Customer Reviews

Sensational Knitted Socks

5 star:		(80)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The first part covers sock knitting basics, but there are charts included with ball park measurement for feet based on shoe sizes. There's another table for the number of stitches to cast on based on the circumference measurement. She covers how to adjust for different foot shapes. Then we move to sock construction. She includes directions for 4 DPs, 5 DPs and two circs!

Then we move into the sock patterns! This book is arranged more like one of the Harmony Aran guides, where the patterns are broken down by number of stitches in a repeat. The patterns are arranged like a stitch dictionary, too. Instead of every pattern verbatim, they have one pattern at the beginning of the section with the different stitch repeats and then behind that, they have thumbnails of the pattern stitches with charts and long hand instructions. The section with 4 stitch repeats has 12 patterns alone!

After that, there are sections for 5,6,8 and 12 stitch repeats. Then sections for cables, patterns for self-striping yarns, Fair Isle, "reticulated" patterns (small Fair Isles that repeat to make a bigger allover pattern look, like the green sock on the cover) and mosaic patterns. A quick count netted 72 possible patterns from this book alone!

This is a great book for the sock knitter.



Here's a breakdown of some of the features of the book.



1. Gives instructions for toe-up and top-down socks so you can have your pick. Although some stitch patterns are written to be done toe-up and some toe-down, it's pretty easy to just do the sock the way you want to, using the stitch pattern you want.

2. Provides directions for different ways to do heels and toes, including short-row, afterthought, fore-thought, and flap-and-gusset heels (for both top-down and toe-up socks). Gives directions for easy toe and short-row toe for toe-up socks. This really helps with helping you discover the sock-knitting methods best suited to you and your yarn.

3. Clear directions, once you get used to the format.

4. You can knit socks in any size yarn, for any size foot, because each pattern is written for various gauges and foot circumferences. This actually makes the patterns a bit confusing at first, but once you get used to it, it's a breeze. I definitely recommend photocopying the patterns and highlighting YOUR numbers.

5. Gives charts for yarn amounts needed, foot sizes (very helpful if you're knitting socks as gifts and know the recepient's approximate shoe size, but can't exactly measure the foot), and all kinds of other useful sock information.

6. For each sock, directions are given for using 4 or 5 dpns or two circular needles. This, again, makes the patterns slightly confusing at first (see item #4).

7. There's a stitch dictionary for each pattern, including simple knit-and-purl and lacey patterns done in repeats of 4, 5, 6, 8, and 12 stitches. There are also cable patterns, Fair-Isle patterns, mosaic patterns, and patterns that create a chevron-like ripple in your socks (great for self-striping yarns).

8. Very clear organization. You start with one-color, 4-stitch repeat patterns and work your way up.

9. Reasonably clear instructions for different types of cast-ons used in sock knitting, as well as the different techniques and stitches used in the book.

10. Clear and enticing illustrations!

11. With all the stitch patterns given, you can make over 100 socks, all different. Plus you can make them in different weight yarns, and make them for everyone, from toddlers to the biggest guys.

12. There are lots of little tips on making your sock knitting neater and easier, such as avoiding gaps in the heel gusset and "ears" on the heel flap, and making symmetrical decreases.



I'm an intermediate/advanced intermediate knitter, and I've made two pairs of socks from this book. One pair was top-down with a forethought heel, the other toe-up with a short-row heel. The toe-up socks and forethought heels are totally new to me, but the directions were very clear, and I didn't have any problems knitting either pattern once I got used to reading the format of the patterns. I am planning many, many more sock patterns from this book!

Many knitting books are full of pretty pictures and patterns but rarely are they pictures of garments etc that real people might wear.
This book is WAY different. If you're a sock knitter,no matter if you're just a beginner or a seasoned expert, this book is a must. Although I will warn you that life is too short to try out all the ideas shown and different, workable patterns for every kind of yarn you might imagine. This book is definitely a keeper.

This book contains a huge amount of information about sock knitting - the basics and SO much more. You could knit from it for years and never run out of ideas.

I like being able to choose a stitch pattern and size to fit the yarn I want to use and just knit what I want to. Many books contain patterns that are only in one size or one yarn gauge or only allow for one stich pattern. There are thousands of potential combinations in this book - the choice is up to you.

I also like the way the book is organized - there is so much information packed into a modest amount of text. A lot of concrete suggestions and not a lot of extra fluff. So many books are this length and contain only a few patterns and/or a limited number of new ideas

I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do. I am a bit biased - I test knit some of the patterns for the author - and enjoyed every minute of it.

