Cotton Candy Van Dyke Socks

 I spent Christmas and New Years with my family. It was loads of fun, and I visited a fun little yarn shop, Unwind, in Sandy, Utah with my mom and sister. 

While I was there I picked up some pink and purple Cascade Yarn Cherub DK to make my daughter a pair of socks. A couple of days before that, I picked up a copy of "Socks from the Toe Up" by Wendy Johnson while visiting my aunt. After looking through it, I knew I had to have my own copy, and I knew that knitting socks didn't have to be as difficult as it was the last time I knit a pair. I promptly went to the yarn/antique shop next door to her home and bought it. I couldn't wait to get started. 

The instructions in "Socks from the Toe Up" are clear and easy to understand. The author explains the basics of knitting socks and what makes a good fitting sock, so you could eventually make your own sock patterns. 

I loved knitting these socks. I used the Van Dyke Socks pattern. The pattern is actually for a woman's mid-calf sock, but I knew I wanted to make my 7 year old a pair of socks. It calls for a sport weight yarn.

The Cherub DK is lighter than the sport weight yarn I picked up at the same time. It is actually closer in weight to some of the sock yarns I have in my stash. This worked out perfectly for me, as I needed to make a sock slightly smaller than what the pattern offered, and this allowed me to do so without altering the basic pattern right off the bat. The only alteration I made was when I got to her calf and needed to increase it to fit comfortably. Fortunately, I needed to increase it just enough that I could fit in another repeat of the lace pattern.

Seriously, if knitting socks has not gone well for you in the past or you just want to give it a whirl, pick up a copy of "Socks from the Toe Up". It makes knitting socks super simple. I highly recommend it.