#14 Babycakes Socks

 Babycakes socks, my hand dyed merino nylon, and Knitpicks Stroll in Dogwood Heather. I designed these socks to feature the color changes of the yarn, yet interesting enough to knit. A few cables, some plain stockinette and lots of nice stretchy garter. Size 1 needle on 64 sts. 

 

I love these pastel colors so much that I dyed another skein using the same color ways. They are very 'Springtime', but now that it is August, I am thinking of autumnal colors. I have accumulated (from an estate sale) lots of Koigu fingering weight merino in darker tones, enough to knit 200 more socks, which would be kinda boring, all dark. SO ...I am taking a short break from sock knitting and have cast on a scarf, in hopes of using up the scraps, and doing a bit of stash busting at the same time. 

We'll see how autumnal I can make this look. 

Dyeing Yarn part deux

 My new yarn arrived and I set up my dye kitchen again to dye some lighter variegated colors to brighten up my stash. The new yarn base is called Krypton (Superman?) because it is 75% merino and 25% nylon, making it harder wearing, but just as soft.  465 yards per skein. Included in this batch are two solids; purple which looks very light in this pic and seaglass, which is turning out to be my new fave color. 

Then yesterday I tackled the merino-cashmere-nylon yarn called Capretta. It is non-superwash, so no hot hot hot soapy water or lots of fussing. Just gentle movement and lukewarm water. Of course it sets in the microwave just like the others but allowed to cool to room temperature before removing from the dyebath.

 

It just came out of the wash here. By the way, I use shampoo and creme rinse, because wool is hair. It works great, is gentle and effective.

For this yarn which is often referred to as MCN, I took advantage of the July yarn sales driving me nuts on Youtube and looked at this very expensive yarn base on Knit Picks. It usually runs $16.99 per skein. Yipes! The sale price was $6.80...OK!! Here it is hanging up to dry in my hall bath. I can't wait to try a swatch.

Everything I have been dyeing is fingering weight and aimed at sock knitting, since my Sock Project has really been about learning new techniques and improving my skills. But for this MCN I don't plan to knit socks, but instead, shawls, cowls, scarves, and hats. If there is a knit-worthy person who understands how to wash a pair of luxury socks, then I would certainly make them a pair. 

#13 Diamond Band socks

 I was ready to try to design my own colorwork socks. Four colors were chosen and

then I painted the design on graph paper with markers, matching the yarn colors I would use. 

I planned to try to knit a bit tighter and that worked. I also wanted to refine the Dutch garter stitch heel and that also worked. 

In between dyeing yarn, I took a sitting break and knit these. That worked too. As I age I can no longer steamroll ahead on projects and have learned that I can still get stuff done, even if I rest for several hours in between. It is humbling.  

 The changes I made on the heel pleased me and I am so happy to have found this technique. It feels so great on the foot.

 I managed to tighten my gauge and the final product looks neater. Summer Lee, my guru of sock knitting advises knitting many socks with the aim of refining and tightening up stitch count, for a better fit, wear, and appearance. When I tried these on for the first time, I was so in love with the feel on my feet, like mink gloves. 

In yesterday's comments:

Marybeth R.July 27, 2026 at 10:10 AM

How did you wring out the water without the strands sticking together? What temperature did use for the microwave? I would have thought that the plastic bag would have melted....buy at 81yo I still don't understand all there is to know about microwaves.

My reply: the strands of yarn are not sticky, so there is no problem with them sticking together. However I am dyeing Superwash merino, which is treated to that it won't felt, and the fibers are smoothed out in that process. I used the full strength setting on the microwave, but the wool inside the plastic trash bag is really loaded with water which helps.

Dyeing before breakfast

  

I had the yarn, I had the acid dyes and finally I had the urge. There were colors I needed in my stash, in quantity, and at every online yarn sale I saw, those were the colors that were already sold out. And/Or, the colors I wanted were very expensive. 

I also wanted to try speckled yarn, as it is currently the rage in knitting land and I watched enough YouTube videos to convince myself that I could dye it myself. 

One video suggested salt shakers with dye mixed with rice (uncooked) to keep it dry and flowing. It worked kinda...but the rice kept getting stuck in the holes of the shakers or coming out completely. My kitchen dye studio became littered with purple, yellow and fuchsia rice grains, which look like mouse poop.

