Brand
MaineBearSox1

Distributor
Furryarns

Where to Purchase Wholesale
Furryarns

Wholesale to actual physical storefronts only not online shops

Where to Purchase Retail
Furryarns

Place of Origin
Southern Maine

Fiber Content
80% Superwash Treated Wool
20% Nylon

Gauge
7.5 - 9 sts/1 inch

 Price
$19.95

Yarn Type
Fingering

Yardage/Weight
475 yds/434 m
4 ounces/113 grams

Recommended Needle Size
0 - 2 US/2 - 2.75 mm

Care
Machine wash/delicate cycle/cold water or for best results hand wash in cold water

Color Used in Review
Fruitbowl

Pattern Used
Pebbles by Gail Dennis

You may obtain a free copy of this pattern at:
Furryarns doc file
Furryarns pdf file

Needles Used
Addi Turbos

Date Reviewed
10/16/06



 

My First Impressions

When I opened the package I was struck by the vibrant colors. I love bright bold colors and I was not disappointed in the least. What did surprised me was the deep purple color added to the red, orange and a touch of fuchsia. I immediately wondered how this was going to work out and what kind of a pattern I would need to design to bring out the beauty of these colors.
 

 Knitting Results

I have to admit that I was baffled about designing a pattern for this colorway. True it would have been easy to just do a simple stockinette stitch pattern where I knew I would get a beautiful striped sock with no pooling (I don't like pooling) but then again, I'm not the kind of person who likes conventional. I love a challenge and these colors were that indeed! I tried a few designs that I felt failed miserably although someone else would have loved them and said I was crazy. I admit it. I am fussy to the point of crazy. That's why they call me the Sockamaniac. I am maniacal when it comes to my work. I want perfection. So I wasn't about to quit until I created a design that would bring out the beauty of that purple. I frogged many times but I never got discouraged. I finally designed a slipped stitch pattern that not only worked beautifully with these colors but I also got a very pleasant surprise; the sock looked like I did it using the shadow knitting technique which requires a few skeins of yarn in different colors, I only had to use just this one. What a treat indeed!

      Yarn Impressions

The fact that the twist was not too tight gave the socks a softer look without loosing stitch definition. I was impressed with the way the yarn made my design stand out even though there were many colors. And it's soft too! I kept wanting to squeeze the ball (One of my compulsions when I'm knitting with soft yarn. LOL)) as I was knitting but then that commercial, "Please Don't Squeeze the Charmin," came to mind and I had to discipline myself to leave the ball alone and get on with my knitting.

 I also found that I didn't need to add extra nylon reinforcement in the heels and toes because the yarn maintains its strength  due to the twist. And too, my leg is not exactly slim so if I wear inexpensive store bought socks, I find that when I take them off, they are stretched out beyond recognition. Well not quite that bad but you get the picture. With MaineBearSox1 my socks held their shape beautifully not only while I wore them (no sagging) but when I took them off they bounced back into shape!

Another notable thing is the fact that the yarn doesn't split while knitting. This is important especially if you're using a pattern that requires twisted or crossover stitches. Have you ever tried working those stitches using a yarn that has a loose twist causing it to split easily? Not a pretty picture. I use Addi Turbo circular needles a lot for my sock knitting. However the blunt rather than pointed tips of the Addi’s make it difficult to pickup stitches for crossing over. And on some yarns the blunt tips tend to split the yarn rather than glide through all the tiny strands. With MaineBearSox1 I experienced very little splitting which made my knitting go much faster. I could even knit while watching TV and not have to keep looking at my knitting to make sure that I was picking up the whole strand of yarn.

  Suggestions for Care and Knitting

Regarding care of your MaineBearSox1 socks, you can machine wash them, however I wouldn’t recommend it because you may accidentally forget to change your temperature settings from hot to cold if you previously did a white wash using the hot setting. Do I need to tell you what will come out of your machine then? All that work only to end up with mini felted sockettes. I wash all my hand knit socks by hand using cool water and Woolite which I consider to be well worth the effort since I’ve already put in a lot of knitting time as well as gorgeous yarn.

As far as longer wear goes, because of the nylon already added to the wool, these socks wear well. No need to use extra reinforcement for the heel and toes.

A Knitting Tip From Me

Whenever you are going to use a yarn like MaineBearSox1 that is usually designed for a striping pattern and you want to use a different pattern stitch, I advise staying away from lace and sticking with patterns that use slipped stitches otherwise you'll end up with a lot of pooling. Not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes pooling can form into very interesting designs but do a test swatch first using half the number of stitches that you will use on your sock (36) (36 x 2 = 72) to get an idea of how the yarn will pool. Better yet just enjoy using MaineBearSox1 just as it was designed, for gorgeous simple striped socks. Keep in mind though, as you get to the heel and gusset, the stripes will get a lot wider. If you don't like that effect, use a solid color instead for the heels and toes. No matter what you do, this is a wonderful yarn.

In Conclusion

MaineBearSox1 is definitely to be considered when you want strong, vibrant, colors, softer stitch definition as well as softness and easy to care for socks. Socks made with MaineBearSox1 are not only a treat to wear as it cuddles your feet, but also to look at. Socks made out of the wonderful colors of MaineBearSox1 beg to be shown off in clear clogs. I wear mine that way all the time! The compliments never end!