Sock yarn is not like gansey yarn!

 Alden told me to over spin singles and under ply. For gansey yarn that worked brilliantly. The firm singles endured, and the yarn spread in the stitch to produce weatherproof fabrics.

However, as I scaled down to sock yarns, I found the knitting time for splitty, under plied "sock yarns" going to infinity. This is not much of a problem if  you are just knitting a few pair of socks, but if you want to knit a lot of sock yarn, you need a yarn that can be knit at a reasonable rate.

I love the traditional firm spun hose singles, but and I counter them with appropriate ply and cable twist to produce a sock yarn that is NOT splitty. I do this with full knowledge that all that twist will require steam blocking. Good yarn for good knitting and desirable objects is worth the effort. We can make objects that cannot be made with the yarns in commercial retail channels.

At one time, it broke my heart to steam block Suffolk and other wools traditionally used for hose, but ultimately I decided that the steam blocking was useful in producing better "sock yarns". I waned good yarn, not some romantic dream of how yarn might have been produced in the past.

Sock yarn is not like gansey yarn! Sock yarn needs relatively more ply and cable twist to allow knitting at a reasonable pace.  Splitty gansey yarn can be knit fast. Splitty sock yarn must be knit carefully.  Well plied sock yarn results in beautiful finished objects. Splitty sock yarn results in ugly works in progress.