  Here's what I did . I presoaked my Superwash merino wool yarn in warmish water and a tablespoon of citric acid powder (think non-smelly vinegar) and arranged it on a opened trash bag and sprinkled dyes over it all.

 

Then I wrapped the yarn in the trash bag and placed the parcel in a plastic bin and popped it in the microwave for 5 minutes. Then repeated the task on the reverse side of the yarn. This is the result. 

Meh. Not speckled exactly, more blobby. 

 Is it usable? Possibly, We'll have to see. I see very few speckles. Harrumph.

 

Starting again, I mixed up some pastel solutions for the cotton candy colorway I keep drooling over.

When using warmed-up citric acid mixed water, the dyes take almost immediately, and the excess water runs off completely clear.

 Here is the luscious result. Yay! Success.  

I have an order in for more yarn (vicious cycle) this time non-Superwash Capretta, a merino, cashmere and nylon blend. I will have to be careful with heat and movement so I don't felt the yarn. I believe I can do it. 

For a more indepth tutorial see this post: Dyeing Wool Yarn in 30 Minutes or Less

#12 By Jove!

 By Jove! I think she's got it! 

It's true, I've cracked the code, learned the trick, found my way and I am so happy and relieved. 

Here's the short version...I rewatched the colorwork tutorial (Summer Lee again) and this time I noticed one teeny little clue. Insert a stitch marker at the beginning of the round! Simple pimple and what a huge difference it makes. I never got lost on the pattern and everything lined up where it should. 

 I got so excited I had to try on the first sock as soon as I steamed it, still warm!

 Of course this isn't the most intricate pattern, but still, I already have ideas for more chevron designs in multiple colors. To make it really clear for myself I followed the pattern exactly and used the suggested colors. That may have been the most difficult for a maverick like myself. My confidence grew tho, so I am glad for once that following the pattern was the right thing to do to really learn the technique. As soon as the colorwork part was finished, I changed the leg to ribbing, and made the foot another color...and O, I discovered a new heel to try.

 This is the Dutch Square Heel in garter stitch. Very fast and easy and so squishy to wear. I followed the pattern but it was so intuitive that I didn't have to look at the directions at all for the second sock. 

 Here it is after blocking. It really cups the foot so nicely and is springy and squishy, which I just love.

So I learned two techniques which I know I will use over and over again. My own designs to follow!

64 stitches, needles #1 and #2, merino and nylon yarns. Lopi sock pattern from Summer Lee.

#11 and a half

 I thought I was ready to knit a whole sock in multiple patterns and multiple yarns.  I spent the whole day knitting this sock. It fits perfectly which is the nicest thing I can say about it. 

Could it be that I bit off more than I could chew?  I am not in love and really don't want to make the second pair. Is that giving up too early? Won't the second one be an improvement over the first? Perhaps, because the experience will help, but then the first one will always be a reminder of what I messed up. I'm not going to point out the mistakes as they are myriad, on the other hand they may not be visible as you rush by on a speeding horse.

 

They do feel wonderful on the foot. Cozy and soft after the miracle of steam blocking. 

 This sock project was meant to teach me new techniques and to improve my skills. I have learned a lot and now I am not afraid of things that once baffled me. More stitches per inch make a nicer sock, and casting on with magic loop has really made cuff down socks so much easier. Not to mention the cut through afterthought heel which I really love, no more holes at the corners. And best of all sock blockers and steaming are a revolution for the whole process. The finished socks are so soft and drapey after steaming and it's so fast compared to the old way of blocking. 

All that being said...I can always come back and knit the second one, but for now I will start fresh and try to remember that I never saved my homework from school and yet it still helps me today.

#11 Pinstripe Sock

 The second variation of  The Solution sock. This time I used my own hand dyed sock yarn paired with Knit Picks Chroma Fingering in Mocktail colorway, the main body color.  Both are merino and nylon and I used size 2 for everything but the foot which was size 1 needles. Cast on 64, which turns out to be the right size for my foot. Yay!  I attempted to match the main color and had to unspool a massive amount of beige colored yarn to get near to the same color to start sock #2. Close, but not close enough. Nevermind I still love these. 

 

Sock one starts light blue then yellow, and sock two goes from pale orange to blue. The contrasting yarn is multi-colored (the heel shows it ) and looks entirely different against the main color.

 Matching is overrated. 

 So glad I made these. Sigh.