Posted on

Lycra….the cobweb kind

Lycra....the cobweb kind 1
Lycra....the cobweb kind 2
Just off the machine. The one without lycra was made first.
Pattern: 20 rows, hang hem. 2 rows. +3 heel. 50 rows. toe.
Lycra....the cobweb kind 3
unwashed/finished for 24 hours
Lycra....the cobweb kind 4
washed and laid flat to dry

There are some things to notice. You can see how the sock with the lycra looks marled. If you would enlarge the picture, you can see that where the pink yarn is, the lycra is underneath the pink. It’s the opposite where you can see the black lycra, so the lycra is on top of the yarn. This is the nature of the beast. You’re never going to get it to either always show or never show. (that’s why there are different colors of lycra…so you can choose the color that will show the least with the yarn being used. On the store, I made a knitted sample showing each color of lycra on light, medium and dark yarn. That way you can make a better decision as to which one you would likely use the most. I know you’re wondering how much lycra is on each cone. The answer is a lot. I don’t know exactly how many socks you can make before the lycra runs out, but it’s a lot. It’s taken me more than a year to go through one of these cones of lycra.

These pictures show you what lycra does to a sock. I used Heritage sock yarn and black cobweb lycra. The top left picture is what the socks looked like when they came off of the machine (a 54 cylinder Creelman Improved Money Maker). I made the top sock, the one without lycra, first. I did not change any settings, then I made the bottom sock with black lycra so that it would be easily visible. The first thing you can note is that the sock is about 1/2″ smaller as it comes off the machine. I closed the toes and laid them out overnight. The next morning, I took the unwashed picture, notice that the lycra sock shrunk more overnight. The picture to the right is what they looked like coming out of the washer. I did not dry the socks.

Lycra....the cobweb kind 5

It’s August and I’m sitting in my family room wearing these socks. If you know me, you will know that I don’t really like to put socks back on until after the first frost, but in the interest of this blog post, I am wearing them around. Both socks fit my foot, and I don’t normally make my socks on the 54 cylinder. My foot is sensitive and I can’t feel the stitches. (I thought I would be able to since I made them on the 54, but I can’t!!) The black one stretched out and fits just fine, it is not pulling or trying to slip down. I am liking them (except my feet are already feeling hot)…

Here’s my personal lycra story: I have told it before and I am sure I will tell it again, but it’s the best example of the use of lycra that I can provide. I went to a crank in in Washington in 2015. We had a sock swap. Jackie Lee made my socks out of Koigu sock yarn. It’s wonderful, but it’s not superwash, she used the cobweb lycra in them. I have to tell you, these are some of my favorite socks and they are among the first I wear after wash day. I can still wear them….they are 5 years old now. Normally, my socks don’t last two seasons because they get too small and I have to pull and tug them to stay on my heel…I have a few people that have smaller feet than I so I pass them along. Now, these Koigu socks are still going strong. In fact, I just changed my socks and put them on for you to see.

Lycra....the cobweb kind 6
August 30, 2019….me modeling a pair of Koigu and lycra socks made in 2015.

So, I will close this second blog post with a couple of random thoughts.

Y’all are probably going to get tired of looking at my feet in socks. But it’s what I do. I can’t help it. I never realized how much I had to say about lycra before posting this. I will tell you one thing for sure, if I sell it to you it’s something that I use myself. If I don’t like it, I am sure not going to sell it.

Next, don’t you just love to pull something out of a drawer or a box that someone else made for you? It makes me smile every time, a little reminder that someone thought of me. I tuck these things all over my house and smile when I pass by….

And , as always, I wish you happy cranking. I hope you’ve learned a little something today.

Jamie