Book Of Socks

This is an awesome sock knitting book!



The Knitter's Book of Socks: The Yarn Lover's Ultimate Guide to Creating Socks That Fit Well, Feel Great, and Last a Lifetime
Clara Parkes.
NY:Potter Craft, 2011.
ISBN(10): 0307586804
ISBN(13): 978-0307586803

Look for it at your local Public Library, or at AddAll.Com.

Darning Socks

I have been a knitting slug for the past few months. The only thing I have knit since I put my 2-at-a-time-toe-up socks project on hiatus is a four foot long deep purple scarf with white fringe, knitted with No.17 straight needles and worsted weight acrylic yarn.

Now I have another project waiting for me to work on it: darning the first pair of wool socks I made. They were my first pair of socks, and I did not know enough to add some nylon thread reinforcement to the heels when I was knitting them, so now one sock has a hole in the heel, and the other sock has a thin place in the heel.

I patched the hole in the heel before I washed the socks. Then I put them in a nylon net bag and washed them in the washing machine on Cold/Cold. The next step is rip out my temporary patch, and do some darning. For the thin spot in the heel of the one sock, I think I can use a techniques called Duplicate Stitch, aka Swedish Darning to repair it. For the hole, I'm not quite sure how I'm going to repair it yet.

Socks Socks Socks

I just found this book at the local library. 70 winning sock patterns from the Knitter's Magazine contest by 64 sock knitters from the USA, Canada, Iceland, and New Zealand. It was published in 1999, but the patterns are timeless. The Table of Contents lists seven broad categories of socks, including Simple Socks, Kids Socks, Lace Socks, Color Socks, Texture Socks, Whimsical Socks, and Icelandic Socks.

This book is for experienced knitters who want to learn how to knit socks, as well as for sock knitters who are looking for advanced socks challenges. It looks like it is still available from Amazon at a very reasonable price, considering how many patterns there are in it. The reader reviews for this book on Amazon are generally favorable. The biggest complaint is that some of the patterns have mistakes in them. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be an eratta page at the publisher's website. However, there does seem to be an Online Forum called KniTalk. This is the website for Knitter's Magazine, which I recently saw on the magazine rack at my local Borders book store.

I really enjoy finding these older sock knitting books, especially since I'm a beginning sock knitter.

Cast-on and Toe Increase

As you can see in the above photo, I'm using a large Ziplock baggie to keep my yarn from getting tangled. The yarn comes out through holes in each side of the top, with the middle of the baggie pressed closed.

Cast-On

Using Judy's Magic Cast-On, I cast-on 20 sts for each sock, then worked one round, remembering to knit into the back of the stitch for the first round on the second side of each sock.

Toe Increases

I calculated that these socks will be 84 sts for the foot and leg. 84 sts equals 100%.

Round 2 (all M1 increases worked with a backward loop increase)

Side 1 (instep)
Sock A: K1, M1R, K to 1 st before the end, M1L, K1.
Sock B: K1, M1R, K to 1 st before the end, M1L, K1.
Rotate

Side 2 (sole)
Sock B: K1, M1R, K to 1 st before the end, M1L, K1.
Sock A: K1, M1R, K to 1 st before the end, M1L, K1.
Rotate

First increase round of socks completed.
Each sock now has 24 sts (12 sts on each side of each sock).

Round 3 (even)
Knit both sides of both socks with no increases.

Next Rounds (increase and knit even)
Repeat the last two rounds (increase and knit even) until 84 total sts

End work at marker having just finished side 2, sock A.
Each sock now has a total of 84 sts.
Each side of each sock now has 42 sts.

This is my row counter for the increases. I have it written down on a piece of paper. I mark each completed round with an "i" then an "e" for increase or even.

rnd   B  A
2-3   24 24 ie
4-5   28 28 ie
6-7   32 32 ie
8-9   36 36 ie
10-11 40 40 ie
12-13 44 44
14-15 48 48
16-17 52 52
18-19 56 56
20-21 60 60
22-23 64 64
24-25 68 68
26-27 72 72
28-29 76 76
30-31 80 80
32-33 84 84

When I reach 84 sts, I'll just start knitting Stockinette Stitch until the sock is about seven inches long from the tip of the toe. Then I'll start the gusset increases.

This yarn is so thin, and the needles are so small that I have to knit with my glasses off so I can see what I'm doing. I still don't have enough experience so that I can knit without looking at what I'm doing.

Gusset Increases, Heel Turn and Heel Flap

The last time this Sample Sock was seen, the toe had been shaped. Knitting the foot in stockinette stitch was very straightforward. When the toe and foot together measured about two inches, it was time to start the Gusset Increases on the sole side of the sock. The instep side of the sock was knit a straight 16 sts each round. The sole side of the sock was increased two sts each round (using the same pattern as for the toe increases), until there were 32 sts total. An even round was knit all around in between every increase round.

The nice thing about doing the gusset like this is, there aren't any stitches to pick-up, like there were in Ann Budd's cuff-down sock. I did not take any pix of the gusset increases in progress. There ended up being 16 sts on the instep needle, and 32 sts on the sole needle. Remember, the instep needle is the one with the stitch marker in the first stitch.

