Socks from the Toe Up: Essential Techniques and Patterns from Wendy Knits
Reviewed by: Dace lives in Tasmania, Australia, and loves to knit and sew for her grandchildren and many grand nieces and nephews.
A book for sock knitting enthusiasts.
This beautifully photographed and illustrated sock-knitting book by Wendy D Johnson caught my eye. I am a fairly experienced knitter of uncomplicated sweaters and jackets and baby wear but have not tried socks before, so was interested to see if this book would be a suitable guide for a sock starter.
My husband had been given 2 lovely pairs of hand knit socks as gifts but found he could not wear them as the ribbing was too tight around his fairly solid calves – so I got to keep both pairs, so I was especially interested to see if Toe Up socks would fit the bill and
not constrict the circulation.
My first impression in flicking through the book was of beautiful models sitting and standing in beautiful socks made of gorgeous yarns and it made me jealous of a life style where there are no chores! Are all hand knit socks designed to be worn for sitting around in or sleeping?
On closer examination I discovered a very good illustrated section on techniques perfectly suitable for beginners as well as experienced sock knitters who may not have tried the Toe Up technique before. Most socks had a smooth sole without a pattern, which was very welcome, as they would suit those of us with very sensitive feet. The Diamond Gansey style and all the vanilla styles could be worn with shoes or boots with reasonable comfort, however the Tribolite made me wince at the thought of wearing them inside a shoe. Casting off in loose ribbing and larger needles is much less likely to produce a tourniquet effect so this is a great style from that point of view.
The book would make a beautiful gift for a sock knitter with some experience, though it would be a lot easier to use if it were ring bound and sit flat while I was trying to test the pattern and had my hands full.
