Socks Education Part 3: Diving in with Gusto!

Are you ready to knit?  It is time to show those double-pointed needles (dpn) who’s the boss (I’m trying to think of a Tony Danza joke, but I’ve got nothing).

Test Swatch.  Don’t skip this because you’re in a hurry to get to the good stuff!  Really, it’s important.  Take your time when knitting and you will enjoy it more. 

We are shooting for a gauge of 8 stitches per inch.  Take your yarn and the size needles you think you need to achieve this gauge.  Cast on about 18 stitches.  Now, working in your pattern stitch (in this case stockinette or K one row, P one row), knit about ten rows.  Lay your work down on a flat surface, grab your tape measure, and see if you have the correct gauge.  If you have MORE than 8 stitches, you need to use a bigger needle.  If you have LESS than 8 stitches, you need to use a smaller needle.  If you have exactly 8 stitches, then you’ve hit a home run on your first try!

The Pattern.  We are going to make a basic crew sock.  I’ve come up with a nifty “Build Your Own Pattern” (BYOP) worksheet. So I don’t overwhelm you, we’ll be taking each section of the worksheet as needed.  At the end of the series, I’ll post the entire worksheet which will print, conveniently, on one sheet of paper front and back.  This is Sara’s favorite feature because it means she can put it in a page protector.  She gets a little too excited about page protectors, in my opinion.  But hey, to each his/her own.

With this worksheet, you will be able to knit a sock for anyone as long as you know the gauge of your yarn and the length and circumference of the foot.  The first section will be used to record the “reference information” you need to get started.

So, what if you don't know the length and circumference of someone's foot?  You don't want to ask them so you can keep it a surprise.  What to do?  Do you know their shoe size?  If so, you're in luck.  Check out the Craft Yarn Council website.  They have every possible sock to shoe size chart combination.

The convention of the BYOP worksheet is that anywhere you see a white box, you need to fill in information.  When you measure the circumference of the foot, you want to measure the widest part. When you measure the length of the foot, start at the back of the heel and go to the end of the longest toe.  The best way to measure the length of your foot is to put a ruler on floor and stand with your foot next to it.  Keep your weight on the foot you aren't measuring so as to not cause the foot being measured to flatten out too much.  Your sock will be too long if you use a tape measure and flatten it to the contour of your foot.

Here’s my information:

Reference Information
Sock Recipient	Sarah	Yarn Used	Denise’s Leftovers
Circumference of Foot	7                inches	Needle Size	US size 2
Length of Foot	9                inches	Gauge	8                  sts per inch

Now, fill in the information for the sock you are going to knit:

Reference Information
Sock Recipient		Yarn Used
Circumference of Foot	inches	Needle Size
Length of Foot	inches	Gauge	sts per inch

Casting On.  Now that we’ve got the preliminaries out of the way, let’s start knitting!

First we have to calculate the proper number of stitches to cast on.  To do this, we are going to multiply the gauge (sts per inch) times the circumference of the foot in inches.  The number of stitches needs to be divisible by 4.  If your gauge is 8 sts per inch, it will be divisible by 4.  If you are working with a different gauge, you may need to round to the nearest number divisible by 4.

Here’s my information:

Casting On
Cast on	56                    sts
Formula	__8___ [sts per inch] x __7___ [circumference of foot in inches] =; round this number to the nearest number divisible by 4 = __56___ [number of sts to cast on]
St Distribution	Needle #1:  one-fourth of sts     Needle #2: one-half of sts     Needle #3:  one-fourth of sts

Now, fill in the information for the sock you are going to knit:

Casting On
Cast on	sts
Formula	_____ [sts per inch] x _____ [circumference of foot in inches] =; round this number to the nearest number divisible by 4 = _____ [number of sts to cast on]
St Distribution	Needle #1:  one-fourth of sts     Needle #2: one-half of sts     Needle #3:  one-fourth of sts

To start casting on, almost all knitters use a slip stitch.  I don’t.  This is because of my pathological hatred of knots.  If you want to use a slip stitch, by all means, go ahead.  What I do is loop my yarn over the needle and twist the needle around one time so the tail and the rest of the yarn cross.

Loop instead of a slip knot.

I prefer to cast on using the standard method.  The thing that is so important that it needs to be in bold and italics is:  CAST ON LOOSELY!  Yes, I’m shouting it at you.  Cast those stitches on loosely because if you don’t, your cuff will be too tight.  It will make you nuts and after spending hours knitting the socks, you will never wear them. 

Cast on all stitches onto a single needle.

I cast all my stitches onto one needle, then distribute the stitches between three needles.  The distribution will be like this:  Needle #1:  one-fourth of sts, Needle #2: one-half of sts, Needle #3:  one-fourth of sts.  After you distribute your stitches, make sure you haven’t twisted them around the needle. This is conveniently listed on the BYOP chart for casting on.  We will join our cast on stitches in the next section.

Start distributing the stitches to the second needle.

