Customer Reviews

Easy Knitted Socks: Fun and Fashionable Designs for the Novice Knitter

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Instructions are included for using double-pointed needles or magic loop technique on one long circular needles.

Projects include: baby bootees, toddler slippers, felted baby slippers, felted adult slippers, socks knit flat and seamed up, basic tubular socks on 3 needles, spiral socks with no heel to turn, ballerina style slippers, lace knee socks held up by ribbons, striped lace socks knit on 3 needles (shown on cover), beaded leg warmers, mock cable socks, actual fair isle socks (not faked with patterned yarn!) and several other lace or textured patterns.

One drawback, perhaps, is that in including so many forms of sock-knitting, there aren't actually very many patterns of actual socks knit in traditional styles. And while it claims to be for "novice knitters" it may intimidate real novices. On the other hand, there is something for everyone here.

I started out great. Made a whole sock, tossed it in the wash (washable sock yarn), pulled it out, only to find a big honkin hole in the toe! I later found out that the standard grafting instructions in the book are incorrect. I must now start over. I have been knitting for years, but never socks. Silly me, I always expect the basic directions to be acurate, even if sometimes the pattern itself may have an error from time to time.

When I picked up this book I really thought everything looked easy. The first pattern I tried was the "Love Heart Slippers". Well I got around the second part and found an error in the pattern after asking many advanced knitters for help. As I'm new to slippers and socks I'm not very good at tweaking patterns.

Hopefully not all the patterns are like this. I'll give it one more shot on another pattern.

I am really pleased with this purchase. I've never knitted socks - I have this irrational fear of them - and I am no novice. I've knitted fair isle, complicated cables and lace, intarsia, entrelac..... but I HATE double pointed needles! They are so fiddly! Since I learnt the magic loop technique, I've tried all manner of things - hexagonal motives knitted centre out, and outside in, yoga socks.... and decided it was time to try socks. Only thing is, unless directions are written specifically for the magic loop, I find patterns hard to follow. The whole "knit 4 stitches from needle 1, 5 from needle 2" thing leaves me totally blank. These patterns are not written like that.

There are socks to be knitted with the magic loop, others which state you can use both DPNs and magic loop, and others which are for DPNs. There are toe down and toe up - which I like the sound of most, no fear of running out of yarn. There are some socks you have to seam - the Brits tend to use this method. There's even Mary Thomas's staggered rib socks worked toe up, brilliant concept - wear them so the rib stacks straight and the lack of heel makes no difference to their wearability.... and you don't wear the heel out fast.

There are a few pairs I will never make - the baby stuff, (cute), ballet slippers - why? cold! But on the whole they are appealing. What fun. I am going to start making socks - finally!

Have had great fun knitting several pairs of socks from this book.
Made a dozen pairs of the butterfly and bumble bee ones on page 51 for a school fete. What a hit they were!

I have knitted two patterns from the book: The Textured Bootees and the PomPom Bobby Socks; both patterns were easy to knit and fast. The instructions were clear and the pictures of the How-Tos helped whenever I got stuck.

I just got this book and have merely leafed through it--I haven't tried any projects, and maybe I never will. First of all, it's got several non-socks--I don't want baby booties or slippers--and several are knitted flat on two regular needles and then seamed together. This just seems wrong. The great advantage of knitting in a circle (even when you are using double-pointed needles) is that you minimize purling. Who wants to purl when you can knit? When you use a pair of regular needles you have to turn and purl every other row to produce stockinette ("regular" knitting). The second great advantage of knitting in a circle is that you don't have to make a seam, which is sometimes ugly, a weak point, and also something many knitters hate doing.

This book might appeal to knitters who suffer from DPN fear, but I think you just have to bite the bullet and get over it. (This is written by a person who is currently knitting her first actual pair of socks. So I'm not exactly an experienced knitter.)

I think there are better choices for learning to make socks. You might try Getting Started Knitting Socks (Getting Started series). Take a look at Easy Knitted Socks if you are interested in two-needle socks or other oddities.