Why Kate Atherley Loves Knitting Socks: It’s All Because of Granny
My grandmother, Granny Hilda, was a gifted, life-long knitter. She taught me the basics when I was very young, but unfortunately, she had died by the time I decided to get serious about the craft when I was in my early 20s.
I remember her knitting sweaters, mostly. But it was an anecdote about a different type of project that changed my life. I don’t even remember when we had the discussion, but I distinctly recall my mother telling me that Granny used to knit a lot of socks, and when she was a girl, she would earn a penny turning the heels of socks for other knitters. Even before I’d turned the heel of a sock myself, this made sense to me: Granny was fiercely smart, and very self-sufficient. I could absolutely see her cooking up this sort of scheme to raise a bit of money for chocolate (another life-long passion of hers).
Getting Started Knitting Socks
Not long after I finished university, I moved to Toronto. I was living around the corner from a very large yarn shop, Romni Wools. I was making scarves and mittens, and had tried a couple of sweaters, and although I enjoyed it, I don’t know that I would have considered myself a dedicated knitter. One cold Sunday afternoon, out for a walk, I ducked into the shop to warm up. I wasn’t in a rush to head back into the snow, and so I ventured into the back, where the sock yarn was.
And that, as they say, was that!
The staff at the shop set me up with the key equipment: a ball of fun variegated yarn that would hide my mistakes, a set of what seemed like terrifyingly tiny double-pointed needles, and a book of patterns.
Refining Sock Knitting Technique
Even though the first sock wasn’t terrific, I could feel the pull of the craft. And then by the time I finished the second pair, and they fit and felt good and were warm, my fate was sealed. I was no longer a knitter: I was a Knitter. A Sock Knitter.
Related: Must-Know Sock Knitting Technique: How a Sock is Supposed to Fit
I started experimenting with patterns and resizing them to fit my smaller-than-average feet, and creating designs. And I built a career in sock knitting: teaching at a local yarn shop, designing socks for the store, then publishing a couple of patterns, and teaching myself to be a technical editor.
25 years later, knitting is my life. I design socks. I help other designers with sock patterns. I’ve taught sock knitting classes all over the world. I’ve written a book about sock knitting. Oh, and of course I’m still knitting them. I’ve got two pairs on the go right now.
I know Granny would be proud.
Kate Atherley is Knitty.com’s Managing Technical Editor, and a seasoned designer and teacher of all things knitterly. She has written eight books and edited a ninth. She is also the co-publisher of Digits & Threads, an online magazine about Canadian fiber and textile arts, crafts, and industry. Visit her at www.kateatherley.com or on social media @kateatherleyknits
Cast On Socks with Kate
Thank you! I’m in the mountains, so would like to see winter socks, for walking around the cabin, keeping feet warm in bed (I sleep with my window open and my feet get cold), and they also can go in my boots.