Since I saw the pictures in this book, I was in lust, and as the Tofutsies socks are complete, it was time to start a new pair (I get a little edgy without socks in progress), the Spiralling Coriolis socks, in which a band of stitches spirals around the sock, cleverly including and hiding the foot shaping and avoiding the use of gussets in the heel. Very, very pretty, and I have this lovely artisan sock yarn, so why not?
Love the look of this toe, even if the start is annoying. This figure-eight start is the reason why I only ever made one of the Turkish socks from that other book, but I guess it really is worth it, because it's so pretty.
These are hands-down the worst knitting instructions I have ever in my life come across, and I have successfully navigated French and German knitting patterns, and while I have some conversational French (I can get by in France without resorting to English), I do not speak knit-French or knit-German.
Many of the abbreviations are non-standard, there are so-called Master Numbers (many relating to measurements and lengths which any other sock pattern I have ever encountered in my entire life have failed to place significance on) all over the place, and you have to continually flip backwards and forwards in the book to root out the few lines for each particular part of the sock. In addition, she has this verkakte insistence on either using two circular needles or five sock needles (thank you, I prefer four), framing every marker placement in terms of this configuration rather than IN TERMS OF THE SHAPE OF THE SOCK OR A FOOT (yes I do mean to shout), thus obfuscating worse than anything I have ever seen.
And lest I not make myself clear, the repeated use of the word "ever" and the phrase "ever in my life" is most definitely for emphasis, and quite literal.
They should sell this book with an accompanying worksheet for each so-called pattern, as there is no way in hell anyone would not drive themselves completely insane trying to follow the directions. Stickies might help a little. In trying to be as broad and general as possible by including tables and calculations for every possible foot size, row and stitch gauge, this book is one humungous snarl of incomprehensible, unclear, misleading and almost unusable verbiage.
Only my opinion of course, and worth what you paid for it.
That being said, now that I have managed to extract the structure of the sock, and have written it down, I think it'll be smooth sailing and I fully intend to have a very beautiful pair of socks with a lovely band of stitches spiralling around the foot and the leg, but man, the prep!
3 comments:
And that's exactly why I will keep making my socks in the ways that make sense to me - toe up or cuff down, tried and true. Socks are my "take with me" knitting, not my sit at home where I have room for the pattern knitting.
Absolutely, I agree - that's what socks usually are for me too, but the stupid thing is that they're actually pretty simple after all.
It just took me a while of flipping back and forth, figuring out weird numbers and measurements and looking at the pictures to go: Oh, you start the spiralling band two stitches above what is essentially the side seam, you don't do as many decreases as increases to effect the gusset shaping, turn a heel with no gusset, continuing the spiralling band around the leg if you like.
Her verbiage is just so unclear and for all her talk about "architecture", she doesn't explain it in a clear way that relates to her instructions, she just goes on and on about the stupid markers (I never use them) and stupid stitch counts on the needles.
Not that I have an opinion or anything....
Interesting perspective....
I found the socks fun...but perhaps its because I had the privilege of learning how straight from Cat in a workshop. That means that I was able to the start my first sock from the book straight from the Master Numbers chart.
I love the way her brain works, even if the instructions in the book are a bit hard to follow.
I've since designed some using her concepts.
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