As usual, the heel turn is where the Magic happens. The heel is worked on the sole side of the sock. Starting on the knit side (right side):
Row 1: K8, PM1 (Place Marker 1), K15, sl1 (as if to purl), bring yarn to right side to wrap stitch, PM2 on left needle, slip st back to left needle, turn work to the wrong side (purl side).
Row 2: Bring yarn to wrong side for purl stitch. Purl to 2 sts before Marker 1. Sl2 (as if to purl), bring yarn to right side to wrap stitch, slip st back to left-hand needle, turn.
Row 3: (right side) Bring yarn in position to knit. Knit to 2 sts before previously wrapped stitch. sl1 (as if to purl), bring yarn to wrap st, slip st back to left needle, turn.
Row 4: (wrong side) Bring yarn in position to purl. Purl to 2 sts before previously wrapped stitch. sl1 (as if to purl), bring yarn to wrap st, slip st back to left needle, turn.
Next Rows: Rep Row 3 and Row 4 until all but the 3 center sts have been wrapped. End having completed a right-side row. Turn.

The Heel Flap was worked back and forth in rows on the sole side of the sock.
Row 1: (wrong side) Purl to 1 stitch before Marker 1. Sl1 (as if to purl), remove marker, slip st back to left needle, P2tog. Turn.
Row 2: (right side) Sl1 (as if to purl). Knit to 1 stitch before Marker 2. Sl st (as if to knit), remove marker, slip next st (as if to knit), place the 2 slipped sts back on left needle, and knit the two slipped sts together through the back loop. Turn.
Row 3: (wrong side) Sl1 (as if to purl), purl to 1 st before gap, P2tog. Turn.
Row 4: (right side) Sl1 (as if to purl), *K1, sl1 (as if to purl); rep from * to 1 st before gap, SSK, Turn.
Next Rows: Rep Row 3 and Row 4 until all the sts on the sole side of the sock have been worked.
End on a right side row. There are now 16 sts on both needles.

The legs are knit in stockinette stitch, just like the foot. As the above photo shows, I ran out of yarn as I completed the heel flap. If I'd had enough yarn, I would have knit an inch or two of leg, then done K1, P1 ribbing for an inch or so, finishing with a Bind Off. The trick to doing a bind-off on a toe-up sock is making it loose enough so the foot and heel can fit through it.

That's it! I guess I'm ready to make Toe-Up 2-at-a-Time Socks with the fingering weight yarn and the US #0 circular needles.

Shaping The Toe

My goal is to be able to knit Toe-Up 2-at-a-Time Socks with fingering weight yarn on one US #0 40 inch circular needle. But first I'm going to knit one Sample Sock with leftover Class Sock Aran / 10 ply (8 wpi) weight yarn on one US #5 40 inch circular needle. There are so many things to remember when learning how to do this that I had to make a list.

1. Judy's Magic Cast-on: 16 sts (8 sts per needle)
   
   
   
   • Yarn tail over index finger.
     
   • Working yarn over thumb.
     
   • Loop around Top Needle.
     
   • Loop bottom needle around yarn tail.
     
   • Loop top needle around working yarn.
     
   • Repeat until there are 8 loops on each needle (16 sts total).
     
   • End with a loop on the bottom needle (tail yarn).
     
   
   
2. Pull tail yarn over working yarn and to the back, out of the way. Knit first side (8 sts), rotate. Place marker on first st.
   
3. Knit through back loops on second side (8 sts), rotate.
   
4. K1, M1R (working yarn to back), Knit to next-to-last st, M1L (working yarn to front), K1, rotate.
   
5. K1, M1R (working yarn to back), Knit to next-to-last st, M1L (working yarn to front), K1, rotate.
   
6. Knit evenly all around.
   
7. Repeat 4., 5., and 6. until there are 32 sts total (16 sts on each needle).
   

I don't know why it has been so difficult for me to get my head wrapped around doing this, but I am making progress, albeit, slowly. I've been doing a lot of frogging.

KnittingHelp.Com: Increases.

Once the toe is shaped, Knit evenly around for the Foot until the Sample Sock measures 2 inches from the tip of the toe.

Toe-Up 2-at-a-Time Socks

I'm expecting Toe-Up 2-at-a-Time Socks by Melissa Morgan-Oakes to arrive on Friday, the 23rd of April. Currently, my toe-up socks are on a temporary hold until this book arrives. Why?

Well, there's more to socks than meets the eye! Knitting can be as simple as two sticks and some string, or as complex as yarn weight, needle size, knitting tension, and knitting technique.

The gauge swatch for the toe-up socks I'm planning to knit with fingering weight yarn, on US #0 needles, shows that I'm knitting 10 sts per inch. That's pretty tight.

The thing is, I knitted the gauge swatch on a set of five, eight inch, US #0 double-pointed metal (PHILDAR brand) needles (2mm) that were given to me. If I decide to use dpns to knit these toe-up socks, I'll want a second set of dpns, so I can knit both socks at more or less the same time. However, 8 inch dpns are much too long! The LYS has 5 inch dpns, and those are too short. The chain stores that have knitting supplies have 7 inch dpns, and those are still too long.

