big boy socks?

i've been on a quest for yarn to knit a pair of socks for thehairyape. sock yarn + thehairyape = tricky situation.

he is allergic to the fluffy animals, so that eliminates 90% of all sock yarns because they contain wool. there are cotton and bamboo yarns out there that do not blend in the animal fluff, but they are hard to find, and when found, often come in decidedly girly colors. so girly i won't even wear them.

the obvious choice is Cascade Fixation, and i will probably eventually make him a pair out of this yarn (once i can order some manly colors!) but i want to do a pair for myself first. i'm not convinced of the comfort level yet (i hear walking of the purl bumps of Fixation can be ouchy.) so i have found an alternative.

Rowan Calmer!
nice stuff. it is a cotton and spun polyester (some skeins say they are acrylic, not polyester) blend that is super stretchy and soft. it has good stitch definition, and with just a little tug in the opposite direction of the stretch, you can return the garment to original shape.

i made up a pattern for thehairyape's first sock and have, in fact, finished one.... but i can't give it to him because despite my swatching and math, i made a sock with a width that fits my foot well (woman's size 8-8.5) and he wears a men's 10.5-11. this is a problem i think i hit because i'm using yarn that is a larger gauge than i typically do a sock in.

Calmer also has a strange gauge personality. it behaves and looks like DK yarn, but it is supposed to be knit on an US8 needle at something more like a worsted gauge. and i went down to US4 and US5 needles... so.... surprise!

time to up size! the pattern is a relatively easy basket weave sock, so it will be very easy to increase the size in pattern. no pictures right now because i need to hang on to the pattern. something special may come this sock's way...

updates in the future!