Stitches divided between 3 needles.  Needle #1 is on the left, Needle #2 at the top, and Needle #3 is on the right.  Make sure the stitches are twisted.

This will be the beginning of your round.  Many patterns will tell you to mark the beginning of the round with a stitch marker.  I don’t need no stinking markers!  There is a tail of yarn hanging down.  That serves as my marker. 

The beginning of the round is also the back of your sock.  Image that you are drawing a line starting at the back of your calf, down your leg, around the heel to the bottom of the foot, across the bottom of your foot and to your middle toe.  This is what I’m calling the back of the sock.  The first stitch of each round would fall on this imaginary line.

Knitting the Cuff.  If you are right handed, pick up your needles so that Needle #1 is in your left hand and Needle #3 is in your right hand (switch that around if you’re left handed).  Now, start knitting!  That’s right, I don’t go through any fancy-pants manipulations for joining the stitches.  I just start in.  Make the first 3 stitches with both the yarn and the tail of the yarn.  Once again, this is to avoid knotting the yarn.  I pull my first stitch as tight as I can.  I’ve been doing it this way for years and have never had a problem.  The key is to pull that first stitch you make as tight as you can so it doesn’t sag.

Knit the first 3-4 stitches of your first round with BOTH the yarn and the tail of the yarn.  Leave the tail so it serves as a marker (if you have a long tail, feel free to trim it down).

You can work your cuff in K1P1 rib, K1P2 rib, garter stitched, or start it in stockinette and let the top roll.  I, however, prefer to start with a K2P2 rib.  To me, this is the most elastic of the ribbing stitches.  It will help keep your sock from falling down all the time.

You can make the cuff as long or as short as you want.  You could even work the entire leg in rib.  My preference is to K2P2 for an inch, then switch to stockinette for the leg.

I use a K2P2 rib.

Here’s my information:

Cuff
K2P2 rib for	1        inches	Based on personal preference, 1 inch minimum

Now, fill in the information for the sock you are going to knit:

Cuff
K2P2 rib for	inches	Based on personal preference, 1 inch minimum

Knitting the Leg.  Now that you have your cuff done, we are going to start the leg.  All you need to do is, at the beginning of the round, switch to your pattern stitch.  In my case, I’m going to do a plain old stockinette with some stripes.

Here’s my information:

Leg
K even for	8       inches	Based on personal preference, not to exceed 8 inches

Now, fill in the information for the sock you are going to knit:

Leg
K even for	inches	Based on personal preference, not to exceed 8 inches

You’ll notice that in the chart, I suggest that the length of the leg should not exceed 8 inches.  Why?  Because if you start getting higher than mid-calf, you’ll need to do some shaping.  Shaping is more complicated and I don’t want to lose you this early in the game.  For now, we are just going to keep it simple and leave the length at no more than 8 inches.

A Word About Stripes.  Whenever I talk about knitting stripes, the response I get from horrified knitters is that they hate stripes because they don’t want to work in all those loose ends.  My solution?  Carry the yarn rather than cut it.  As long as your stripes are not wider than about half an inch,  this is no problem.  You need to take care not to pull the yarn too tight as that will bunch up the rows of your sock.  You also need to twist the yarn when you drop one yarn and pick up the other. 

Twist the two yarns when changing colors.  If you don't, you get a hole.

So you ask, “Sarah, you hate knots.  How is carrying the yarn across rows any different than a knot?”  The difference is that a knot is hard while yarn carried across the back of the work is not.  I’ve been wearing striped socks knit this way for years and have never found them to be uncomfortable.

“So Sarah, how do you join your second yarn without a knot?”  The answer to this question is the key to no-knot-knitting.  It’s sometimes called a Russian join.  I call it genius!  Not only are you joining your yarn without a knot, but you are weaving the ends in at the same time! 

To join the new yarn, stop 2 stitches away from where you want your new color to start.  Take the new yarn and loop it around the yarn you are currently using, folding it back on itself.  Fold Yarn #1 back on itself, too.  Imagine you have two old fashioned bobby pins and you link them together.  Your yarn should look something like that.  Here’s my really poor computer rendering of what this will look like.

Two loops hooked together like two bobby pins (or paper clips).

Looping the yarn two stitches before you want to change colors.

Make your final 2-3 stitches using both strands of Yarn #1.  Make your next 2-3 stitches with both strands of Yarn #2.  Continue knitting with Yarn #2.  Because sock yarn is thin, the doubled yarn will not be noticeable.  This joining method works on yarn up to worsted weight.

The last three stitches on Needle #3 are knitted with a doubled strand of first yarn and the first three stitches on Needle #1 are knitted with the new yarn.

If you don't understand this explanation of the Russian join, let me know.  Or try YouTube to see if there is a video.  It will be worth the time as the Russian join is the best way to join in a new yarn that I've ever used.

That’s it for today.  Your assignment is to finish knitting the leg of your sock by the next post on February 11^th.  That post will be “Part 4: Taking your Socks Life in a New Direction; Turning the Heel.”  I promise, you’ll like it.