Stirrup Socks – A Purl Soho Pattern

As every good mama should, I alternate between making something for one and then the other.  This project is one for Ella and one that was a joy to do – in part because she chose carefully – the pattern, the yarn, and the size – which meant that she was happy with the end result.

It’s been a while since I’ve made things for the girls as there was a long time when anything I made was too itchy, too big, too small, too something.  So there my loving, homemade, hard work would sit.  In the drawer.  Eventually to be out grown.  So I stopped making things for the girls.  Until one day last summer, Ella ASKED me to make some socks for her.  I did so with a little trepidation, but also with a good measure of letting-it-go.  I told myself that making a gift is not about how someone receives it (although it sure does help) but that instead it’s about the person doing the making.  How it’s made, the care you give it, the thoughts while you create with fiber.  This is what I told myself and mostly it worked.

These are the first pair of socks after a long, gift-making hiatus.  Made with sock yarn purchased at Over the Rainbow Yarn, our LYS and also sponsor/instructor of our June 8-11, Sheep to Shawl, Maine Knitting Cruise.  Go Mim!

This next gift was made with Berroco Vintage DK, Black Current #2182.  I adjusted the Purl Soho Stirrup Sock Pattern to accommodate the yarn and Ella’s thinner-than-adult legs.  I knit really loosely, so typically I have to go down 2 needle sizes to get the correct gauge.  Knitting with size 2 needles, I cast on 68 stitches rather than the 96 the pattern calls for.  I then adjusted accordingly, wrote down what I did (key to success here, right?), and did the same on the other sock.  Just wove the ends in yesterday!  Wahoo!

Annie
Back to making handmade things for my girls