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.

Webcast with Wendy on TheknitGirllls

This from WendyKnits:

The Knit Girls Video-Cast with Wendy D. Johnson.

Wendy warns that she is very chatty, and the webcast is in five parts, but she looks so svelte. It must be the 'clean diet' she is on. Check out her blog for more about that: Wendy Knits. Her new book is shown, and her shawlettes.

So why are you still reading this?

Judy's Magic Cast-On

Instructions for doing Judy's Magic Cast-On are at her blog, Persistent Illusion. She says:

These instructions assume that you have some familiarity with knitting socks toe-up. The pictures show the Magic Cast-On using two circular needles. Instructions for knitting two socks at the same time and for using the cast-on with DPNs are at the bottom.

I've been learning how to do Judy's Magic Cast-On, and practicing doing toe increases with leftover yarn from the Class Sock and my Hiya US #5 40 inch circular needles. One thing I've discovered is that it seems to make a difference the way I loop the yarn over the top needle for the first stitch.

Judy does it like this:



If the loop of the first stitch is twisted so the tail yarn is in front, and goes to the back over the index finger, then the first two loops are not tied-in to the rest of the cast-on. After you've finished casting-on the number of stitches you need for the toe, turn the needles over and look at the back. There should be purl bumps tying all the stitches together. The thing is, those first two stitches aren't tied in with the rest of the stitches.

This is how I do it:



If the loop of the first stitch is twisted so the working yarn is in front, and goes to the front over the thumb, then the first two loops are tied-in to the rest of the cast-on with purl bumps. Interesting, eh? I don't know if it makes any difference or not.



The thing to remember with Judy's Magic Cast-On is that after I've cast-on all the stitches, I turn the work so the working yarn is on the right, and the right-side (knit stitches) is facing me. I make sure to lock the tail yarn behind the working yarn. Then I slide the working needle out of the loops and knit the first side. Then I rotate the toe, and slide the needles around to do the second side. It is important to knit into the back side of these loops, otherwise they'll be twisted. This is the only side that has to be done that way.

The Magic Cast-On is actually really easy, once it's been done a few times, and after the first two sides have been knit (remembering to position the tail yarn properly, and to knit into the back of the loops on the second side), the toe increases can be started. In Melissa Morgan-Oakes' book, Toe-Up 2-at-a-Time Socks, she uses Backward Loop Increases. She calls them M1R and M1L. M1L is a left-leaning backward loop increase where the working yarn points towards me. M1R is a right-leaning backward loop increase where the working yarn points away from me. It isn't very difficult to do, but does require remembering which is which, since they are used on both sides of the toe. I just try to remember that the R in M1R means Rear (points away from me, to the rear).

So far, it's only taken me about ten tries to figure all this stuff out. That's ten toes cast-on, knitted, and frogged. It's good practice.

New Circular Knitting Needles

Today I got some new circular knitting needles. I finally made a firm decision to learn how to knit Toe-Up 2-at-a-Time Socks on one circular needle. At the LYS I bought Addi-Turbo US #0 40 inch circular needles, and Hiya-Hiya US #1 40 inch circular needles. The plan is to eventually have a complete set of 40 inch circular knitting needles for socks, from US #0 to US #2.

The increments are in millimeters:
US 0 (2.00mm) - 40"
US 1 (2.25mm) - 40"
US 1 (2.50mm) - 40"
US 2 (2.75mm) - 40"
US 2 (3.00mm) - 40"

I don't really know how much of a difference 0.25mm makes when knitting with fingering weight yarn, but I'll find out over time.

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.