Project: Rowan Socks

The Backstory

It all started with the photo of the model wearing the sock. It's not a great photo to showcase a knitted sock (love the boots) but I wanted a cable sock to knit. I bought the Rowan Lima yarn in 2015, which had been since discontinued. There were a lot of false starts because I haven't had prior experience knitting socks and the pattern from Prima (no longer available) was poorly written. It produces a giant sock. I used Ravelry notes in order to make alterations to the pattern, primarily from Zucookie, and that was a big help in getting me started.

The yarn itself is extremely soft and more lightweight than pure wool, as you'd expect from alpaca. It's an alpaca blend with merino and nylon, so a great blend for a sock. Unfortunately, it pills when you frog your work or have to unravel a few rounds. Knitting short rows was something unfamiliar and I made many mistakes that I had to unravel.

The Final Product

I'm satisfied with the end product. It was a tad loose and too big after the knit, but with the wash, everything fits right for a bed sock. It was a pleasure to use an alpaca blend for my first sock. My only critique was that the yarn ended up being more yellow than I would've liked. It was the perfect distraction for that long period of lockdown that Sydney had this winter in 2021.

Comments

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