So the question is, since I'll have to purchase some needles anyway, why not wait a couple of days to see if the technique of knitting two socks on one long circular needle is within my technical ability, or not? If I think I can do it, I'll buy one 40 inch US#0 circular needle, and knit both socks on it. If the technique looks too complex for me, then I'll buy two sets of five needles, six inches long, and do them on dpns.

I kind of like the idea of being able to knit both socks at the same time on one circular needle. I've already been introduced to the Magic Loop technique, when I took the sock class. That was just knitting one sock on one circular needle. I'm thinking it shouldn't be too difficult to take that experience and translate it into doing two socks on one circular needle.

Anyway, that's where I'm at today. I don't have anything on needles at this point. Knitting teaches patience, and so does waiting for a new book to arrive in the mail.

Gauge Swatch with 0 Needles and Fingering Weight Yarn

Today I cast-on 40 sts onto US #0 (2mm) dpns in order to do a gauge swatch for making toe-up socks with fingering weight yarn.

The yarn is Paton's Kroy Sock Yarn, fingering weight (1), 14 wpi, self-striping, 75% Wool, 25% Nylon, given to me by my SO.



After measuring several places around the gauge swatch, it looks like I'm knitting 10 sts and 13 rows per inch.

The calculations for my toe-up socks:

The foot circumference around the ball of the foot is 9.125 inches.
I'm getting 10 sts per inch, and 10 sts X 9.125 = 90.125 sts.
With a 10% negative ease, I'd cast on for 80 sts (divisible by 4).
With a 5% negative ease, I'd cast-on for 84 sts (divisible by 4).
I've decided to go with the 5% negative ease for these socks.

The cool thing with a toe-up sock is, I can fit it as I go, and if
it doesn't fit, I rip-it out and start over, without too much work.
After all, it's only a toe, right?

Also, I can make the leg as high as I want to, or knit until I run
out of yarn. There's no leftover yarn!

Toe-Up Socks For Every Body

I recently added another toe-up socks book by Wendy D. Johnson to my socks knitting library. Once again, she has made a beautiful book, with beautiful socks on beautiful models. Toe-Up Socks For Every Body has an Introduction, followed by PART ONE, which has Basic Information for Sock Knitters, including Toe-Up Tools, Knit to Fit, and Pattern Essentials. PART TWO has the Sock Patterns for Lace Socks, Cable Socks, and Colorwork Socks. There are a total of 23 beautiful toe-up sock patterns in this book. All of the socks patterns in the book have been added to the Ravelry Patterns section. Finally, there is an APPENDIX of Techniques For Toe-Up Socks. I am looking forward to acquiring the skills needed to make some of the socks in this book.

Some Notes on the Sample Sock

I am not a hooker, and making the provisional cast-on with a crochet hook is difficult for me to do. I guess I just need to practice making chain stitches with some yarn and a crochet hook. One thing that has been pointed out in my books, is to use a smooth yarn for the provisional cast-on because it is easier to see the purl bump on the back of the chain, that needs to be picked up for the cast-on. I've tried it both ways, using a slightly fuzzy yarn and a superwash smooth yarn, and it is much easier to do the provisional cast-on with smooth yarn.

The wraps and turns on my sample sock sucked. They worked, but they looked like crap. So the first thing I did after I finished the sample sock was to look for a good tutorial on doing a Wrap & Turn (W&T). The best tutorial I've found is in this Universal Sock Pattern on Knitty.Com.

Even with a good tutorial, I'm still having trouble seeing the wrap when it comes time to lift it, in order to hide it when completing the short-row process. In my practice short-row toe, I'm using stitch markers to show me which stitches have a wrap, so I can figure out which part to lift. Just like making a W&T, there is a RS and a WS way of lifting a wrapped stitch.

I'm making practice short-row toes. These are just for practicing W&T. I do a long-tail cast-on of 12 sts, and proceed according to the sample sock pattern, except I have the tutorial in front of me, and I'm using stitch markers to keep track of where I am, as far as how many wrapped stitches I've done. Without having to do the provisional cast-on each time, the W&T practice toes are going pretty fast. I'm determined to learn how to W&T and how to lift the wraps so my short-row toes will not only look good, but be nice and tight as well.

Overall, the Short-Row Toe and Heel Toe-Up Basic Sock is a good sock to make. The toe and the heel are seamless. The provisional cast-on is a bit of a pain, but well worth the effort. One other thing to look into is a stretchy bind-off.

Getting Started Knitting Socks - Part 9 - Finishing Socks

After weaving in the loose ends, and cutting off the extra yarn at about 1/4 inch, the finished socks were put in a zippered, open mesh, nylon laundry bag and put in the front-loading washing machine on Normal Cycle, Cold/Cold, Medium Spin Speed, with other laundry items. When done, they were laid out flat, on a drying rack, to dry.

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These socks are too big. For one thing, I did not calculate a 10% negative ease when I was figuring out what size to make the socks. I probably would have made a snugger sock by casting on 44 stitches, rather than 48 stitches. My gauge swatch was correct: I knitted 5 stitches to the inch. Live and learn. The socks are very soft, and very warm. Overall, I'm pleased with my very first pair of Adult-Sized, Cuff-Down, needle-knitted, wool socks.

