The first thing you will need is a sock pattern and a new sock knitter is going to want a basic sock pattern. You can look in your local yarn store or of course go online. A great community to join where you can source patterns and some of them are free is Ravelry, it's also free to sign up to. You may also want to look at books as there are plenty of sock books out there.
The next thing you will need is sock yarn, it's usually 4 ply fingering and what I personally use is Superwash Merino with nylon. It's usually 75% Superwash Merino to 25% Nylon, you want the nylon in the yarn to give it some strength. You will find that over time you will find what you enjoy knitting with. And even though I use Superwash I still like to handwash my socks as I think handwashing looks after them better and keeps them in better shape.
Also with yarn it will come in either 50 or 100 gm. balls and it also comes in hanks. The yellow yarn above is a hank. With these you need to wind it into a ball, this can be done with another person helping you or by using a knitting swift and ball winder. The photo below is from one of the balls that I wound using this method.
Next, of course, you are going to want knitting needles and when knitting socks you use double
pointed knitting needles (dpn). Double pointed needles can come in packets of 4 or 5 needles and I think when starting out it's probably best to start with 4. It's easier this way and I will explain once we start getting into the knitting of socks.Now down the track that may change as you can also knit socks on circular needles but that is for a later date.
Lastly, some accessories which you may or may not want, you will need a tape measure, a pair of scissors and a darning needle to sew in any ends and graft the toe end. Later you may want to get some nice stitch markers.
So these are the basic tools you will need to get started on knitting socks but later you may find that you will be collecting other things. So here's hoping you get your stuff together for my next post.
Hope this is helpful. Need help? Contact me.
Happy Knitting
Sharyn
Hello, Sharyn.....I am attempting to start making my first set of socks this winter (New Jersey, USA) and appreciate these tutorials. Do you think an absolute beginner can complete this task (I do NOT need another UFO!) - and was wondering how long you think it would take me to make a pair of socks, knitting approximately 1 hour per day. Thanks for your insight and help - appreciate it! Chris
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what the purpose of a hank yarn is when you then need to wind it into a ball. I'm sure there is a reason. You have my interest Sharyn. Socks may just be next now that I can knit dishcloths.
ReplyDeleteKylie
A lot of sock yarn does come in the hank form as lots of people have small online businesses where they dye the yarn and it always comes to them in hank form. This is also mostly how it gets dyed. After reading Rhonda's blog I'm now also knitting dishcloths which I'm enjoying as they are nice easy knits.
DeleteHi Chris, My first question would be are you a complete beginner to knitting or just sock knitting? If you are a beginner knitter then I would not attempt to knit socks first off as they would be to hard. If however you can knit but are a beginner sock knitter I do think you can make a pair of socks. It would take a bit of time as they are different to knit.
ReplyDeleteNext question would be, would you be making anklets, crew or knee high socks? I think that maybe you could get them done in about 2/3 weeks to a month, depending on how fast you knit. I would be more than happy to guide you along the way with extra help if you need it.
Sharyn