Up-date: Tabi No Monogatari and Its Wearability

I thought I'd give y'all an up-date on actually how my tabis actually are wearing. :P

The ones I made for my Hubby (the original Tabi no Monogatari, v2, v5, v6, & v8) are wearing well and (generally) fit well on him.  The yarns used haven't felted and for the most part, they don't sag at all (v5 sags a little - that's what happens when I cheated for the ankle portion. :(  And, v5's top is a little too tight since I had a brain fart and didn't bind off properly. :(  Lesson learned; I did it "correctly" (again) on v6 and that doesn't sag nor is the top too tight. :)).  As for v8, I dunno what happened ... I somehow made the foot portion a bit longer than normal so, it doesn't quite fit as well.  I think I just wasn't paying attention - another lesson learn there as well. :(  He's worn most of them quite a few times and in short, he loves them (and is excited to replace his store bought pairs with my handmade ones - eventually). :)

See, they still look like my original finished product. :)

Upon trying to fix the tight top portion of v5, I found that while it doesn't look like it felted, it did a little bit (just not enough to tell if you're not looking too closely).  I (apparently) did a very good job binding off since I had a very difficult time finding my end and trying to rip it back to redo my bind off. 8S

The ones I made for myself (Tabi no Monogatari v3, v4 & v7) for the most part fit really well.  v3 & v7 really fit well and for a pair of knee highs, it stays up! :)  It also seemed to have washed well and not felted.  

Unfortunately, v4, stays up - for the first 5 minutes or so then s-l-o-w-l-y start sagging down until they're like a pair of 80s socks with all the scrunch. :(  I think the difference between my two (2) pairs is the yarn used; on version 3, it was a wool/polyester mix and on version 4, it was a cotton, bamboo, silk, polyester mix so, I'm thinking that while I had put in enough negative ease for my socks, it just wasn't enough to keep them up.  But, I've finally washed them and they really seemed to have shrunk!

I tried it on again and it does hold up for a little while but once, it "warms" up, the sagging begins - again. :(  

So, off I went to Yarn Story where Kim broke the news to me: I could try adding elastic to it but, there'd be no guarantee that the elastic would work to actually keep to up simply because of the yarn type I had use.  Had I decided to make a pair of short ankle socks, this yarn would have been fine; but, since I made such a long sock, the cotton/bamboo just isn't going to stay up. :(  Ever so hopeful that I could make my Whoville tabis work out, I picked up some elastic to see if I could make it work.

Here's what I did:
I never did get around to figuring out how to work the elastic into my sock. :P (Other projects and priorities "got in the way". :P)  Instead, I tried it out with a pair of skinny jeans and found that these work perfectly with these jeans. :P  So, as long as I wear it with something slimming/tighter around my calf, I won't need to "fix" it. 

And, look at what Hubby found for me:

Yup, these are clear boots (out for the winter here)!  He said that it'd be perfect to show of my handmade socks! :P lol :)  (And, no, I did not buy these shoes!  Seriously, guys?!  My footwear of choice (Birkenstocks are AWESOME!!!) gives me plenty of sock showing opportunities! ;P)