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This is the first time I've managed to get the Kitchener Stitch (pronounced: "Kitchen - er") to come out so well defined. The way I did it was to weave in the yarn very loosely with the tapestry needle, through all the stitches, until they were off the needles. Then I went back to the very beginning and found the yarn that went through the first loop, and began tightening it up from there, until all the slack had been taken out, and the tension was even across the tip of the toe. The proper way to do the Kitchener Stitch is to adjust the tension to match the rest of the knitting as you go.

The Kitchener Stitch has a Setup, then repeats a Pattern until all the stitches are off the needles. The final four stitches are put equally on two parallel needles, which are called the Front Needle and the Back Needle. The working yarn comes from the right end of the Back Needle, and is cut off from the ball of yarn at about 18 inches, then threaded through a tapestry or darning needle.. It is important to keep the working yarn under the Front and Back needles at all times.

Setup:

1. Bring the tapestry needle through the first loop on the Front Needle as if to purl (from right to left).
2. Bring the tapestry needle through the first loop on the Back Needle as if to knit (from left to right).
The Setup is done only once.

Pattern:

1. Front Needle: Bring the tapestry needle through the first loop as if to knit, and slip this loop off the needle. Bring the tapestry needle through the next loop as if to purl, and leave the loop on the needle.

2. Back Needle: Bring the tapestry needle through the first loop as if to purl, and slip this loop off the needle. Bring the tapestry needle through the next back loop as if to knit, and leave the loop on the needle.

3. Repeat steps 1. and 2. of the Pattern until all the loops are off both needles.

When you finish, insert the needle into the inside of the sock and weave in the tail on the wrong side.

Blocking.

I threw the socks into the washing machine, then laid them out flat to air-dry, as described above, for blocking.

Knifty Knitter Circular Loom Socks 03

You can wear these socks with your Birkies...

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Or wear them with Garden Clogs...

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Or just lounging around on the Porch...

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Or as snuggly House Socks!

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Super Bulky Ribbed Toe-Up Socks

Skills needed:

Slip Knot
E-wrap
Knit Over / Knit Off
Knit
Wrap & Turn
Purl
Sewn Bind-Off
Weaving-in Loose Ends

Materials needed:

6-8 ounces of Super Bulky Weight Yarn.
60-70 inches of contrasting-color waste-yarn
Stitch Markers
Tapestry Needle
Peg Markers
Loom Pick
Blue 24-Peg Knifty Knitter Loom

       PEG
   (12)    13
    11     14
    10     15
     9     16
     8     17
     7     18
     6     19
     5     20
     4     21
     3     22
     2     23
    (1)    24

Refer to the above diagram.
With the loom in the above position.
Place peg-markers on pegs 12 and 1.

I knit a sock tightly on the Knifty Knitter Loom.
My gauge on this sock is 6 sts and 10 rows in 2x2 inches.

The Short-Row Toe:



With Waste Yarn of contrasting color, place Slip Knot on PEG.
1. E-wrap pegs 1 to 12.
2. E-wrap pegs 12 to 1. KO.
3. E-wrap pegs 1 to 12. KO.
4. E-wrap pegs 12 to 1. KO.
Undo waste yarn slip knot from PEG.

Leaving a 6 inch tail, place a Slip Knot of working yarn on PEG.
Cast-on: Wrap behind peg 13 and E-wrap pegs 12 to 1. KO.
         Place Stitch Marker in loop of working yarn on pegs 12 and 1.
         Wrap behind peg 24.

                                                   (T = wrap & turn)
The directions are on the left and a visual        (E = e-wrap)
chart is on the right. In the chart it is          (W = wrapped)
relatively easy to see the hourglass shape         (2 = 2 over 1) 
of the short-row toe. The key to the chart         (<- work left)
is to the right.                                   (-> work right)

Work back and forth on pegs 1 to 12 as indicated.

Decrease:                                               12  9 7 5 3 1  
  Row  1: E-wrap pegs 1 to 11. KO. W&T 12.           <-  TEEEEEEEEEEE
  Row  2: E-wrap pegs 11 to 2. KO. W&T 1.            ->  WEEEEEEEEEET
  Row  3: E-wrap pegs 2 to 10. KO. W&T 11.           <-  WTEEEEEEEEEW
  Row  4: E-wrap pegs 10 to 3. KO. W&T 2.            ->  WWEEEEEEEETW
  Row  5: E-wrap pegs  3 to 9. KO. W&T 10.           <-  WWTEEEEEEEWW
  Row  6: E-wrap pegs  9 to 4. KO. W&T 3.            ->  WWWEEEEEETWW
Increase:
  Row  7: E-wrap pegs 4 to 10. KO, 2-over-1 on 10.   <-  WW2EEEEEEWWW  
  Row  8: E-wrap pegs 10 to 3. KO, 2-over-1 on 3.    ->  WWEEEEEEE2WW
  Row  9: E-wrap pegs 3 to 11. KO, 2-over-1 on 11.   <-  W2EEEEEEEEWW
  Row 10: E-wrap pegs 11 to 2. KO, 2-over-1 on 2.    ->  WEEEEEEEEE2W
  Row 11: E-wrap pegs 2 to 12. KO, 2-over-1 on 12.   <-  2EEEEEEEEEEW
  Row 12: E-wrap pegs 12 to 1. KO, 2-over-1 on 1.    ->  EEEEEEEEEEE2

Put the loop that is attached to the waste yarn with the stitch marker
from peg 12 on peg 13. Put the next loop on peg 14, and so on, until 
all pegs to peg 24 have loops on them. The waste yarn should be free 
from the loom. No loops of waste yarn should be on any pegs. The waste
yarn may be removed after all the loops have been placed on the empty
pegs.

