Introducing Sock Blanks

I finally get to let you in on the source of all the "secret" knitting I've been doing the last couple of months. It's been a lot of fun but it is going to be even more fun to share it with you.

Last year a good friend sent me a bit of cream colored yarn knit up into a tube and challenged me to figure out its purpose. It proved to be quite a puzzle around the office for a couple of hours but we finally figured out that it was a "sock blank". A pre-knit fabric that allows you to closely control, or not, colors you can use for knitting a pair of socks. You dye the blank and then knit the socks, unraveling the dyed blank as you go.

I thought it was a brilliant idea but not many knitters have knitting machines or antique sock knitting machines to use for making and blanks. And, hand-knitting a blank was really not acceptable. One of our yarn vendors has a division that makes clothing and those factories make knit fabric. We asked them to try making a sample blank. They sent a dozen and I started experimenting.

The idea was to establish a few "templates" for dying the blanks. The first one I tried involved a zig-zag of color with other colors placed in the triangles.

I tried sprinkling some Jacquard dye powder just to see what would happen. Then I soaked the dry powder with some vinegar water.

As I knit the socks, I discovered that the zig-zag meant that the blue carried on every round giving the look some consistency.

I went a bit crazy with my second sock blank. Lots and lots of dots. Even though it was a lot of fun, I realized that keeping it down to just three colors would be a bit less "crazy" once the socks were knit.

With all the yarn for a pair of socks pre-knit into one long bit of fabric, the socks won't ever actually match. Yes, they will be paired in color but not in the way the colors knit up into the socks. What we learned from my little experiments was that we wanted to have the sock blanks knit with two strands of yarn. That way, you could manage to knit "matching" socks!

  After we made that decision, our vendor sent another dozen sock blanks. Tina and Alison took them to Tina's house to document different dyeing methods for our tutorial. That's when I had to really focus on my "secret" knitting. I took my assigned socks - the vertically striped sock blank - with me when we travelled to Germany and Spain. That's why I took so many more photos of other people and there were so few photos of me and my knitting.

I enjoyed the vertical striped socks as they knit up. Very subtle changes of color. You can see these and all the other sample socks on our tutorial page.

Comments

[Teish]

I really love the concept of the sock blanks. I'm just a bit nervous about having the dyeing supplies around my kiddos. Three of them age 3 and under makes me pretty careful about any chemicals that I keep in the house. I rarely even have any bleach around! Maybe I'll get the courage to try it when they are a bit older.

Hi Teish,

You can always use Kool Aid for dyeing the sock blanks or any other yarn. I can't guarantee that your kitchen won't become more colorful, particularly the floor, but the dyes would certainly be safe for your children.

Kelley

[DebbieT]

Pretty cool. Neat concept for those of you into dying. It's too messy for me, but a great idea.

[ToniC]

Did you realize you were 'scooped' yesterday on Ravelry? Not with the dyeing info, just that KP is now selling sock blanks. I like that vertical stripe.

Hi Toni,

I was pleasantly surprised as I knit the vertical stripe socks. I think this would be a particularly good choice for a man's pair of socks because the colors just sort of meld together. It would probably even happen if you used colors that weren't so close in color and tone.

Kelley

[Renee]

oooh, those are so pretty, and I do want to learn to dye this summer. Another thing to play with!

[Caffeinated]

I've actually seen these in stores already, pre-dyed (hand-dyed) and sold as "Flat Feet" :-)

[Angelika]

I knew there was a reason I kept my knitting machine. I've seen the flat feet before, but have so much other sockyarn to knit up first, that I never tried it. The machine makes knitting a blank so much easier.

[loribird]

One word: AWESOME! I'm very excited about this idea, looking forward to trying it out.

[Hallie]

This looks wonderful! The socks look great after you've finished. This is a project my girls will really enjoy. We've dyed yarn before and they loved that. YES!! Thanks! Can't wait to try this.

[Nancy/Knitski]

How Fun! I have seen these blanks some place else and they certainly grabbed my interest.

I wonder if it isn't a bit like drying fruit to eat later, taking a knitted material and re-knitting.

I can only imagine what people will come up with as there are so many creative folks out there.

[Giovanna]

I think they look awesome! This could be a really nice way to ease someone into dyeing sock yarn. All of your experiments just look fantastic!

[Laurenm]

I have a knitting machine and had considered doing this myself thinking that if I use two strands it would be thick enough for the machine to handle - not that I could knit two socks at the same time. I normally don't have second sock syndrome and I don't like to knit two socks at once only because I don't like two balls of yarn to contend with. Since it's only one flat sheet that has both strands of yarn, maybe I'll like two socks at once now.

[SusanD]

The person who first started this idea for dyeing was Nancy Roberts who has done some amazing things with it - Machine Knitting to Dye For is her web site at http://www.machineknittingtodyefor.com/index.html
I saw her introducing this in ? 2004 or 2005 in her booth at STITCHES in No. Calif.

I guess both the Flat Feet product and this one from Knit Picks is using her idea to market their sock yarns in this technique.

I guess you can't copyright this sort of idea though.

Susan D.
(an old friend of Nancy's who wishes she were getting some credit for her idea)

[Rebekkah]

I think the blanks are a great idea! I've heard of Flat Feet, but for me the real draw of the blanks is that you get to dye them yourself.

Since you asked for honest feedback on the podcast, can I give some? I'd much, much prefer to see you use a single yarn to make the blankes, instead of doubled yarn. I noticed that you discussed some problems with some dyeing techniques on the podcast, in terms of getting the dye to fully penetrate the doubled yarns. I also want to point out that, while some people really like the 2 socks on 2 circs (or magic loop) technique, some of us have tried and and just don't like it. I know how difficult and time consuming it is to neatly re-skin a doubled yarn into two separate balls. (In my experience, it's a recipe for tangles and headaches, and takes a long time.) For those of us who aren't 2-at-a-time knitters, *please* consider making a non-doubled version of the blanks. I don't need (or expect) perfect symmetry in my handpainted socks.

I apologize if you've already seen this on Ravelry. I mentioned it there, but I don't know if you read any of the threads there, so thought I'd ask you directly, since you asked for feedback. Again, I think the blanks are an awesome idea. I'm just crossing my fingers that they'll eventually come in a format that will be convenient enough that I'll decide I want to try them. :-)

(Your dyeing and socks here look great, by the way!)

[selkie30]

I've been knitting socks like this for a number of years. I buy the blanks from Nancy Roberts at www.machineknittingtodyefor.com. What I like about her blanks is the fact that I'm knitting one sock at a time because the blanks are single-stranded. Nancy is the originator of this idea and published an article in the Fall 2006 issue of Spin-Off magazine. What she does is mark the blanks with a different knit stitch so you can match-up stripes and patterns. I'm sure it's a little more labor intensive to make them than it is to make double-stranded ones, but I think its worth a few extra bucks not to have to unwind the two strands, which to me sounds like a pain.

[Michele]

Very Cool. Completely one of a kind types of socks. I'm all about individuality!

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