Wo. Here’s a bright summery sock yarn from Online. This is colour #929 from the Supersocke 100 Tropic Color series.

75% Superwash Wool 25% Nylon, ~420m/100g

This pair is size Medium, knit with the 72 cylinder on the Verdun 47.

I worked from two balls that started within a few feet of each other on the pattern repeat.

I first knit a size Large pair, and then a size Medium pair. I didn’t have but a few grams left on each ball at the end. Which is to say, I’m not sure I would have got the Large pair completed within one ball.  It would have been close one way or the other! This confuses me a little, as 420m/100g should be plenty for a Large pair.

Nevertheless, fun summer colours and an easy knitting yarn with no knots in the two balls I’ve knit so far.

Online Supersocke 100 – Tropic Color Series – #931

75% Superwash Wool  25% Nylon; ~420m/100g

The sample pair pictured is Size Small, knit with the 54 needle cylinder on the Legare 400.

I’ve got several colourways from this series, but this is the first one I’ve knit so far. I always like turquoice, and it features in the other colourways I have too. I guess that what makes it ‘Tropical’.

I was pretty happy with how this knit up. The pattern repeat isn’t so long, so rather than trying to match balls up before knitting, I just knit one sock – making sure to start knitting at a colour-change point in the pattern,  then for the second sock, search ahead and begin at the same colour change.

Of course you have to note, as in this colourway, if a certain colour is used more than once within the pattern so to know, for instance, did I begin sock one with the first reddy-brown, or the second reddy-brown.

This pair of socks was knit from one ball. So it is interesting to note there is a bit of variation in how the jacquards present in the two socks. I think this must be a factor of how I use my left hand to apply extra weight while I’m knitting. There’s probably enough subtle variation in that pressure to cause a variation that wouldn’t show so much in stripes, as in jacquards where the colour changes are less than an inch apart.

I should try piling on extra weights instead of using my left hand and see if there is a difference in outcome. (That will be an experiment for another day!)

Here are two more colourways from Online’s Supersocke Silk Color Pattern series.

This is colourway #0112

And this is colourway #0108

Both are pairs are size Medium, knit with the 54 needle cylinder on the Legare 400.

55% Superwash Merino  20% Silk, 25% Nylon  ~200m/ 50g; machine wash but hang or dry flat.

It is labeled as made in Italy, although Online is a German company.

This is a very nice yarn – great hand, consistent gauge,  and knits like a dream.  There are 10 balls in a bag, and I had no difficulty lining up the repeats within the bag, so very little waste.

I’m surprised the variety of colourways offered is somewhat limited, and I noted the same observation with Regia silk sock yarns.  The sticker price is a little higher – CAN$9.95/50g – than many sock yarns, but not out of line with other high end sock yarns.

This yarn also comes in solid colours, none of which currently inhabit my stash. I wanted to try out the patterned colourways first. Since I’m happy with the yarn I may shop for some solids and make my own patterned combinations. But that will be for another year since my stash is exploding all over the wool shack!

This is a silk blend sock yarn from Online Linie 2 Trend Collection – Supersocke Silk Color. This colourway is # 0111

55 % Superwash Merino 25% Nylon 20% Silk, ~ 200 m/50g

The top pair is size Medium, knit with the 54 cylinder on the Verdun 47.

The lower pair is size Medium +, knit with the 72 cylinder on the Legare 400.

I’m always suprised there isn’t more silk blend sock yarn on the market. Especially this year when silk seems to be enjoying an ‘it’ status. I guess it’s an expensive fibre and may not be in the target markets sited by the commercial  sock yarn companies.

I bought, um, several colourways of this series, but chose to knit this one first because I was on a turquoise kick.

Knitting requires a wee bit less tension to accomodate the lower elasticity of the the silk, but its a breeze to work with. Very consistent gauge, very very few knots (I think it was only 1 in a bag of 10),  lovely feel that you would expect from a silk blend.

Silk yardage doesn’t go as far as pure wool or many other blends, but I was able to get a Medium + sock easily out of 50 g, and very close to Large (not shown).

The most interesting thing about this yarn to me, is the red/white jacquard mini-stripe that is set within the broader solid colour stripes. If you look close (click for larger if you like) you’ll see that these mini stripes are actually a partial stripe – they don’t go right the way around the circumference. This  happens on both the Medium and Medium +, and what I haven’t worked my brain around yet – on the good side you can see this stripe is just one row, but it takes two rows of knitting to make that row, and the jacquard lines up with itself on both rows, whether knitting in 54 or 72 stitches.

I’ll have to contemplate that further when my brain is more receptive. For now, I’m thrilled to see a new twist that I hadn’t seen before!

I came on a mini-stash of Online Supersocke 100 Summer-Color while digging through the cotton blends.

Summer-Color is 45% Cotton 40% Wool and 15% Nylon; Wash and Dryer safe on Perm Press.

I didn’t realize when I snapped this photo that my ducks socks weren’t in a neat row. Despite the illusion otherwise, the socks are all the same size – Medium; knit with the 54 cylinder.

From the left, the colourways are: 787,  794, 788, and 792

The yarn is comparable to Regia’s cotton blend sock yarn, and in my scrap drawer I’d be hard pressed to tell the Regia from the Online.

I don’t currently have a pair of these in my own sock drawer, and I managed to knit the entire collection without a boo boo, so my drawer will remain void of these great summer socks.