The working yarn should be between pegs 1 and 24.
Work from right to left (counterclockwise).
K12. This is the sole of the foot.
K1, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K1. This is the top of the foot with ribbing.
Repeat the above pattern for each round until pegs touch the leg, when
the sock is tried-on. I place a stitch marker every ten rounds on the
sole of the foot, to keep track of how many rounds I've done. Not
counting the toe, this sock was 34 rounds in length. The heel was
started on the 35th round. Your length will probably be different.

The Short-Row Heel Turn:
                                                   (T = wrap&turn)
The directions are on the left and a visual        (K = knit)
chart is on the right. In the chart it is          (W = wrapped)
relatively easy to see the hourglass shape         (2 = 2 over 1) 
of the short-row heel. The key to the chart        (<- work left)
is to the right.                                   (-> work right)           
 
Work back and forth on pegs 1 to 12 as indicated.

 Decrease:                                        12  9 7 5 3 1
 Row  1: Knit pegs  1 to 11. W&T 12.           <-  TKKKKKKKKKKK
 Row  2: Knit pegs 11 to  2. W&T 1.            ->  WKKKKKKKKKKT
 Row  3: Knit pegs  2 to 10. W&T 11.           <-  WTKKKKKKKKKW
 Row  4: Knit pegs 10 to  3. W&T 2.            ->  WWKKKKKKKKTW
 Row  5: Knit pegs  3 to  9. W&T 10.           <-  WWTKKKKKKKWW
 Row  6: Knit pegs  9 to  4. W&T 3.            ->  WWWKKKKKKTWW
 Row  7: Knit pegs  4 to  8. W&T 9.            <-  WWWTKKKKKWWW
 Row  8: Knit pegs  8 to  5. W&T 4.            ->  WWWWKKKKTWWW
 Increase:
 Row  9: Knit pegs  5 to  9. 2-over-1 on 9.    <-  WWW2KKKKWWWW 
 Row 10: Knit pegs  9 to  4. 2-over-1 on  4.   ->  WWWKKKKK2WWW
 Row 11: Knit pegs  4 to 10. 2-over-1 on 10.   <-  WW2KKKKKKWWW
 Row 12: Knit pegs 10 to  3. 2-over-1 on  3.   ->  WWKKKKKKK2WW
 Row 13: Knit pegs  3 to 11. 2-over-1 on 11.   <-  W2KKKKKKKKWW
 Row 14: Knit pegs 11 to  2. 2-over-1 on  2.   ->  WKKKKKKKKK2W
 Row 15: Knit pegs  2 to 12. 2-over-1 on 12.   <-  2KKKKKKKKKKW
 Row 16: Knit pegs 12 to  1. 2-over-1 on  1.   ->  KKKKKKKKKKK2


The working yarn should be between pegs 1 and 24. 
K12. This is the sole of the foot.
K1, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K1. This is the top of the foot with ribbing.
Repeat the above pattern for 10 rounds above the top of the heel.

At peg 1, start the K2, P2 Ribbing, and work this pattern for the
remainder of the sock leg.

Finish the sock by threading the last of the yarn onto a tapestry
needle and doing a sewn bind-off all around. Weave the loose ends
in.

A. Short-Row Toe: 12 rows.
B. Foot: 34 rows.
C. Short-Row Heel: 16 rows.
D. Heel: 10 rows.
E. Leg: 34 rows.

The Short-Row Toe (A.), e-wrapped for elasticity, so the free loops can be stretched onto the empty pegs of the loom (pegs 13 to 24), is worked on half the loom (pegs 1 to 12). The Foot (B.) is knitted in the round, K12 for the sole and K1, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K1 for the instep, which centers the K2, P2 Ribbing pattern that will be knit on the leg. The Short-Row Heel (C.) is knit on half the loom (pegs 1 to 12) for 8 rows of Decreases, then 8 rows of Increases to make the heel turn. The Heel (D.) adds 10 rows in the round to the top of the turned heel because it not only looks better, but I think the Short-Row Heel is too short for a heel. These 10 rows follow the same pattern as the Foot. The Leg (E.) is 34 rows of K2, P2 Ribbing. However, because this sock is Toe-Up, the Leg can be made any length.

Knifty Knitter Circular Loom Socks 02

Short Row Toe-Up, Short-Row Heel, Super Bulky Weight Yarn, House Socks/Slippers.



The toe was e-wrapped. St st for the foot. Knitted flat st for the heel and leg. K2, P2 ribbing for the cuff.



