Ok, I know I haven’t been feeling well since yesterday and all that, but it seems to me that sport weight is much harder to knit than worsted.
I started another sock. This one in a blue sport weight cotton yarn on size 4 needles (Options, ML). The stuff is so friggin small that I am having a hard time separating the stitches while trying to knit them. Being a solid color doesn’t help much.
I’m trying to spread the stitches on the needle as I am going, and that does help some, but I’ve already discovered that this cotton yarn likes to split if you even look at it hard.
Is there some trick to knitting with this stuff or do I just grin and bear it?
I can already tell it’s going to take a lot longer to knit a sock in sport weight than it did in worsted.
Sport weight definitely takes longer than worsted, and fingering even longer. I think the major problem may be the cotton–it’s notoriously difficult to work with because there’s not as much give as with other fibers.
Yeah, silly me chose a fingering weight (KP Essential) with size 2 DPNs for my first socks! :shock: What the heck was I thinking!!? It is quite challenging.
LOL I was about to post a similar question, but when I came on I noticed Mason posted this topic. Great minds think alike.
I bought some Omega Sinfonia cotton yarn today at Hobby Lobby. I am finding that wool socks, no matter how soft the wool, make my feet itch. Before going over to “the dark side” and using a worsted weight acrylic, I decided I would try a sport weight cotton. It’s like having a death match between my DPNs and my yarn. The Sinfonia splits terribly and it keeps sticking to the needle tips, even though my stitches are rather loose. I’m thinking it may be the aluminum needles. I prefer to use bamboo when working with 100% cotton yarn. Ah well. You live and you learn.
Actually, I like the finer yarns. Sports weight is really heavy and I can’t imagine using worsted. Are you using the right size needles? I use 1’s and 2’s for fingering/sock weight. I made a couple of pair of sport on 3’s. But the fabric with 1’s is so darn nice. Firm but soft. It’s just a matter of getting use to it. I just knit a pair of socks on 2’s and they are going really fast. But I still like using 1’s. Someday I’m gonna get brave and buy/knit with 0’s.
Once you use size 1 needles, you’ll never go back.
Yup Mason, I think it’s the cotton factor–especially if it’s not mercerized or whatever that process is called that makes the “nice” cotton yarns smooth and shiny.
I have a stash of Peaches’n’Cream/Sugar’n’Cream…every once in awhile I take it out to make a dishcloth and having a knock-down, drag-out friggin fight knitting with it. It has no give or elasticity, and my stitches usually look lumpy and uneven. Then I get angry and slam the cotton back into my stash–remembering why it was there in the first place.
It usually takes me about 3 months to forget how much I hate it and try again :teehee: .
The Sinfonia is mercerized cotton, so it does have a bit more give than my experiences with Sugar 'n Cream albeit, not much more. I’ve never knitted socks with Sugar 'n Cream since I prefer sport or fingering weight for socks over worsted. I have trouble finding fingering weight yarn at my local chain retailers, though. I use 2s for fingering weight and right now I’m testing the sport weight Sinfonia on my 4s. Call me crazy (as most knitters experience a lot of “grip” with bamboo needles as opposed to aluminum), but I find that cotton plays much nicer with bamboo needles. I don’t know why. You would think the stitches would glide off aluminum needles much easier.
I don’t want to seem overly negative, but I suggest that you two consider saving the cotton yarn for another project and buying new yarn for socks. Not only is 100% cotton a pain to knit with, but it is just not the best fiber choice for making something like socks, where you want a snug fit. (I don’t know about you folks, but my experience with 100% cotton socks as that they get stretched out and baggy, becoming unsightly and uncomfortable rather quickly.) There are some mostly cotton yarns with a bit of lycra, as well some cotton-blend socks yarns that might work better functionally, and that would also be easier to knit. Merino wool is also non-itchy. (If you’re looking at non-sock yarns, look for ones which are tightly spun to help with wear… also make sure they are superwash, if you intend to throw them in the washing machine.)
Hi Mason,
Yup I love using the sock weight yarns. I think it is because I stated crocheting doilies a long while back. Love using the thread and real small steel needles. So when I started knitting socks I just started with the sock yarns.
It will start to get easier as you get use to the needles. I don’t think I would like to use cotton yarn, to stiff maybe. So keep knitting those socks and you will enjoy learning to use the smaller needles.
I’m still following Silver’s Class for the second sock. Once I have that down to where I don’t need to refer back to it, I’m going to try some different patterns.
Now that I’ve knit several rounds with this stuff, it’s not so bad. It was tricky getting started with it, but now I kinda like it.
If it turns out the socks aren’t wearable due to the cotton, no biggie. It’s mostly for the practice anyway.
I’m working on my first sock right now, and I started with a cotton blend on size 1s!!! :thud: Admittedly, it turned out too small for me (would probably fit a 6 yr old), but it was still really hard. My fingers are killing me. :wall:
:flirt: