As ya all might have guessed by now that I'm a machine knitter but I learned to crochet long before I learned to knit and I do enjoy a bit of crocheting now and then. And I love dyeing too so put the two together and came up with a plan for dyeing sock blanks. The blank didn't take long at all to crochet with double strands of yarn and I really like the results. I did a bit of calculations for number of stitches per row on my blank to come up with the length needed for a full round of knitting in my socks but was worth that effort. I got a lot of inspiration from the Sock Blank Artists group on Ravelry and finally took the step. Here's what I did.
Sz N Crochet Hook (I crochet tightly)
Crocheted blank |
1 skein sock yarn,
divided in halves
1. With a worsted weight acrylic or cotton yarn,
Ch 200 sts to make the foundation chain.
2. Change to 2 strands of sock yarn and work
shells into loops of chain.
3. Attach sock yarns and ch 3, work shell into
next ch, Ch1, skip the next foundation
chain and work shell into the next chain.
Repeat til end of chain or end of pattern
Soaked and laid out ready to dye |
repeat.
Turn.
SHELL:
YO 1x, pull up thru 2 loops,
YO 1x, pull up thru 2 loops 3 times,
Ch 1.
4. Chain 3 to turn and repeat shell pattern
across
row, inserting the shells into the front
loops
only of the previous shell.
Determine number of
shells:
Approx 2.5 shells (30”)
makes 1 round in a 70 or 72 st circular sock.
So for 2 rounds of
color in the sock, you’ll need 6 shells in the blank.
Keep in mind that the
end color sections will be doubled when knitting the sock.
Color Scheme and number of shells |
Intended Pattern |
Dyeing:
ProChem One Shot Very
Hot Pink & Deep Purple
1 tsp per pint of water & 2 tsp vinegar
Dharma Carribean Blue
½ tsp per pint of water & 2 tsp vinegar
Very intense colors at
this ratio, maybe use ½ tsp dye per pint, except for purple which needs the intensity.
Use a towel/rug as base
and foam paint brushes to apply dyes. Flip
blank over onto clean towel and reapply dye to cover any white spots, wrap in
plastic wrap, steam for 30 min. Let cool
naturally.
Wash & rinse til
clear.
Steaming
|
Resulting sock in progress |