I used a heavily modified version of this pattern:

Toe Up Slippers Pattern

Created by Deb Saunders (debsueky)

Supplies Needed:
One skein 4-ply worsted weight yarn
Blue Knifty Knitter loom
Looming tool
Tapestry needle

Directions:

Begin with the toe section:
  Holding two strands together as one, make a slip knot and attach
  the yarn to peg #12.
  Cast on by e-wrapping from peg 12 back to peg 1, and continue back
  to include peg 24.
  Wrap pegs 1 thru 12, knit off, and turn on peg 13.
  Wrap pegs 12 thru 2, knit off, and turn on peg 1.
  Wrap pegs 2 thru 11, knit off, and turn on peg 12.
  Wrap pegs 11 thru 3, knit off, and turn on peg 2.
  Wrap pegs 3 thru 10, knit off, and turn on peg 11.
  Wrap pegs 10 thru 4, knit off, and turn on peg 3.
  Wrap pegs 4 thru 11 and knit off.
  Wrap pegs 11 thru 3 and knit off.
  Wrap pegs 3 thru 12 and knit off.
  Wrap pegs 12 thru 2 and knit off.
  Wrap pegs 2 thru 13 and knit off.
  Wrap pegs 13 thru 1 and knit off.
  Take the loops from the starting edge and hook them onto the 
  empty pegs (13 thru 24).

For the ankle section, wrap and knit off all pegs (1 thru 24) for 
5 rows.

For the cuff, do 5 rows of ribbing (knit the odd numbered pegs and 
purl the even numbered pegs).

Cast off using the flat removal method.  Weave in yarn tails using 
the tapestry needle.
Done!

Notes:
To "turn on peg X," if there is a loop on the peg, lift it off with 
the looming tool, run the yarn behind the peg, then return the loop 
to the peg.  If there is no loop already on the peg, just run the 
yarn behind the peg.

When knitting off a peg with more than 2 loops on it, knit off all 
the extra loops, leaving just one on the peg.

The flat removal method creates a fairly tight opening.  You may prefer 
to add a chain stitch between loops.  
(See http://decoraccentsinc.com/flat_removal_method.html for more 
detailed removal instructions.)

First of all, I used Super Bulky Weight Yarn, so I didn't have to use two strands of yarn. I ended-up having to e-wrap the short row toe, but the foot, heel, and leg were all done with a knitted stitch. I finished the cuff with K2,P2 ribbing. For the Bind-Off, I did a simple sewn stitch through each loop with a tapestry needle. Finally, I wove-in the loose ends.

I frogged the first pair of Knifty Knitter socks I did (the Chunky Ribbed Socks), so I can use the yarn to experiment with the short-row toe-up sock technique with the short-row heel. I will be trying to make a short-row toe with St st.

Getting Started Knitting Socks - Part 7 - Foot

The foot is knitted in St st until the piece measures 8.75 inches from the back of the heel, or about 2.25 inches less than the desired total foot length. For this pair of socks, I knitted the foot until it came to the base of my big toe when I tried it on.

While knitting the foot, I made the decision to shorten my bamboo chopstick double-pointed needles to six inches. Now, there's not a lot of extra needle sticking out from the sock while I'm knitting. They were 8.875 inches long when I started. Each needle is now a little over six inches long.

I have run out of yarn right before starting the toe. This is one of the best reasons for making toe-up socks (if you run out of yarn making toe-up socks, you just make the leg shorter). Fortunately, the yarn I'm using is a staple at the LYS, so I was able to buy another skein of yarn in the same colorway and lot number. I'll have left-over yarn.


The foot of the socks is finished, shown here on 4 dpns.


This is a picture of my socks project bag, which used to be a storage bag for king-sized sheets. It also has a little pocket which I use to store needles, scissors, stitch markers, whatever. The top has a zipper. I like it because I can see through it.

The next part of the sock is the toe.

Getting Started Knitting Socks - Part 6 - Gusset

Picking up the stitches.

Once the heel turn has been made, it is time to pick-up the stitches along the selvedge edges of the heel flap. The first stitch of each row on the heel flap was slipped to make a selvedge that is easy to pick up. I ended up with fourteen stitches at the end of the heel turn, and thirteen stitches are picked-up on the first needle. Ann Budd gives three different ways to pick-up stitches. I chose the Pick Up Both Stitches method. In this method, the gusset stitches are picked-up through both halves of the edge stitch, the yarn is wrapped around the needle, as if to knit, then the yarn is brought through to create a new stitch on the needle. Then twelve stitches are knitted on the second and third needles, which hold the instep stitches. Next, thirteen stitches are picked-up along the other side of the heel flap, on the fourth needle, plus seven stitches of the heel turn row. At this point, the working yarn is in the center of the heel. Each round, for all the gusset decreases, start in the middle of the heel. There are 20 stitches on needle one, 12 stitches on each of needles two and three, making 24 stitches on the instep, and 20 stitches on needle four. That is a total of 64 stitches. The objective of the Gusset Decreases is to get back to 48 total stitches, or 12 stitches on each needle.

The decreases are made using k2tog on needle one, and ssk on needle four. This is what the pattern looks like:

Gusset Decreases:
Rnd 1: pick-up sts as described above.
Rnd 2: On needle 1, knit to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1; on needles 2 and 3, knit across all instep sts; on needle 4, k1, ssk, knit to end (2 gusset sts dec'd).
Rnd 3: knit
Rep Rnds 2 and 3 until 48 sts rem (12 sts on each needle).

