“In the process of teaching beginning knitters, the subject of socks came up, and everyone clamored to make them. They were interested and enthusiastic, but I had a dilemma. They were emphatic about not wanting to tackle double-pointed needles. Socks are almost always knitted in the round — what was I to do? I looked at patterns for easy two-needle socks that could be knitted flat, and I tried several. The results were nothing I’d ever want to wear! They neither looked nor felt good. Most often the seam went down the back of the leg and heel and under the foot. One even involved a complicated seaming plan that placed a seam sideways across the top of the heel. Ouch! It really hurt. There was no choice: I had to design something that my students would be proud to wear. Well, the class was a success. We had fun, and they each went home with a pair of socks.” –Knit Your Socks on Straight, Alice Curtis
I found myself in a Sherman’s Maine Coast Book Store during vacation and caught the scent of sock knitting in the air. Specifically the sweet tang of clearance knitting books! Hence the big yellow rectangle on the photo, I couldn’t get the sticker completely off. I followed my nose (catching some interesting looks along the way) and found this. Personally, I have absolutely no problem with double-pointed needles for sock knitting, but how was I supposed to pass up a book like this?
Her patterns all follow a specific construction outside of being knit on straight needles. They are knit from the top down, which in this case means starting from the cuff and ending at the toe. Sounds similar to a top down sock knit in the round, but with some clever planning and pattern writing you end up with a flat sock that is seamed in a comfortable and cute way. The seams are crocheted together, but if you’re not into crochet they can be seamed any other way that looks good to you. The seams themselves are considered design elements in the patterned socks that appear later in the book. There are two separates sections in any given pattern because the left and right sock are knit as mirror images.
The patterns themselves range from basic worsted weight socks so you can get the basic construction nailed down to styles in sock weight yarn with cables and lace which look almost identical to a pattern knit in the round save the blended-in seam. She has some pretty kitschy pattern scattered in though, for instance there is a knee-length, cowboy-ish tasseled monstrosity called the Moccasocks, but there are knitters to whom those would suit. I’m just not one of those.
I’m actually pretty eager to cast on a pair. I think I will start with one of the worsted weight or sport weight socks, mostly because I’m impatient, but also because the only snag I find in reading through this book is a personal problem of mine. I have a really loose gauge, and would struggle to find straight needles in a size small enough (usually 000) to get gauge in sock weight yarn, but I’m sure it’s possible.