Knitting Socks

I LOVE to knit different things. I love the challenge that comes with trying a new pattern, yarn and needles. But my most favorite thing to knit has to be socks. Socks are the one thing that everyone wears, everyone needs, and probably the most liked knitted item to receive as a gift, as I have observed anyway. 

In my observation, socks have been the one item that scares the beginner knitter. I have heard time and time again that the "Turn of the Heal" is something that they probably could never do. I had heard that so much when I was a beginner knitter that I went years before I decided that I would try to knit socks. I would look at a knitted pair of socks and cringe trying to think of how the knitter actually turned the heal. 

Then I decided just to look at a pattern for a basic sock. I mean, I had already been knitting mittens for years and could add a thumb how hard could it be to turn a heal right? THEN I realized something. I could read knitting patterns!! Smart I know!! If I could read a knitting pattern for mittens I could probably read a knitting pattern for basic socks :) So I did! I did it step by step. I went round to round, row by row until I actually finished a sock! Mind you my first socks toe is grafted sideways but my husband still wears them with pride :) 

It gave me a lot of confidence to knit socks. And also I had something I could knit for the "Boys" in my family for Christmas, the ones who wouldn't wear my hats and scarfs. But the one thing that was the most important for me about accomplishing socks is that I could turn the heal!! 

I taught a group of 3 girls back in May of this year how to knit in one of my knitting classes at the shop I teach at. They caught on fast and had done a dishcloth, and had a scarf and a hat started before the 3 classes were done. During the middle class the girls wanted to continue with another class after the beginner class was finished and they decided that they wanted to learn how to knit socks. I jumped at the chance to teach them socks as I didn't want these beginner knitters to be scared of knitting socks. So for the month of June in 4 Friday morning classes I taught these 3 girls how to knit a sock. We started at the cuff and worked our way down to the toe. We finished 1 sock by the end of the class!

The confidence in these girls after accomplishing a sock had just put a permanent smile on my face that day. They actually had made a sock! I keep in touch with the girls and they finished there second sock AND started more :) I am so proud of them! And I am so glad that they jumped right into socks and never looked back! I hope that all beginner knitters can look at socks as a great project to learn and that it doesn't have to be scary :) Cause they really are not that scary to knit!