Fits thighs up to...

[tephra]

So I'm cruising around LJ to avoid making a call that I need to make but really don't want to deal with and I come across a reference to Sock Dreams. Now I'm not that much for socks, at least not like I am for shoes and boots, but the indication was that funky (as in looks, not smells wiseguy) socks could be found there so I went looking.

OMG, tons of thigh high and over knee socks in nifty patterns and colors. They have toe socks and tabi, and animal print toe socks! *glee*

I find a likely pair of thigh highs, advertised as fitting feet sized 8-13 and stretchy for larger thighs. Cool. Then I read the sizing info:

"36 inches from the heels to the tops with good two way stretch. medium to larger feet sized 8-13 thighs up to at least 24 inches, remember, the wider your thighs the less high these will go, but you can always cuff them or slouch them. "

...

My calves are 24 inches.

*pout*

So morganalilith, I remember you mentioning you knit socks. Have any handy advice for a new sock knitter? Guestimation help on ounces of whatever weight yarn to sock size?

Comments

[morganalilith.livejournal.com]

lots of handy advice, lol.
first some questions... how proficient a knitter are you? while there's no reason a beginning knitter can't knit socks, if you've got some basic skills, it'll be easier. are you comfortable knitting in the round? socks can be knit flat and seamed, but socks knit in the round are more comfortable. you can use any circular knitting method you're comfortable with. i'm a purist :g: and i stick with 4 double pointed needles. but lots of sock knitters use the 2 circular needles method or the 'magic loop' method which involves using a cingular circular needles that's way too long. it's pretty much a matter of preference. also, how heavy do you want your socks? you can use any size yarn you want. the 'sock yarns' that you can buy at upscale yarn stores or online often use size 0 or 1 needles, resulting in a sock you can wear with most any shoe. if you use heavier yarn and larger needles, you'll obviously get a bulkier sock.
whatever yarn you choose, it's a good idea to use a smaller needle size than you would if you were knitting a sweater (or whatever) from this yarn, as you want your socks to have a firmer texture. that way the ridges from the purl stitches will be less likely to cause sore spots, and they'll be sturdier so they'll wear a lot longer.

basically a sock is just a tube with a few bits of shaping. if you understand how the shaping works (and there are lots of different ways to acheive the same results) and comfortable with a little math, once you know the gauge you're getting from your chosen yarn and needles, you don't even really need a pattern. there are TONS of free sock patterns available online, though.

i'd suggest reading through some patterns (and maybe making a simple pair of basic socks to get the shaping and stuff in your head), and then take a bunch of measurements and work out a pattern. you can be as specific or general with the shaping as you want, in regard to your actual thigh, knee, etc measurements. and here's a pattern that might help... queen elizabeth I stockings.

there's lots of info to be had at socknitters as well. it's basically the home page for the socknitters yahoo group. lots of info to be had there, as well, although last time i was getting group mail, there were about 5000 members and it was overwhelmingly active. so i'm usually on no mail there unless i'm looking for something :P

as far as figuring out yarn quantities, i'm sure there's an actual formula for figuring it out. but your guess is probably better than mine.....

hope that helps. if i've left big gaping holes, feel free to ask for clarification. :-)

[tephra]

how proficient a knitter are you?

While maintaining a lace pattern through multiple increases/decreases for shaping isn't beyond my abilities I classify it as a skill I don't like to exercise. ;) As much as I like the look of really complex multi-line stitch patterns I generally avoid them as too tedious. I'm an impatient knitter. :)

I knit in the round without problems, and can short row in the round for shaping. I'm a fan of 4 or 5 needles for smaller circumferences and save the circular needles for bigger projects. For thigh high socks I'd probably switch from multi-needle to circular about midway up the calf. :)

Hmm, sock heaviness.... Here I balance wearability with lack of patience. Actually, given the season and my penchant for work boots, somewhat bulky socks sound good.

Size 0 and 1 needles scare me. Lots of rows with those, but a sock is a lot smaller than a sweater so perhaps I could manage it.

I have no fear of the shaping. I used to have a nice sweater pattern that was knit in the round from the neck down. In the end you were left with just underarm seams, which if you cast on/off properly you could just weave and have a seamless sweater. I should either find that pattern again or recreate it....

I guess I had better get looking at patterns for ideas. I can't remember the last time I actually used a pattern that I didn't make myself (knitting or sewing). :) I end up having to make so many alterations I just start from scratch.

[morganalilith.livejournal.com]

that's what i thought, but i don't always trust my menopausal memory these days, lol.

i'd say pick out some yarn, then pick out some needles that will work with it. knit a gauge swatch in the round. measure all the various variables of your feet/legs. do a little math, and have at. :)

there are some sock calculators on the web. they're mostly for your basic mid-calf sock if i remember correctly. but you're more than capable of devising one that'll give you all the info you need for thigh high socks.

and then take pics. i wanna see. :P

[tephra]

Assuming I actually make a pair I will take photos. And probably put them here and at deviantART. :)

[azhreia.livejournal.com]

I don't knit really long socks, but I do have a number of easy beginner patterns for calf-length socks on my website:

http://www.azhreia.net/socks

I'll second the fount of wisdom to be found at the yahoogroup socknitters, too.

Feel free to email or whatever if you have any questions about any of my patterns, or any other aspect of sock knitting.

[tephra]

Cool, thanks. :)

I had several moments of "I know I've seen this person around, now where the neck have I seen them." So I went looking at your userinfo and saw we have four friends and gearworld in common, no wonder I "knew" your name! :)

And then there's Urban Dragon and Davros... maybe I know you under another name from back in the #afd days?

[azhreia.livejournal.com]

No, I pretty much have always used "azhreia" for most of the last 11-odd years online. Before that, I was known as Inka Princess, but being a princess in a room full of dragons just isn't a naturally tenable position, you know? ;-)

I will point out that I only *do* #afd in the IRC channel (originally on dalnet, now on sorcery). I'm not a MUCK person, or a mailing group person. I joined #afd on dalnet when dalnet was very new - I remember the night it hit 100 concurrent users and Dalvenjah putting it in the subject line on #dragonrealm. ;-)

So yeah, I've been around for quite a while.

[tephra]

I haven't done #afd since... '97-ish. :) My memory is weird though, I remember text really well so I might actually remember 'you' from way back then, but only as your name in text. 8)