend weak stitches than recreate something that is no longer there (ie mending a hole).

If you look up darning socks on Pinterest and the like, you'll see a number of methods of knitting or patching over top of the holes.  Reknitting or swiss darning are my preferred methods of mending knitwear.  My interpretation of swiss darning is basically doing a duplicate stitch over the weaker stitches.  I didn't think of taking better photos for the blog until after the socks were already fixed.  I had luckily taken photos of the before shot to show family members (read: my husband) when they should be providing me their knitwear for mending, not after they create a huge hole.  But I digress...

Sock fix: Swiss darning

A photo posted by Katherine Caughran (@stringandbeans) on Mar 31, 2016 at 11:56am PDT

I no longer had the matching yarn, but this is on the bottom of my foot, so I really didn't worry about matching the yarn, besides it's easier to show the mend when its a different colour :)

Sock Fix: Skinny legs, Long(er) Feet

To further my spring cleaning of the mending pile, I took a pair of Kman's outgrown navy socks (barely used) and ripped out the toes to make them longer.

Background:  Kman goes to a Montessori school and wears a uniform consisting of navy or white socks, navy pants and a white or red golf shirt.  He prefers navy socks and each year asks me to knit him a new pair of navy socks.  Last year his shoe size grew so FAST he hardly had a chance to wear the socks that I had knit him.  But his ankles and legs are still the same circumference.

So, rather than knit new socks, I thought I'd save some time and rip back the toes and reknit to lengthen.  I have lots of navy sock yarn purchased just for him!  After I reknit the first sock and had him try it on, he did say the band was a bit tight.  So in addition to lengthening the socks, I ripped out the top of the sock band and cast off using Jeny's Super Stretchy Cast Off. 

The photo might not show it  well enough, but you should see the original sock length on top of the new sock length - I added over an inch in length!

Spring Cleaning

Following up to my business idea of fixing sweaters, socks and the like...I had a pile of socks with wear that I needed to get caught up on...

The first, a sock I had knit for my dad, which was confiscated by my mother as her bed socks...unfortunately she caught the toe on something, and it needed major surgery...

I started with picking up the ladder with my crochet hook, to determine how much I may need to stitch, but that showed me that there were two different places the yarn was cut (not just one), so instead of doing swiss darning, I tore back the toe and reknit it using a russian join to reconnect the broken strands.
My mother is happy to have socks again (although had she given me both socks, I probably would have reknit both toes and resized the socks to her feet, since they were originally intended for my father)...

New Plan!

Before the holidays, I was asked to fix someone's sweater.  I looked high and low to find matching colours for the wool sweater.  It had 6 safety pins to hold various holes in place, and had previous iterations of patching done by the owner's mother.

It took me longer than I care to admit, but I finally found colours that could match as best they could, and fixed up the holes along with a number of weak spots that threatened to break with wear.  Lo and behold the sweater was wearable again...and the owner was ecstatic...because he's had this sweater for 35 years and its his favourite.

Which led me to my new plan - repairing favourite sweaters, socks, kilt hose...something that I enjoy and will keep handknits, cashmere sweaters, and the like still in circulation :)

Upside down and backwards

It's been years of me saying I'll knit myself a new christmas stocking, since mine is so much smaller than hubby & child's...(yes I'm glossng over the fact its been years since I last posted here).

Each year, I'm usually too busy with gift knits to get around to my stocking, so this year, I started the stocking after Christmas, so it'll be ready for next year.  I'm following this Falling Snowflake pattern and after starting off great, realized I needed my name added.

Now, when knitting a sweater or blanket, you just chart and go...but this stocking is in the round and top down...so I could chart my name using excel, but needed it to be upside down.

I tried a couple of things:

1) I searched Ravelry for upside down alphabet charts - didn't find one
2) I googled upside down alphabet charts - didn't get results I needed.
3) I charted name as per usual in Excel then knit it backwards from what I'd usually do with a chart.

• I set my column widths to .74cm so it would look like the graph chart in use by the stocking pattern
• I chose to have the letters in the same height as the 2nd snowflake band of the pattern so only 10 rows high
• My letters were 'narrow' but I still had to add an extra repeat of the snowflake pattern (ie cast on an extra 32 stitches) in order to fit my whole name.

And now I have my own 'larger' stocking, albeit still smaller than the other two

Happy New Year & SKM

Cartoon showing baby representing New Year 1905 chasing old man 1904 into history. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

All the best to everyone in the New Year!

As is a 'new' tradition (new to me since 2012), apparently January is Selfish Knitting Month.  I did follow through on that last year, although it was very difficult to NOT give away the knitting :)  I have yarn & pattern selected for my 'gift' this month, however...

I have not finished the IOU gift yet.  For the 2nd year in a row, my brother takes one for the team, and is left with no gift but instead was given a bag with balls of yarn & a pattern for socks within it.  I've finished ONE sock so far, but life (read: novice hockey tournament) got in the way, and I've only just cast on the 2nd sock....

Yes, I can whip up a pair of lovely socks in a weekend (like the socks I finished in 2 days for my husband this year - finished by 11pm Christmas Eve).  But, these socks, are Socks for Soldiers, with specific instructions and 12 inch long legs....I might as well have knit my brother his kilt socks (which are still owing to him by the way)...

I will finish the socks by the weekend, then will cast-on my personal, selfish project....

In the meantime, I have already figured out 2 of next years knitmas gifts...and once I finish my selfish knitting...I'll start early on 2013 knitmas and avoid the IOU gifts.... (famous last words...)

How about you? Did you finish all the knitmas/handmade gifts you had originally planned?

Related articles

• It's Knitmas
• Christmas Knitting Round Up

33 Knitting Days...

Holiday break (Photo credit: César Poyatos)

Holiday knitting is in full-swing: I have tons of projects on the needles, yarn strewn about the attic...

I will actually ramp up even further when the panic realization strikes that I don't have enough 'free time' to knit all the projects I have planned, let alone bake goodies, go shopping and prepare for the holidays...

So, to release any tension associated with the holiday knitting crunch, I hunted down the holiday tv specials:

Canadian Schedules:
CBC - http://www.cbc.ca/holiday/schedule.html
CTV - http://www.ctv.ca/2012HolidayProgrammingGuide/Schedule.aspx
YTV - not published yet

US Networks:
http://www.jsonline.com/entertainment/tvradio/2012-holiday-tv-schedule-t47j74i-180227721.html

I enjoy knitting in front of my holiday favs...