I have been knitting only baby stuff these days. Continuing with the theme, I wanted to knit a baby cardigan. I received some sock yarn as gifts from Ravelers. We really don’t need socks in this part of the world, so I wanted to knit something else with the sock yarn. Guro’s Twinkle vintage baby cardigan pattern uses sock yarn, so was ideal for stash busting. It is also seamless, so that was another plus point.

I used Knitpicks Memories, Redwood Forest colorway, which was a gift from Jean. The pattern can be used as a template for a yoke cardigan. The body can be knit in plain stockinette or you can use any lace pattern of your own. I knit the vintage lace pattern given in the patterns page for the body. It turned out well but it is not clearly visible because of the multi-colored yarn. It would have looked better in a single colored yarn. I tried knitting the sleeves also in this pattern, but didn’t like the way it looked. Moreover, I thought the cardigan looked cuter without the sleeves, so I chopped them off. The cardigan now has a capped sleeves look which I hope is practical and actually looks like capped sleeves on the baby.
After the sweater was done, I was left with almost a whole ball of yarn. It was time for knitting baby socks. Judy’s Infant socks pattern looked good to me. I hadn’t knit socks before, so I wanted something simple and easy. The pattern is clear, but doesn’t explain the technical details like turning the heel, gusset and instep etc. I followed the Silver’s Sock tutorials which made it easier to follow the pattern. The first sock was done in less than an hour. Thankfully, I escaped from the second sock syndrome and finished the second sock in no time. The second sock is a bit smaller than the first one and I have no idea why. It is still a puzzle for me because at every step, I had the right number of stitch count and row count. Just a matter of gauge, may be?

Knitting socks was fun. After knitting the first sock, there was a feeling of satisfaction and achievement. Knitting socks is like nothing else – you have to knit socks at least once. The technicalities involved – the way you make the heel and then turn it, the way you join this longer heel with the rest of the sock and then knit as one entity – this is almost like magic. I am in awe of the knitter who came up with knitting socks seamlessly. I must say knitters are the smartest people on earth. Whoever said knitting is for old women didn’t know anything about knitting socks.