I have knit up a pair of St Andrews Harbour socks
in a new yarn I’ve never tried,
and I’m smitten!
This yarn was found quite unexpectedly in a maze of aisles , with shelves of acrylic yarns reaching nearly to the ceiling,
and I was so surprised to have to tame my yarn snobbery, for this yarn was found at our local Michael’s Craft Store!
Modest little balls of Kroy …
Yes folks, the secret is out, the yarn is Patons Kroy Sock; a washable wool & nylon 4ply sock yarn, and a surprisingly rustic feeling yarn, in a surprisingly rustic solid shade of “flax” … (see my post A Rustic Yarn to get the meaning ). The confusing thing is that on the label it says “super fine fingering” , don’t let that fool you, fine fingering weight is not at all what it is, this yarn is 166 yards per 50 gram ball, which equals 332 yards per 100g, definitely in the category of sport-weight. Other yarns with this same yardage are super popular Malabrigo “Arroyo” — which I believe would make the perfect soft sock for this design, and Cascade 220 sport (not the superwash one) which was the yarn I knit the cover prototype of the pattern, and one of my all-time favorite yarns. Kroy is sport-weight yarn, ignore the label.
This pair of fishermens socks were knit with option to switch to stockinette after gusset decreases are finished, which makes a little less bulky in the shoe ( see Ravelry project details here) Anyway, I think I have found a really affordable “vintage” feeling yarn for these fishermen socks; the yarn is a bit rough at first, but as I knit it it feels better and more compliant, and I just know its going to soften a lot in the wash. Crazy, as I’m such a connoisseur of yarn, but it behaves very well, knits up very stretchy & brings out wool’s best elastic properties, and with great stitch definition.
Oh and the color ” Flax ” is ideal for a rustic old-fashioned look, and I bet the Fishermen of olden days would have loved a pair of socks made from this yarn. Will try the “Gentry Grey” soon, thinking these two colors are the only heathered solids in this yarn. Afterthought: Um… well, folks, I figure now that I can over-dye the Flax color, and have just bought 4 more balls and ideas rushing to the fore!
Jenjoyce Design 
Beautiful!
Thank you, and they are now done & dusted! xx
Hi Jen, I’ve been knitting socks with this very yarn for awhile now and it’s my favorite—- washes great and retains it’s shape and
wears well too. Ginger
Ginger, that is excellent feedback, thank you! x
Really great looking socks! And how surprisingly, finding such a perfect yarn, hidden between normally ignored yarns!
Have overdye fun xoxo
Oh, I know, really! And I’m really looking forward to over-dying some of it with food-coloring. 🙂 xx
And really, I do think this yarn would make a most excellent Petra Tam, so I’ll consider that too. ~~ xx
Love the sox! Yes, Kroy has been around forever. It’s a little secret delight.
Well that’s me, always having my awareness stretched. 😉 ((( stretch marks! )))
Oh, and I’ve got 4 extra balls to overdye with food coloring now, think my next will be a ‘dusty rose’… can’t wait! xx
Oh, looking forward to reading about this. 😍
Kroy sock yarn is, until recently, the only yarn I had ever used to knit socks as my mom and grandma only ever used it. Never thought of bucking tradition until I was given another type. I really do still love the feel of Kroy on my feet though and it washes so nicely!
AJ , that is really wonderful to hear, and I am really pleased so many are coming forth with their recommendations of Patons Kroy!
I made a similar discovery a few years ago when I was looking for some dark gray or black sock yarn. Didn’t have to be special, just wear like iron. Kroy was a lovely find at JoAnn Fabric! As you say, in aisles of proudly 100%acrylic yarn. The socks have softened up with age and washing, show no signs of wear, did not shrink at all. It’s good stuff!
I am super glad to read this feedback, and I’ve added the yarn as one of the recommended ones on the pattern page ! Thank you! x
Lovely socks! How I love hand knitted socks! The only thing that is better is if the yarn is handspun and hand dyed!
I have struggled so hard to knit socks in the round, but it takes me forever and ever to knit with teeny skinny yarns. Give me a worsted any day! Then I stand a chance of getting a pair of socks knitted! Lol😃
This is good to know, that Kroy is labeled as ” 1 ” but maybe really a ” 2 ” ?