Kinki Amibari Asymmetric Circular Needles. Image Copyright Tangled Yarn.

It’s very socktacular this week with the return of the Sock Surgery. The show kicks off with a review of the 9.5″ (9″) / 23cm asymmetric circular needles from Kinki Amibari, kindly given for review by Rachel at www.tangled-yarn.co.uk. Clare will also be reviewing these on her blog in the near future. My verdict: quite good fun for knitting socks, very disco handbag friendly. If you want to be in with a chance to win a set of these, head over to the Ravelry group to enter!

There’s also some love for the FreeYourSkeins2015 project, particularly the Evergreen Socks, which were posted on Sunday. If you like beautiful knitting and great photography and styling, check our tinkhickman on IG or on her blog here.

Listen here

Intro

Enablers’ Corner

This week there’s a review of the asymmetric needles of questionable size, which have been very kindly provided by Rachel of Tangled Yarn, one of my favourite online purveyors of woolly goodness. They are somewhere between 9 and 9.5″ or 23-24cm for those in the metric revolution. There will be a blog post later in the week to illustrate some of the points discussed in this episode as they really need photos to show what I mean.

The wood (bamboo) is nice and fairly sturdy, unlike other brands I have tried at this diameter in DPN form (although that could be a function of the difference in length) and they are comedically small, there’s no getting around it. This means they are super portable, especially if you split your yarn into 50g balls before you start! They’re fun to use, and I find I knit in a different way whilst using them. They aren’t going to work if you usually hold the needle over the top of your hand instead of underneath, I don’t think, but you can knit continental and English style with them.

I say: give them a try. There’s a place for them in your knitting bag. You may want to borrow a friend’s if funds are tight, as they RRP at £10.95 a pair.

Look out later in the week for a special in depth blog post on this review.

The Sock Surgery

It’s all about how to fix the common problems that go wrong in your sock knitting, whether you are new to it or just an over-zealous expert being a bit blasé with your needle control.

Crochet hook, locking stitch marker and retro stitch holder.

Things it would be good to have to hand in your accoutrements bag would be a mini crochet hook to pick up dropped stitches. You can buy several versions of these made by different producers; Clare’s came from Ginger Twist Studio. You can also employ a handy lockable stitch marker to prevent the stitch running any further whilst you rectify the issue. I advocate the use of old fashioned stitch holders for picking up a whole row of dropped stitches, although a smaller DPN than the size you’re using would also work here.

Clare and Kate also discussed what to do if you’re knitting a patterned sock and you realise you have made a mistake further down your work. Clare advocates dropping down and fixing simple problems, bearing in mind how this may affect the tension in the knitting if it is a fair way down. Ultimately, it’s a trade-off between how long it will take you to fix it and how long it would take you to re-knit it. Putting in lifelines to your work when you start a new phase of the sock, such as the heel flap, can be a good solution and allow you to quickly rip back to a known correct point if necessary.

Sock Surgery Agony Aunt

This week we have a question from Hotknitter on Ravelry:

I usually knit my socks on size 00 (yes,00!) to get gauge of 8 stitches per inch. With a small foot I knit them on 56 stitches. There are many interesting patterns that I would like to knit but the patterns come in sizes medium and large. How do I convert a medium to a small, ie, to one that uses 56 stitches? Often people recommend sizing down by knitting with a smaller needle, but in my case I am not willing to go down to a size 000. Size 00 metal needles bend enough as it is. I knit all my socks toe up. Thanks for any help you can share.

Clare suggests the following resources:

Heels by Number

Sock Innovation

Wrap-Up

That’s all for this week. Feel free to send any feedback you may have, or come and join in the chatter in the Ravelry group. All are welcome!