Yaaaay! After numerous attempts and two days I have knit a pair of Opal socks on my Auto Knitter Sock Machine. I had to use a lot of weight, five weights on the stem. I can get no tighter gauge than nine rounds per inch. The fabric is still rather thin, but they are socks, perfect in stitches, perfect in size. They were made for a man. The yarn is Opal (75% wool/25% nylon), Shadows, Color 1282.
Since I couldn't get the gauge as tight as I wanted I thought the machine would like some slightly heavier fingering yarn. Not to be. It threw it up. I hate when that happens! I was using Silja, an inexpensive sock yarn, 80% wool, 20% nylon. You can see in the picture below where the stitches in the ribbing and the leg were happening hit or miss. I aborted the mission.
Although the fabric density is good, Silja does not feel good. It's harsh to the hand. Maybe it softens up with washing. Otherwise I think Silja will not be one of my favorites for sock knitting. I will try some other sock yarns of varying degrees of thickness. (All sock yarns are not created equal.) Maybe Lorna's Laces or some Merino like Koigu will be fluffier than Opal and softer than Silja and be just the diet this machine likes. There must be some yarn in my stash that will give me the density I want using this machine. I will not be defeated!
Bona Fide Knitter
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