Since I picked up knitting a few years ago, socks have been my favorite thing to knit. I wear all my hand knit socks regularly, which means I’ve worn a lot of holes in my socks. Given how time intensive each pair is to make, I’ve started looking for ways to make them last longer. One suggestion I saw while doing some research was to knit at a tighter gauge. So, I tried using size 0 needles. But when I finished I thought “I can go smaller!” So, I worked up a pattern and started looking for the best needles for knitting socks at a small gauge.
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Are Knitters Pride Karbonz Knitting Needles the Best Needles for Knitting Socks?
While I usually prefer to use bamboo or wood knitting needles, below a certain size the laws of physics come into play. It just isn’t possible to make strong wood or bamboo needles below a US size 0 (2.0mm). So, I had to look for other options.
From what I could see, my material choices for US size 000 (1.5 mm) needles were stainless steel, aluminum, or carbon fiber. I’m not generally a fan of metal needles, as I like my needles to have a little more flexibility and a little less slip, so I decided to try the carbon fiber needles.
In the US the most readily available brand is Knitters Pride Karbonz needles, so those were the ones I bought. I prefer a shorter needle, so I went with the 6″ long version, but an 8″ variation was also available. As far as I can tell, the size 000 aren’t available as circular needles (the smallest size I could find was US 0), so fans of the magic loop method are out of luck. I’m a dedicated DPN user, so this wasn’t an issue for me, but it’s something to be aware of.
Overall, I ended up really liking the Karbonz needles, as they were flexible enough and had enough texture to feel nice while knitting. In my opinion, these are some of the best needle for knitting socks. I would have preferred if they had an option without the metal tip, but I adjusted to it over time. And this is a very tiny downside to be able to knit at this gauge without worrying that my needles would break or bend. The 6″ (15cm) size ended up being long enough for socks meant for my feet (I usually wear a US size 7 women’s shoe), but if you’re making socks for larger feet, you may want to size up to the 8″ (20cm) variation.
Knitting a Gauge Swatch
The gauge swatch was tighter than I typically knit, which was the goal, but also came with some challenges. The first was just that the gauge swatch just took soooooo many more stitches to get to the standard 4″ x 4″ size. I’d estimated that I would get a gauge of about 12 x 15 stitches, so for a 4″ square swatch I needed about 48 columns by 60 rows. Since this was for *~science~*, I didn’t want to skip or downsize the swatch. However, I think it’s probably possible at this gauge to get an accurate idea of the gauge you’re knitting at from a smaller than standard (maybe 3″ x 3″) swatch.
I also want to note that yes, I am doing a flat gauge swatch for a project that I’ll be knitting in the round. Honestly, when it comes to socks I find this works just fine for me. At this scale, I don’t notice a difference between my flat swatches and the finished gauge on the sole of my socks (which is usually stocknette). And the various methods for getting gauge swatch in the round all have their own drawbacks anyway. So, what I’m saying is, you do you here and I’ll do me.
Anyway, the main thing I noticed about the gauge swatch was that it had a tendency to curl like, a lot. As you can see in this video I posted to my Instagram, as I knit the swatch wants to just roll up from the bottom. This is a clear indication that my stitches are very tight for the yarn I’m using.
What I found interesting was that, once I found my stride in terms of yarn tension, the knitting didn’t feel much tighter. I noticed a little more density on the needles, but because the needles were so small, I didn’t have any trouble forming my stitches.
I ended up with a gauge of 10 x 14 per inch with a finished gauge swatch of 48 x 60 stitches over a swatch of about 5 x 4.5 inches. To compare, my US size 0 (2.0mm) needle socks had a gauge 9 x 10 stitches per inch and another gauge swatch knitted with US size 1 needles (2.25mm) had a gauge of 8 x 10.
About the Pattern and the Yarn
At this point, if I want a simple, top-down lace sock that uses yarn I already have, I generally find it easier to just design my own pattern. However, if you want to avoid that, there were nearly 100 different results for socks knit with size 000 needles on Ravelry when I last looked.
I’m planning on releasing my pattern after I clean up my notes and knit a second sample, so keep an eye out for that if you’re interested (maybe sign up for my mailing list?).
The yarn I used was the same Knomad Bisque yarn I’ve used before, dyed by in a custom color (that I absolutely cannot recreate because I didn’t write anything down. Oops). While I’m defiantly going to be switching over to non-superwash wool in the future to aid in my quest for longer lasting socks, I thought it would be interesting to compare how these hold up to the US size 0 needle version socks I made using the same yarn.
Knitting the Socks
The actual process of knitting the socks felt nearly identical to knitting socks at a larger gauge. However, they did take noticeably longer. I am not organized enough to track the hours I spent knitting, but I’d estimate it took me about 50% longer to finish these socks compared to socks knitted with US size 1 (2.25mm) needles.
Physically, there wasn’t a big difference in how knitting at this smaller scale felt on my hands. I didn’t find I was more sore than with larger gauge socks and I was able to knit for sessions that were just as long. I didn’t notice the difference at all on the ribbing or the leg of the sock, but I did feel a bit of a difference if my tension was too high on the heel and the sole. This was most likely because lace patterns tend to knit more loosely than the stockinette on the sole and the reinforced stitches on the heel.
Fit and Wear Experience
So far, I’ve worn these socks three times. It’s too early to say if they hold up better, but I’m keeping eye out for signs of thinning, pilling, and shedding. I’ll likely write a longer post next spring looking at how all my recent sock experiments have held up.
For now, I’m pretty happy with the way these socks fit. They defiantly are comfortable enough for everyday wear and fit nicely in shoes. However, I think I’d be happier if they were a little more snug. They softened up and loosened up a noticeable amount after wet finishing, which signals that superwash wools tendency to “grow” may be at play here. So, when I make a second sample, I think I’ll switch to a non-superwash wool (I’m looking at you, Knomad Natura Mohair) to see if that improves the fit without having to alter the pattern.
When I’m wearing the socks, I don’t notice any change in texture or comfort on the leg, instep, or heel. The sole feels a little bit firmer than my larger gauge socks, but only if I’m actively paying attention. If anything, the inside of the sole feels a bit less pebbly than larger gauge socks, likely because the resulting fabric is so much tighter. So if the inside texture of hand knitted socks bothers you, switching to a smaller gauge may help.
I think I’ve reached the lower end of usable needles for fingering weight yarn. The tendency for stocknette sections to curl is a big clue, however, I may try 00000 (1.0mm) needles eventually anyway. I really want to know if there’s a point at which going smaller with my needles will have little or no effect on my knitted gauge. And when I do, I think the best needs for knitting those socks will be the Karbonz carbon fiber needles.
Have you tried knitting a pair of socks with US size 000 (1.5mm) needles? Did you find it made any difference in the wear or feel of your socks? Let me know in the comments below or over on Instagram!