Monday, May 14, 2007

Men's Socks

As I was knitting my fabulous blue Yarni socks for my Sockapalooza pal last night, Adam looked over and asked if those socks were for him.
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because you have size 12 feet and you're very hard on your socks." i.e. I don't want to spend all the time making HUGE socks and then have him wear through them in a week. Or worse yet, have him not want to wear the socks because they are not comfortable/too hot/not the right size.
Now to be fair, Adam does have a good appreciation of handmade items. He wore slippers his grandma knit for him until they were rags (despite the fact that his feet are always insanely hot), he wears the garish pajammas my grandma makes for him, in winter he wears the scarf I knit for him. It's not that I don't think he would appreciate the socks... The man is 6'3" and anything I would make for him would take FOREVER!

Does anyone have a good men's sock pattern that would be a faster knit? I can't imagine knitting a size 12 men's sock on 0's. Do I reinforce the heels and toes so they last longer? Any tips for making the pouting husband disappear?

11 comments:

the frog princess said...

if he's got ridiculously hot feet, perhaps try a wool/bamboo blend? there are a bunch out, now. :)

Anonymous said...

You could knit it out of something larger then sock yarn. DH's G-ma always made his G-pa socks to wear in his boots on the farm in worsted acrylic/wool. You can reinforse with nylon string (I bought mine at the fabric store.) Also, if he is hard on the heels, you could tryand after-thought heel, and then it is easier to replace. Good luck...

Yoshimi said...

I always knit socks on 3.75mm (size 5 i believe). This works great in Trecking with a 2x2 rib round the ankle and top of the foot. My husband, loves his!

Kimberly said...

I would just go with larger needles (size 4 or 5) so the project moves along faster.

I also refuse to knit socks for my hubby. I've tried in the past, but they always end up too small. Why must men have such ginormous feet! :)

Unknown said...

I wouldn't suggest making socks for him out of ww wool, though, if he runs hot all the time. Hubby doesn't really have big feet, but I hate knitting socks for him too as he usually likes yarn that I hate. I've knitted a few pairs for him out of ww wool, and he seldom wears them because he's too hot. I'd definitely suggest the wool/bamboo -- the bamboo has a lot of properties that makes it better for socks then cotton, plus it'll keep him cooler as well.

Anonymous said...

I thought Adam liked the pjs that Grandma makes him?!?!?
Syren

Jess P. said...

He loves the pj's Grandma makes for him. That was one of his points. No matter how crazy (hello leopard print? 70's paisley?) he loves the jammies.

Fabienne said...

i made socks for my s.o. but they are way too warm in wool. a good replacement is a sportweight (so it knits up faster) cotton/wool (so it is cooler) or cotton/bamboo blend. the panda cotton from crystal palace isn't sportweight, but i'm sure there must be some sportweight bamboo sock yarn out there. maybe do a search on etsy? i would recommend not going up too high on needle size if you stay with fingering weight yarn, the fabric will wear through faster. if you go up a needle size, go up a yarn thickness to sportweight yarn. also, a slipped stitch heel-flap heel is tougher on wear than a short row one.

Anonymous said...

I, too, married a sasquatch. He has accepted that I'll never knit him socks. But guess what? I measured my 4yo son for his annual bedsocks (I don't knit everyday socks for the boys, I've seen what they do to the store-bought ones, and I refuse to subject hand-knit socks to that sort of treatment), and his feet are 6" long and 6" AROUND THE BALL! That's right, my son's feet are as wide as they are long! God help me!

Anonymous said...

Puhleeeeze! I've seen Adam in the 70's paisley print, and frankly, I think he looks rather debonair! Much like a refined English lord...

I would pay money for a picture of him in the leopard print....

Perhaps this year you grandpa can make him some jammies in blaze ornage or camo...

Then he could have attire for every mood: refined and cultured (paisley), manly (blaze orange) and finally, for the untamed animal side, the leopard print!

Anonymous said...

Dang! I menant GRANDMA!!!