Since there is a decrease round, followed by a knit round, I used a stitch marker to mark the stitch at the beginning of each decrease, and removed the stitch marker and pinned it through the center of the heel on the knit round. So the gusset decreases looked like this:

Rnd 01: pick-up sts on heel flaps (64 sts)
Rnd 02: k17, k2tog, k1, k24, k1, ssk, k17 (62 sts)
Rnd 03: k62
Rnd 02: k16, k2tog, k1, k24, k1, ssk, k16 (60 sts)
Rnd 03: k60
Rnd 02: k15, k2tog, k1, k24, k1, ssk, k15 (58 sts)
Rnd 03: k58
Rnd 02: k14, k2tog, k1, k24, k1, ssk, k14 (56 sts)
Rnd 03: k56
Rnd 02: k13, k2tog, k1, k24, k1, ssk, k13 (54 sts)
Rnd 03: k54
Rnd 02: k12, k2tog, k1, k24, k1, ssk, k12 (52 sts)
Rnd 03: k52
Rnd 02: k11, k2tog, k1, k24, k1, ssk, k11 (50 sts)
Rnd 03: k50
Rnd 02: k10, k2tog, k1, k24, k1, ssk, k10 (48 sts)
Rnd 03: k48



The finished gusset decreases. The working yarn is at the middle of the heel, so each round starts there.

Next, the foot is knitted in St st until the piece measures 8.75 inches from the back of the heel, or about 2.25 inches less than the desired total foot length.

Knifty Knitter Circular Loom Socks 01

I bought a set of Knifty Knitter Circular Knitting Looms yesterday, on sale at JoAnn's Fabric and Craft Stores for $14.99 (25% off). Four looms, a needle, a plastic tapestry needle, and an instruction book for making a hat were included in the set.



On Sunday evening, 2010-03-07, I started working on the Chunky Ribbed Socks in Isela Phelps' book, Loom Knitting Primer. They are knitted on the Blue, 24-peg loom. They feature a Short Row Heel and Toe.

In the above photo, I've just finished working the Short Row Heel, and am starting the Foot.

The yarn is Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick (Super Bulky Weight), 80% Acrylic / 20% Wool, in the 132 Lemongrass color (Lot #62492). I got two 170 gram, 108 yard skeins from Michaels for $3.99 each. Now I know why they were so cheap. The first skein I opened did not pull cleanly from the center, so I wound it, by hand, into center-pull balls. Not only was there a knot, but the yarn was cut in the middle (they didn't even bother to knot it). I bought this yarn in order to learn loom knitting, and was more concerned with the low price than with quality.




Loom Knitting Primer:
A Beginner's Guide to Knitting on a Loom, with over 30 Fun Projects.
Isela Phelps.
St. Martin's Griffin, 2007.
ISBN: 978-0312366612




The first sock off the Blue 24-peg Knifty Knitter Loom. This is my first ever loom-knitted sock. It fits my foot! It was also an excellent introduction to the Short Row Heel and Toe technique.

The second sock was finished on Thursday, 20010-03-11.

I ran across an interesting little thing in this Chunky Ribbed Socks pattern.

On the first sock I made a small modification on one side of the heel, and worked the pattern as is, on the other side of the heel. With the modification, there’s no hole, and without the modification, there’s a hole. In the second sock’s heel, I worked my modification into the pattern, and there’s no hole on either side of the heel. That’s gratifying.

The modification is very simple. Knitting the leg is pretty straightforward. Then comes Working the Short Row Heel, which is worked on half the pegs as a flat panel. I followed all the Row steps until I got to Row 15 and Row 16. I made my modifications here. Actually, you can see that there will be a hole at these places, as you are knitting on the loom. Here’s what I did to eliminate the hole:

Row 15: K11 (from peg 2-12). Knit 2 over 1 on peg 12.
Modification: W&T peg 13

Row 16: K12 (from peg 12-1). Knit 2 over 1 on peg 1.
Modification: W&T peg 24 (one peg past peg 1 )

Then, when you work the Sock Foot, on the first round, you’ll simply knit 2 over 1 on pegs 13 and 24, and keep on going. No hole! That’s my experience, anyway.

I tried different ways of binding off the toe, which is why the toes look different in the picture on my Projects page. I’m still learning, and I experiment whenever I can.

Here are some pix of the finished socks.




This heavy pair of socks weights just under seven ounces. I have about five ounces of this yarn leftover.


The socks, after being washed on Cold/Cold in the washing machine, in a nylon bag, and air-dried on the socks rack. Model: Cathy. This picture is featured on Ravelry for the Chunky Ribbed Socks.

Getting Started Knitting Socks - Part 4 - Heel Flap

The Heel Flaps on both socks are completed. The heel flaps were worked back and forth as follows: Row 1 (RS): *Sl 1 pwise wyb, k1; rep from *. Row 2 (WS): Sl 1 pwise wyf, purl to end. Rep rows 1 and 2 until a total of 24 rows have been worked (12 chain selvedge sts). There are 24 sts on the heel flap needle, and 12 sts on each of the two instep needles. The next step is the Heel Turn, which involves Short Rows.

