kitty feet - my first hand knitted socks

I think we all need to take a moment to admire my feet. Not a statement I make often, but look at the little kitty faces!

Earlier this year I decided it was time to learn how to knit socks. My Granny used to knit wooly socks for me pretty much every winter when I was growing up. I loved padding about the house in them before bedtime or wearing them over another pair of socks inside my welly boots for extra cosiness to play outdoors. Although I still own a couple of pairs, I stopped wearing them a few years ago for fear of wearing them out. I've come to the conclusion that this mentality is ridiculous as I'm now perfectly capable of making (or mending) handknitted socks.

However little did I know, until I started looking for sock patterns, that there are many ways to knit a pair of humble socks! They can be knit toe up or cuff down, on dpns or magic loop, not to mention the mind boggling variety of heel techniques:  heel flaps, fish lips kiss heel, short row heel, afterthought heel... SO MUCH CHOICE.

The pattern I used is "Yin Yang kitty socks" by Geena Garcia on Ravelry. Apart from the obvious appeal of being free and incredibly cute, I like that they are short, almost slipper-like, therefore quick to knit and the minimal stranded knitting and sewing of whiskers adds interest without being complicated. The socks are constructed toe up on dpns with a short row heel, which suited me fine as I'm used to dpns and familiar with knitting short rows after knitting Andi Satterlund cardigans.

The wool I used is Jamiesons of Shetland Spindrift in Natural White and JC Rennie Supersoft Lambswool in Silver/grey and a tiny scrap of pink for the kitty noses. I only used 41g of wool in total here so this project is a great stash buster.

Casting on and knitting toe up felt weird but it was a fun experience. At one point my knitting looked like a little hat for my foot, or toe warmers, which amused me greatly.

It took a couple of attempts to cast on correctly with the first sock, but I got there in the end thanks to YouTube tutorials. I wonder if this technique is easier with magic loop method? It felt a bit cumbersome on dpns, but the second sock was definitely easier.

Although there is absolutely nothing wrong with these heels, I think I prefer the fit of a heel flap after comparing it to my mum and granny's handknitted socks. For my next pair I'd like to try a different heel and perhaps top down construction to see how that differs. Despite naturally being a person who shies away from new things I surprise myself by being a relatively fearless knitter. I enjoy new techniques and stretching my skills and I have a feeling sock knitting could be all kinds of fun!

(Not that I need more socks. At the beginning of the year I counted how many pairs I owned... 64!! And that didn't even include bed socks..... How is that even possible when I mostly wear tights?! I have since donated a few pairs to my Mum, haha.)