Old vs new

The little socks are done. Yes, I cheated and made some with the other yarn, too. It was such pretty yarn and I know it will be liked just as much. Who wouldn't want two pair of new socks?

This is the results of the toe-up versus top down contest. The difficulty level is about the same. Maybe the toe-up takes longer to get going than the decrease/grafting would but it was new to me, too, so hard to say. I would definitely use a different cast-on to avoid having the ridge at the toe that this version had. If you look at the full sock photo you can see that the toe-up has a more definite right-angle to the heel. This may give a better fit for little feet but it wouldn't change anything for adult sizes.

The heel method in this toe-up pattern was very quick. Maybe too quick. If you look closely at the yellow/blue sock you can see that the short-row (as instructed in this pattern) produced gaps at every row. This would probably not be noticeable when wearing but I'm not sure of that. I had never done short rows like this and wouldn't again. It's not smooth enough and I like my socks to be seamless. And I definitely don't like the holes it leaves.


The 1x1 ribbing doesn't pull in as much but I usually use a 2x2 rib which I think is better. This is easily fixed so not really a comment for or against. Using a larger size needle to bind off at the top, though, does give a sloppiness that adds nothing to the appearance. I think just making sure the bind-off isn't too tight would do the trick.

So, if I get a big thumbs up on the fit, I'll try again. If not, I'll stick to my own pattern. If the fit is significantly better, I'll look for a different method of making the heel. That was my big complaint. So, not much of a contest, really, is it?