Yet Another Sock Book

Hello, my name is Melissa and along with knitting socks, I'm addicted to sock knitting books.  

I just ordered the latest for my collection - Knit. Sock. Love. by Cookie A.  She's also the author of the book & patterns in Sock Innovation from which my single "Angee" sock was knit.  There is a knit-a-long (KAL) on Ravelry.com that's knitting socks specifically from this book, so if I want to participate sometime in the next several months, I'll need it.  It's so new that the library doesn't even have it yet, so I ordered it directly from her site - www.cookiea.com - for the same price as Amazon, and it will be a signed copy. 

Here are the other sock knitting books that I have:

Sock Innovation by Cookie A.
Her first sock pattern book, this book devotes the first 50 pages or so to sock design and construction.  Cookie deconstructs a sock into its main parts - ankle, heel & gusset, foot, toe - and gives great information about creating your own socks.  Even if you aren't going to be designing patterned socks, it's awesome to know just how many stitches to work across on short row heels based on the number of stitches on the heel.  She also discusses how certain patterns or stitch types are stretchier than others, why cabling uses more yarn, etc.  It's very informative not even considering the pretty patterns.  As a reminder, here is what the Angee sock from this book looks like (as knit by me), even though you can't see the stitch pattern too clearly:

Socks from the Toe Up by Wendy Johnson
I think this was my first purchased sock book.  I like Wendy's patterns because they are cute but more straightforward than some of Cookie A's patterns.  Plus this book has three "plain vanilla" sock patterns that are straight stockinette (no fancy stitch patterns) but use a variety of heels and toes that she describes in detail at the beginning of the book.  You can create a basic sock to fit your foot using measurements of your actual foot to determine how many stitches around you'll need, then choose which type of heel or toe you want to include.  These "plain vanilla" patterns are perfect for your first toe-up sock and also for highly variegated or self-striping yarn where the colors would obscure any fancy stitch pattern knitted into the sock.

By starting socks from the toe-up, you don't have to worry about running out of yarn - you can always stop when you run out after reaching the ankle and working up.  (Provided of course that you allocate half of the total yarn to each sock.  I weigh my starting ball/skein, then wind half of it into a second ball until both balls weigh the same, then cut the yarn to give two separate, equal-weight balls.)  You also start working the pattern just on the top of the foot since the bottom is plain stockinette (for comfort and fit in shoes), then after the heel you may work the stitch pattern the whole way around the ankle depending on the specific sock pattern.

Toe-Up Socks for Everybody by Wendy Johnson
A second toe-up sock book from Wendy, this book has more cute patterns and even has one or two girl patterns that I can use to knit socks for Francesca.  There are lace, cable and colorwork sock patterns as well as tips on resizing patterns to fit your feet.

I should note that most sock knitters swing one way or the other when it comes to knitting socks toe-up or top-down.  Those who start at the cuff and work down love that you can adjust for calf/ankle fit right from the start.  You know at a very early stage whether the sock will be too tight or too baggy around the leg, and if you will be able to get it over your heel (the widest point a sock has to traverse.)  The toe-up sock lovers note that you never have to graft a toe if you start there (apparently some people have a huge toe-grafting aversion), that you can knit to exactly the length of your foot, and that you don't have to worry about running out of yarn before finishing the toe.  It's not a big deal if your socks turn out a little shorter on the leg than planned, but socks without toes aren't as desirable.  (Unless you're knitting yoga or pedicure socks.)

The toe-up vs. top-down debate can be heated.  This one is better!  No, my way is better!  I'll never knit another top-down sock!  Blah blah blah.  For me, at least so far, I'm fine with either way.  I'm one of the few, the proud...

The bisoxual.

And now back to our list of sock books....

2-at-a-Time Socks by Melissa Morgan-Oakes
Toe-Up 2-at-a-Time Socks by Melissa Morgan Oakes
I mentioned "second sock syndrome" in an earlier blog post.  This is when you knit one gorgeous sock with a great amount of satisfaction only to discover that your desire to knit the second sock is less than zero.  After all, with so many gorgeous yarns and sock patterns to knit, who wants to knit the same thing twice???  By knitting socks two-at-a-time, you either have zero finished socks or two - never just one.  Genius.  The first book introduced the method whereby you knit two socks at the same time on one long circular needle from the top down.  The second book obviously uses the same idea but works in the other direction starting at the toe.  This is the method my current main sock project is using.

I have to say that I'm not as inspired by the Melissa Morgan-Oakes patterns as I am by those of Cookie and Wendy, but it may be due to the photography in the books.  The photos of the finished socks in the Cookie A. and Wendy Johnson books are crisp and beautiful (especially in Cookie's) with multiple shots of each from different angles.  By comparison, the 2-at-a-time book's photos aren't quite as appealing.  Not that they're bad at all, they just have the misfortune of being viewed side-by-side with books that have photos like these:

Cookie A.'s "Pointelle" sock from Knit. Sock. Love.

 Photo from Knit. Sock. Love.

Sanquhar Socks from Toe-Up Socks for Every Body

But my opinion may change after I knit a few of them, since socks in person are often much more appealing than photos of them.  We shall see!

There you go, my quick and dirty reviews of sock books should you be a sock knitter yourself (or may someday be).  Now I guess I should go knit since I'm overrun with patterns!