Little Socks - Tiny Socks

Knitting surely hasn't been top of my to-do list lately, but some happened during my extended grandmother stay. I had started a pair of socks for Baby Girl (still thinking about new names) right after Christmas. Kid socks are so quick to make and she is a big fan of my hand knits. I thought I'd send them home with her when they left at the end of the holiday visit. Well, that didn't happen,

As Mommy and J-Daddy were loading their car to head home after the holidays, we got the call that Jessica and Todd were headed to the hospital. I threw a few things in a bag and dashed out the door. I did have the presence of mind to grab the unfinished socks. I figured I could finish these socks quickly. And I did get them done, but not as quickly as I had hoped.

But the socks were finally finished and delivered and Baby Girl was really happy to have a new pair. All of the kid socks I've made have been from Susan B. Anderson's Ribbed Socks for Kids pattern. If you are on Ravelry, it's a free pattern. If you're not on Ravelry, find a friend who is and ask her to print it for you. And there are some yarn shops who will find these patterns for you. This is the 8th pair I've made with this pattern. I've used it to make socks for 2 year olds to 9 year olds, only adjusting the cuff length and foot length. 

Grandmother's Favorite dishcloth pattern.
It IS this grandmother's favorite.

And then I realized I was out of knitting projects. Except for dishcloths. I made 7 while I was here. Most of them knitted in the middle of the night when I was up on baby duty. (One was in use when I made this photo.)

The only other yarn I had was a dab of pink sock yarn and the leftover yarn from Baby Girl's new pair. Thankfully I had tossed a set of DPNs in with my knitting stuff. So I figured I could make even tinier socks. For the tiny baby. 

Oh my goodness, these are fun to make!

The Perfect Newborn Socks pattern is also free on Ravelry. It is written for stitches to be divided and worked on 4 needles. I knit socks on 3 needles, so I used the numbers and adjusted the directions. I weighed the finished socks and this pair weighed 4 grams. Yes. Tiny, tiny socks. 

I wouldn't say I'm a tight knitter, but you could call me a "snug" knitter. These little socks were good for this very small baby. (She was 5.5 lb at birth.) I used a size 1 needle as that's what the pattern called for. Next time I think I'll go up to a size 1.5 needle. And it is really important to use a stretchy cast on and be conscientious of not doing that too tightly. Maybe I'll even try the one-size up needle for the cast on and a few rows of leg ribbing and then go back to the smaller needle. Knitting is a perpetual experiment.

**Heads up if the babies in your world arrive bigger than ours. At one month old and weighing over 7 lbs, her little foot fills up these little socks. It was great to have some that were truly "newborn" size for her but I think I'd make the foot a little longer for other babies.

Baby Girl was excited that she and her new cousin have matching socks. I can't wait to see them together in their pink socks. The sock yarn is Cascade Heritage Hand Painted from my deep stash. It's been discontinued in this particular color.

FYI...the newborn socks are easier to put on if you fold down the cuff. Then you can roll them back up if you wish. They did stay on really well.