I have no experience knitting socks, but have been knitting for over 40 years, on and off, mostly off. I purchased at least 10 sock books before I found this one, and it is MORE THAN A KEEPER!I followed the "little practice class sock" directions exactly, and produced a tiny work of art. I AM SO EXCITED THAT I AM NOW A SOCK KNITTER, AND READY TO TAKE ON MORE COMPLICATED CHALLENGES. Before this book, I was so frustrated, and spent more time trying to decifer the pattern, than knitting. This auther covers every stitch, and takes you by the hand through the whole process. Whether you choose to knit with 4 or 5 double points, or two circulars, the directions are all laid out. Great book!

This is a must have sock book for anybody who loves to knit socks or who wants to learn sock knitting. Ms. Schurch takes the knitter from the basics of sock construction to advanced techniques with color knitting, a forethought heel (instead of an afterthought heel), and intricate cable patterns.

What prevented me from giving this book five stars are the following:

1. The book should have been done in a spiral bound so that it would lay flat. As it is, one really has to push down hard on the pages to make them lay flat.

2. Ms. Schurch covered sock knitting with two circulars very briefly. To get a better coverage of this technique, one needs to turn to the net or Cat Bordhi's booklet "Socks soar on two circular needles".

3. The instructions for the forethought heel are very unclear, especially for someone who has not tried this method. I had to rip back my socks a number of times in order to get the heel right. Ms. Schurch could have provided a few pages (and pictures) on the complicated construction and knitting of this inventive heel which utilizes a provisional cast on, grafting with Kitchener stitch and picking up stitches from the provisional cast on. The instructions indicated that frequently one would have one fewer stitch to pick up from the provisional cast on; no explanation was given as to why this is so and the knitter is further instructed to pick up an extra stitch somewhere in order to avoid a gap. This, along with four extra stitches that one needs to pick up, creates a very confusing instruction.

As an avid sock knitter, I always look forward to having a new book for my knitting library. This book is different. If I were to have to choose only one sock book, it would be this one.

To begin, Charlene assumes you are already a knitter, but you don't have to be an expert.

What makes this book different is that she takes you through every step of sock construction in an easy, encouraging, and clear way. She is a natural teacher, talking you - including sock newbies -through each step, for top-down, toe-up, and two needle methods with variations for heels, heel gussets, and toes. The drawings and photos are also very easy to follow. And I actually have learned some tips for making more durable socks - and after all, don't we make them to wear and show off? (I like to wear my Birkenstocks with mine.)

What makes this book valuable to have is that she takes you beyond following someone else's pattern to designing your own socks. She gives guidelines for what type of yarn and what size needles are best for that yarn. Then she shows you how to use YOUR OWN GAUGE to figure out how many stitches to cast on, and how many stitches for each section of the sock, walking you through the entire knitting process.

Knit some of her sock patterns, organized from easy to experienced - using YOUR OWN GAUGE - and by the time you make it through the book, you will be a competent and experienced sock knitter, and excited to let your imagination go free to make those socks you've always dreamed of.

I was disappointed with this book. I am new to making socks and thought this book would show me how to knit them step by step with a lot of pictures along the way. Unfortunately, there weren't a lot of pictures that helped the brand new sock knitter. Buy this book if you already know how to knit socks but would like to try another method - like 2 circular needles. I did find a lot of useful information in here.
Still, I found myself using the tutorials online to help me for free instead of the book I just bought.

As so many others have attested before me, this is THE book to teach you how to knit socks. Even though I had done scarves on straight needles and hats on double-pointed needles, socks were a mystery to me. Charlene Schurch demystifies the process by showing a color-coded anatomy chart of the sock itself. She provides instructions for a "class sock" done with regular worsted-weight yarn and manageably large needles. Once the class sock is complete, heel turns and gussets are no longer a mind-bending trauma, but a pleasant challenge. The tables break down the entire process into manageable amounts and the projects begin simply and increase in complexity. As a bonus, the ample stitch dictionary can be used for other projects, such as hats!

An additional recommendation to you sock knitters out there - you may also enjoy reading Anne L. Macdonald's No Idle Hands; the Social History of Knitting. Socks appear prominently in this fun and detailed historical survey of knitting in the US.

I believe that Charlene Schurch's book, "Sensational Knitted Socks," should be on everyone's shortlist of "must have" instructional sock books!

The book is clearly written and provides an overview of sock basics, construction, techniques, sizing guidelines, and troubleshooting. It also includes great photos. But what makes this book unique is its wealth of sock patterns (basic, multi-stitch, fair isle, cabled, patterns for self-striping yarn, and mosaic) that are adaptable to all sizes, yarns, and gauges. All the knitter must provide is foot circumference and gauge (st./inch). Easy-to-follow, color-coded charts guide the sock knitter through the process of knitting a sock, from how many stitches to cast-on through toe-shaping.

This book stimulates creativity and I expect to pursue projects from this book for many years to come!