I’m talking about the His & Hers Sock Looms by KB Looms!

Aren’t they sweet??  Perfect for the whipping up of all sorts of socks for him and her…you can even make them say *his and hers* across their cuffs with either duplicate stitches or intarsia techniques, just like those cute little towel sets for newlyweds. 😉

In all seriousness, though, I’ve had the opportunity to take this fun duo out for a spin and found them to be committed to making the marriage of yarn and loom a happy and productive one.  The plastic is pretty sturdy and feels good in the hand.  It also has a little bit of a micro-texture to it, so that it isn’t super slippery when maneuvering.  The pegs themselves are slim, with just a wee bit of flex, which I like in a loom.  I would avoid, however, pulling too tightly to knit off, or to move stitches around, because I’m not sure how far these will flex before they snap. If sticking to what these looms were made for: namely DK to sock weight yarns, you shouldn’t have any issue with that, I’m thinking.

Let’s talk about that oval shape. This is a nice compromise between other looms that are round or rectangular, and lends itself to easily be able to slip inside a small project bag for knitting socks on the go. The other thing this oval shape is excellent for is for working socks from the toe up, because the sides are closer together, allowing the toe stitches to be stretched across the loom with greater ease (can we say good bye to grafting??! haha!)  It’s also very simple to know where the halfway point of the loom is to mark the correct pegs for short-row heels and toes.

Now let’s talk about yarns.  When I first started to spend some time with this lil’ loom couple, I worked up several swatches using different weight yarns to find the perfect companion for those pegs. When I used a very soft chunky weight (soft in that it would squish down just a bit better than a chunky weight that is more firmly wound) just to see how it felt, I found that although, yes, it could be done on this loom, it wouldn’t be a very fun process. I was working extra hard to make sure my stitches weren’t too tight, and that extra work equaled extra time spent and more effort put on my hands and wrists, which I didn’t at all love. 😛  …and really, when I tried worsted weight, it was kind of the same story.  I moved to a sport weight, and it worked much better, but the perfect one was by far the sock weight. These looms love a nice thin yarn! It may seem like the pegs are just too far apart to be able to handle this thin of a yarn, but using the U-stitch for my knits, it came out beautifully!  Well…see the results for yourself:

Pretty sweet, right? 😀

I am so pleased to tell you that you will find the actual pattern that I came up with to create the sample you see in these pics at the KB Looms website:  Keepin’ it Simple Socks. The yarn that I used is MadeleineTosh Tosh Merino Light and I loooove it…so scrumptious! ❤  If you decide to whip up one (or a dozen or so) of these socks, be sure and link it to the Ravelry project page for it here.  Thanks a billion!

Here are the down and dirty details:

• What is included in the kit: 2 looms, loom tool, basic instructions
• Peg Counts: orange=56, purple=64 (suitable for average width men & women’s feet)  (Also perfect for doing double ribbed cuffs! (k2, p2))
• Gauge: 5/16″ from center to center of pegs (comparable to the KB Sock Loom Original)
• Best yarn:  DK (#3) – fingering/sock (#1) weight

My rating:  FIVE SHEEP!!!

If you thought this was good…wait until this weekend when there will be yet ANOTHER loomy release into the world (*see last week’s release here)!  I’ve seen it, used it, and yes, it’s pretty awesome! Three new product releases in as many weeks?  This should be called Christmas in August for loomers, lol!

Bethany~