The Quick and Dirty on Bettie's Lace Stockings and Noro Striped Scarf

First, the scarf. Everyone has knit this scarf. I followed Jared Flood's recipe and it turned out really well.

Stats:
Yarn: Noro Silk Garden, Color 292, Knitpicks Shine in Fedora
Mods: 60" long because I'm short
Needles: Size 7 straights
Pattern: Noro Striped Scarf




Then I started my Bettie's Lace Stockings. I thought about this pattern for quite a bit before I started. I decided that since the pattern is knit for a size 8 foot I needed to size down a bit (I wear a size five and have narrow feet.) I cast on using size 1 needles instead of size 2. I ended up knitting 8 repeats of the lace on the foot, and eight above the heel. Then I knit 7 repeats of the wide lace using size 1 needles. When I tried the stocking on I realized that really I needed the stocking to be wider to accommodate my calves. This is not an unusual pattern. Lots of people on Ravelry have had the same problem. Anyway, I soldiered on and knit 11 total repeats of the wide lace before working the edging as written (pretty picot!) When I tried the stocking on after casting off not only was it too narrow for most of the leg, it was also too short. Instead of ripping that stocking back I decided to cast on for the second sock and modify it, then re-knit the first.

The second sock went much smoother. I knit it the same as the first through the last repeat of the narrow lace above the heel. Then I switched size 3 needles. I knit 11 repeats of the wide lace and tried the sock on. It fit the width of my leg, but was still too short, so I knit two more repeats of the wide lace before working the top edging. It's perfect. See?




I have now ripped back the first sock to the last repeat of the narrow lace and will reknit the leg according to my mods on the second sock. If you're thinking of making this pattern I have two pieces of advice. The lace stretches a lot width-wise but not nearly as much as you would think length-wise. Even so, you will probably need to switch to a larger needle size when you start the wide lace. Second, the centering of the pattern is a little...odd and...counterintuitive. You might just want to work out your own centering method. I found that on both socks the centering instructions as written would have caused the lace pattern below the heel to not match up to the lace pattern above the heel, even though clearly that is what the designer intended. So, proceed with caution.