I’ve started working on a new pair of socks. I spent part of my Christmas gift certificate to the LYS on some pretty Crystal Palace Mini Mochi Yarn in the Violet Rainbows colorway (thanks, Poppy & Callista!).
Mini Mochi Sock Yarn
I waffled for days, trying to find the right pattern for this yarn. It’s not self-striping, but has bands of color that blend into each other seamlessly, and I wanted a pattern that would do the yarn justice. After digging through Ravelry to see what other knitters had done with this yarn, I settled on Cookie A’s Monkey Socks pattern, partly because the examples I’ve seen look great with this yarn, and partly because I’m an anthropologist and like the name.
I started the first sock on a Size 1 magic loop needle. After three repeats, I tried it on, and could barely get it over my heel. Not good.
Too tight
My size 1 needles are 2.25 mm in diameter. Checking the pattern specs, the designer recommends US 2, 2.5 mm needles, which I didn’t have. All of my sock needles are either size 0 or 1. So I made another trip to the LYS to pick up the right size needle. I decided to splurge on an Addi Turbo, and picked up a size 2, casting on again from the second ball that evening. After two repeats, I tried it on.
Too Loose
Sigh. Turns out that Addi (a German company), sells 3.0 mm needles as US size 2, while the pattern says a US 2 is 2.5 mm. No wonder they were too loose. I remeasured my other needles, hoping that I might have one that was 2.5 mm. I discovered that my very first magic loop needle, a gift from a swap partner in England, is the right size (even though it’s listed as a US 1). I ripped out both socks, and cast on again last evening while watching Season 5 of Buffy.
Lesson learned: Ignore the US size numbers, which lie, especially at the smallest needle sizes, and go by the diameter measurements.
[...] pairs I had seen looked really pretty, so I thought they were worth a try. And after a couple of false starts gauge swatches, I was on my way. And this pattern? So easy. By the foot of the first sock I had memorized the [...]