Jaywalkers

I may have mentioned how I'm not a fan of knitting socks. It just seems like such a crazy amount of work (teeny-tiny stitches! ridiculously thin yarn!) for very little enjoyment. I mean, they just go on your feet and they're all covered up with shoes and such.

Now, I have knit socks in the past, and I've found that almost all of them wore out in the heel and I had to throw them away. (I suppose that's another factor that adds to my aversion to sock knitting: all that work for something that wears out rather quickly.)

HOWEVER.

There are a couple pairs of socks I've made that have held quite strong; in fact, they've gotten stronger (i.e., the heel felted). What I've discovered is that the particular sock yarn used plays a significant role in how long your socks last. While I love knitting with 100% merino wool (like Malabrigo, Madelinetosh, etc.), these yarns don't particularly lend themselves to durability for rough wear. However, yarns containing a high nylon content (like Regia, Patons, etc.) wear like iron. Even yarns that contain nylon, like Lorna's laces and KnitPicks sock yarn, wear out eventually because of their merino wool, which I find is much "weaker" than regular wool. (This isn't even accounting for the twist and ply of the yarn. It's complicated!)

The long story short: proceed at your own risk. Softer yarns (high merino wool/low nylon) are great to knit with and feel buttery soft, but don't particularly last long. Rougher yarns (ordinary wool/high nylon) are scratchy to knit with but last much longer with rough wear, particularly if you wear extreme shoe choices, like this:

How awesome are these? VERY. The answer is very.

I wear combat boots A LOT. And I've found that they destroy store-bought socks. Therefore, I've found no choice but to start churning out socks at an alarming pace. Interestingly, I've found the process rather enjoyable; crazy, right? Here are my latest:

Jaywalker by Grumperina
Needle: size 1.5
Yarn: Zwerger Garn Opal Neon, 1935 (red-purple)
Skeins: 1
Size: small (76 stitches)

It took me 3.5 years to knit the first sock... and 2 weeks to knit the second (and sporadically, might I add). Like I said, I was averse to sock knitting for quite a while. However, I can completely see why this particular pattern has been knit more than 10000 times. It's very simple (only two rows to memorize), but creates an impressive product. It can be used with solid, stripe, variegated, tonal, and any other kind of color ways you can think of. I followed the pattern as written. They are a little tight to get over your ankle/instep, but look and feel great once on.

This is the first time I've used this yarn, which I purchased many years ago (i.e., before I had my sock yarn revelation). Regardless, I think this yarn will wear similarly to Regia; it's a little rough while knitting, but will soften with washes and will wear strongly.

I'm not too crazy about the color; I think it obscures the pattern a little. I've got some striped sock yarn I'm looking forward to trying with this pattern.

So that's my update. I'm a convert. I knit socks. And I enjoy it. :)