Hi all

I am making another pair of socks for my old pop because he doesn't like his other bed socks. These ones are of 30% angora, 70% lambswool. Glad I knit these cuff down or I wouldn't have noticed that the ribbing isn't stretchy. I used 2x2 ribbing and can see that it's not pulling in at all. Is this a property of the fibre? Is angora not stretchy and I never heard about it? I thought stretchiness/pulling in was a property of ribbing!
It calls for 4.5 mm needles, I used 5.5 mm double-stranded and knit a bit tightly.
How much will this improve if I try it stranded together with a stretchier wool? Would I be better off using 1x1 ribbing in that case to make it pull in even more?
My pop's freakishly skinny ankles thank you! (feet 25 cm around, instep 28 cm, ankles 21 bloody cm!)

Ta, Sarah

I'm not sure about angora (I've never knit with it), but I have noticed that some yarns don't pull in as much as others. How far is the ribbing? Is it all down the sock, or just at the top? If it's just at the top, then you may not have knit the ribbing far enough. If it's the whole sock, then I'm stumped!

1x1 ribbing would make it pull in more, yes, and using smaller needles, especially for the first row, would make a difference as well.

I knitted a bit more to be sure... probably about 5 cm total. It definitely wasn't pulling in much at all! I've done ribbing before and this wasn't pulling in.
I did a tubular cast-on for the ribbing and had to go up a couple of millimetres in needle size even for that (I'm tight).
I guess I'll try stranding it with another wool in a more elastic ribbing. Thanks
Sarah

If you're doing a 2x2 rib, knitting into the back loop of the first of your knit stitches every time will help. Smaller needles will also help. As well, some softer yarns just don't seem to rib very well, and with lambswool and angora, that might just well be the case. maybe make the ribbing out of something else, or strand in another yarn as you've been thinking.

So knitting into the back loop of the first knit will make it pull in more, not just tighter? The problem is not so much about it being too loose, just that it doesn't stretch much, and doesn't pull in at all.
I may do the foot in angora, but the leg in all rib in a different wool. Thanks
Sarah

I'm not sure, it's been a while since I've done it. I think it just makes it tighter. But I think that's the same thing, isn't it? If it's tighter, it will pull in more.