Double Fun Socks

Jag glömde ju alldeles bort att jag skulle visa makens Double Fun sockor som jag började sticka i december. Visst blev de färdiga, och det för flera veckor sedan! Jag har t.o.m. tvättat dem en gång redan.

I completely forgot I promised to show hubby's Double Fun socks which I started knitting in December. I finished them several weeks ago! I have even washed them once.

Double Fun Heel, Oh Yeah! = Triple Fun

Doubleknitting a two-color intarsia in the round is faster than knitting the usual way once you get used to it. Intarsia in the round is boring if you have to turn the knitting every second row and knit from the wrong side . But I can't read books and doubleknit at the same time, so I have to listen to audio books. That's nice if you like the way and voice of the reader. If not, it's a pest.

I have reached and conquered the critical point: the heel. I have knitted a couple of different short row heels earlier, especially on my knitting machine, so I thought I'd manage this one too. I'm not particularly good at maths, so I used eyesight when deciding how many stitches I needed for the heel vs the instep. I like a deep heel, so I took a few more stitches for the heel. On Ravelry I write down what I'm doing, because I want another sock in the same size :)

Leena would have helped me if I'd got lost. She's a teacher, she knows how to lead lost knitters back on the trail. "Remember to tighten the stitches" she advised me on Ravelry, so I tightened, and tightened, and this fantastic yarn didn't break. Cascade Heather. And look, it's a heel!

Double Fun Sox

Leena Siikaniemi is fond of double knitting, and now I understand why. Her pattern Doublefun in the book Think Outside the Sox is really fun to knit. I can see lots and lots of potential in this pattern. Leena has used 3-4 colors in her socks, I have only two. On her Ravelry pages you can see more of her beautiful graphic patterns. Search in Patterns for Doublefun and you'll find her.

Leena has used one of my favorite yarns in her long socks, but that yarn is nowadays very difficult to buy. It's a designer yarn from Maisa Tikkanen, a Finnish felter, spun at Pirtin Kehräämö. I don't have enough of it in my stash for a pair of socks anymore. I like thin socks I can wear in my trainers, so I chose Cascade Heather for my first pair of Doublefun Ankle Socks.

The finer yarn forces me to change the amount of stitches and rows in the patterns. The heel will be really interesting to figure out. I'll tell you more when I get that far. Remember, I knit and spin many garments and yarns all the time, so finishing one particular project isn't a hasty business. Have patience!

Intarsia with two colors "in the round" is easy in doubleknitting. You knit in the round in flat knitting technique, if that makes any sense. As I use a circular needle, I have only one needle to struggle with. Neat!