Citrus Sherbet Socks

I'm a bit late posting these, considering I finished them in May -- but it's been that kind of year, hasn't it? 

Laddie was next up for socks, and I decided to try dyeing yarn for his socks. I'm still figuring out the "perfect sock," in terms of fiber and weight. I found Dyer Supplier to be a wonderful resource, as they actually sell non-superwash wool yarns! They're quite inexpensive, too, which made me more willing to experiment with dyeing. I settled on organic merino Tilandsia fingering. I've read mixed reviews of merino as a sock yarn, but again -- experimenting.

 

Laddie helped me dye his yarn -- the beauty of dyeing with KoolAid is that it's non-toxic! I wish I'd had more of the lemonade to make a darker green (in retrospect I could have added a smidge of food color), but the orange came out nice and bright. A few zaps in the microwave set the colors. 

After dyeing the green, we spread out the skein and "poked" it with forks dipped in blue and orange dye -- the speckle effect worked perfectly! 

When it came to knitting, I ended up devising my own pattern based on stitch counts from other fingering-weight patterns. I did have to start over shortly after getting through the heel, as they were coming out too narrow (they still look narrow, but Laddie has skinny little feet!). Simple ribbing on top helps with the fit, and I wanted something simple that wouldn't distract from the color contrast. I also used the Fish lips kiss heel again, and I doubt I'll ever use another! 

Laddie thoroughly enjoyed helping me dye his yarn, and was delighted to have some hand-knit socks of his own. Now if I can just keep them out of the washer and dryer... 

Raveled here.