Getting Started Knitting Socks - Part 3 - Leg

I have finished the cuff and the leg of each sock. The cuffs are 3 inches, at 5 sts per row, or 15 rows. The legs are about four inches, or 31 rows. I will thread a lifeline into the loops before I commence with the heel flap. Up until now, I was knitting with 4 DPNs. I just switched to knitting with 5 DPNs after reading that there is less of a chance of ladders developing at the joints where the needles meet. I can already feel the difference. Socks have structure. These are the 5 Stitches Per Inch Basic Sock, knitted on US 9 bamboo chopstick needles. On the legs I'm getting about 5 sts by 7 rows per square inch in St st, so far.

The next step is the Heel. The instructions for the Heel are: K12, turn work around and with same needle, p24 - 24 heel sts on one needle. Place rem 24 sts on spare needle(s) or holder to work later for instep.



Once those two rows are completed, the Heel Flap is next:
Work back and forth on heel sts in rows as foll:
Row 1: (RS) *Sl 1 pwise with yarn in back (wyb), k1; rep from *.
Row 2: Sl1 pwise with yarn in front (wyf), purl to end.
Rep Rows 1 and 2 until a total of 24 rows have been worked - 12 chain selvedge sts.


In the past, when doing the Training Socks, I had trouble remembering to slip the first stitch. This time around, I'm going to remember to do it. It makes it so much easier to pick-up stitches later, for the gusset decrease.

So far, I've knitted 48 CO sts, plus 48 sts X 15 rows of cuff, plus 48 sts X 30 rows of leg, for a total of 2208 sts X 2 socks, or 4416 sts, not counting correcting mistakes.

Getting Started Knitting Socks - Part 2 - Cuff

I've finished the cuff on both socks. The cuff was done with K2, P2 Ribbing, and was 15 rows, or 3 inches. It was slow going, and in spite of trying to pay close attention to correcting mistakes, a few crept in anyway. Still, this is the best I've done since I learned how to kit. The most common error I'm making is forgetting to put the yarn in front of the needle, or behind the needle, when making a knit or a purl stitch. I will put a lifeline through the loops that are on the needles, before I start working on the legs. I'm planning to do the legs in St st, so maybe the progress will be a little faster. The pattern says to work pattern of choice until leg measures 8.75 inches from CO, or desired length to top of heel. If I go the full 8.75 inches, I have 5.75 inches to go. I averaged 5 rows per inch in the cuff. If that continues to hold true, I'll need to knit about 28 or 29 rows to get to the top of the heel. I'll see how it looks at 5, 6 and 7 inches and make a decision.

Getting Started Knitting Socks - Part 1 - Cast-On

Since finishing the Class Sock from the sock class at the LYS, I've felt confident that I can knit a basic pair of cuff-down socks.

The first thing I did was measure my feet. They were 9.875 inches in circumference around the ball of each foot, and 10.75 inches long.

The next thing I did was to knit a gauge swatch in-the-round, using the yarn I purchased, and the US 9 bamboo dpns I made. I cast-on (CO) 30 stitches, then started knitting in Stockinette Stitch (St st).

When knitting St st in-the-round, knit every row. I knit the swatch 4 inches long. Then I threaded some scrap yarn through the loops, and removed the dpns. In most places, the swatch had 5 stitches per inch. Some places had 4.5 stitches per inch. Anyway, I decided to go with the 5 Stitches Per Inch Basic Sock pattern in Ann Budd's book, Getting Started Knitting Socks (GSKS).



Next, I transcribed the pattern, using just the numbers for an Adult Large size sock. I typed the pattern as a plain text file, using just the knitting abbreviations and the numbers for the Adult Large sock size. Then I copy-pasted the text file into OpenOffice.org Writer, and formatted it with Bold and Italics to make it easy for me to read. Finally I exported it as a PDF file and printed it out. It printed to two pages. I can mark-up the printed pages, and not have any marks in the book.

The first instruction is to CO 48 stitches (sts), join, and work 8.75 inches in the pattern of your choice.

I used the Long Tail CO, then slipped 16 sts onto three bamboo dpns. Then I did the Cross Over Join (as described in GSKS), and proceeded to do a couple of rows of k2, p2 ribbing to hold it all together. I did this for both socks. My plan is to do each step of making a sock, to both socks. CO-CO, cuff-cuff, leg-leg, heel-heel, gusset-gusset, foot-foot, and toe-toe. Hopefully I will not experience Second Sock Syndrome, which I understand leaves many socks without a partner.


The ball of yarn on the left was the one I used to do the gauge swatch. After measuring the sts/inch on the gauge swatch, I ripped it out to use in the socks. That's why there is a small ball of yarn beside the big ball.

Notice the difference in the shape of the balls of yarn? I purchased two hanks of yarn, and the owner of the LYS wound one hank into a cake for me. Later, when I went back to the LYS to get the other hank wound into a cake, a different person wound it for me. Each person used a different tension on the yarn when they were winding it on the wool winder, and as a result, the cakes of yarn look slightly different.

At the time of this writing, I have about 3 inches of cuff knitted for one sock. I will be posting pictures when I have the same amount of work on both socks finished.