Magic Socks, Pt. I... Here's the first installment, reposted from earlier. Part III is actually *done*, submitted for proofreading, and will be posted soon. I will post one per day, so as not to take up too much of one digest... I am breaking this up into several smaller "lessons" as there were many who identified themselves as newbies... Magic Socks, Part I Today's installment consists of explaining the concepts behind double knitting, so that you end up with two separate pieces of fabric. (There is also a technique where you can end with a double-thick fabric that is like a tube you can run a cord through.) When casting on in double knitting the first time, use two contrasting scrap yarns. I use the half-hitch cast-on, where you make a loop, give it a half turn, and put it on the needle. Call the two colors A and B. Make a slip knot in A, and put it on the needle. Ditto for B. Then start casting on in A, B, A, B, A, B, order. Important: Always keep A in front and B in back. If you cross the yarns, the fabric will be connected. I find it easiest to make A loops with my thumb, and B loops with my 2nd or 3rd finger. This is where I'm dithering: if you've done socks before, you're probably jumping in casting on for socks. Great! But I'm going to explain as if doing a gauge sample, around 16 stitches for each color, 32 total. Knit the first row this way: Since you cast on ABAB, when you turn, B is the first color to knit. Hold the B yarn in your left hand, and A in your right hand. (Ha! bet you didn't realize you were going to learn to knit with both hands at the same time!) Don't panic, you can do this. This will be your mantra: B in Back, A in front. B is left hand, A is right hand. Knit the B stitch with your left hand thread. Then, knit the A stitch with your right hand thread, and then bring the A thread to the front as if you're going to purl right away, but just hold it there. At this point, check to make sure that you haven't crossed the A and B threads so that the fabrics are connected. Knit B as usual. Then, bring the A thread back as if you've just purled and knit A, then bring the thread back to the front as if you're going to purl, but just hold it there. Knit B again. Repeat to end of row. Persevere. It sounds a lot more complicated than it is. This is the pearl (purl?) of wisdom in this technique: by bringing the A thread to the front after each stitch, you are knitting each fabric separately, because the threads aren't twisting around each other. You can check at any point to see if you've crossed by running your finger in between the fabrics. A will be in front, B in Back. Made it to the end? Good for you! Now, let's turn, and purl. Take a deep breath. (does anyone else forget to breathe under pressure?) Remember the mantra: B in Back, A in front. B is left hand, A is right hand. Well, now that you've turned, B is in front, but only on this sample. Once you're knitting in the round, B will always be in back. A should be the first stitch, purl. Then, bring yarn to back. Purl B, bring yarn to front as if to knit, but just hold it there. Purl A. Bring B yarn to purl, and return yarn to front. Repeat to end of row. Getting the hang of it? Or have I made it clear as mud? If you're confused, let me know! Because now we're going to do ribbing! By this point, I hope you've gotten the hang of keeping the front stitches separate from the back. A vs. B; left vs. right, etc. Here's the walk-through on ribbing: Stitches on left needle are ABABABAB etc. *First stitch A, knit. Bring thread to front as if you're going to purl, just hold it there. Next stitch B, knit. Leave thread as if you're going to knit, just hold it there. Next stitch A, purl. Leave thread in front. Next stitch B, Bring thread to front and purl, then bring to back and hold it there. Next stitch A, bring thread to back and knit, then bring to front as if to purl and hold it there. Next stitch B, knit and hold thread in back as if to knit. Next stitch A, purl and hold thread in front. Next stitch B, bring thread to front and purl, then bring to back and hold. Repeat from * until you want to throw it across the room. (with a bow to Elizabeth Zimmerman for the literary reference!) Perservere, dear knitters! If you're frustrated, just put it down. Take a break, overnight if necessary. Quite a few times, you will pick it back up and it will have "jelled" overnight, and you will wonder what was so hard. The General FAQ will be posted soon; look for it, and get a copy of the pattern for Joan's Socks. The next installment of Magic Socks and Mittens will be based on those socks. Permission granted to re-post this pattern, with proper credit given to Joan Hamer for the original sock pattern, and to Ruth Hiebert for the instructions and annotations. ------------------------------------------------------ Magic Socks, Part II MAGIC SOCKS, PART II (aka, the "be gentle, it's my first time" or "out in the boonies, got no source books" socks) I guess you could say it's for all those sock virgins out there... A lot of the requests I had for the magic socks stated that they hadn't done socks or hadn't knit with dpns (double-pointed knitting needles) before, so that's why this installment is a How-To. This pattern is based on Joan's Socks, only I'm going to change it slightly. This pattern calls for knitting with two strands, and that will just get too complicated for double knitting. Trust me on this. And because we're changing it, your mileage will vary from this gauge. Either do it as a practice sock, or find a foot it fits. (or donate it to charity?) You could also play with the number of stitches, or with the size of the needles. 2-STRAND WOOL-EASE SOCKS (Joan's Socks) Newbies: Wool-Ease was last Christmas' yarn of choice for gifts, because it's washable. Use any worsted-weight yarn for this practice sock. Note also that this isn't the sock-in-a-sock yet, just a how-to-do-a-sock. Back to the pattern: Materials: 2 balls Wool-Ease worsted weight yarn Size 6 and 8 dpns (double-pointed knitting needles). For larger sock, use size 7 and 9. Gauge: 4 stitches equals one inch (remember that this will change) Newbies: If this is the first time you've cast on with dpns, do it this way. I use the half-hitch cast on (make a loop, turn it, slip it on the needle).Cast on 10 stitches on the first needle. Then, hold the next needle parallel to the first, and just keep on casting on. Aim for no gaps between the needles, without pulling it so tight you can't knit. The (10-12-10) means that you cast on 10 stitches on the first needle, 12 on the second, and 10 on the third. Back to the pattern: Cast on 32 stitches (10-12-10) with size 6 needles. Newbies: Take a deep breath, and do it. This will be awkward as h*ll. Persevere, it gets better after row 3. I promise! Don't put it down, until then, or it will go all funky on you. The needles tend to be rambunctious until there's enough rows to keep 'em in submission. Take these needles and form them into a triangle. The first needle you cast on will be referred to as Needle 1, then Needle 2, etc. Make sure the cast-on edge stays on the bottom, but don't stress about it. We can fix a twist after Row 1. Work with the stitches you haven't done yet *away* from you, that way you won't end up with an inside-out sock (which you could fix anyway by turning the whole thing inside out). Take the empty needle, and do Knit one, purl one ribbing on needle one, trying to keep the yarn from gapping too badly between the needles. (see notes on Laddering at the end of this post) At the end of ribbing these stitches, you'll have an empty needle in your left hand. Take the empty needle in your right hand, and shift the triangle to rib needle 2. Repeat for needle 3. Take a deep breath, you've finished row 1! (Pat yourself on the back) Now, look carefully at your work. This is where you check to see if you've twisted the knitting. Make sure that the ribbing is on the bottom of the needles all the way around. You can fiddle with the needles and rotate either the knitting or the needles *at the end of the first round* (where you are now). This is un- twisting the yarn at that point, but this will disappear. (I seem to have to do this on every sock. It's a cheat, but a legal one, IMHO.) Now, rib for round 2 and 3, then take an aspirin and go lie down in a dark room, if need be. (with proper kudos to Elizabeth Zimmerman, of course!) You can now knit in the round on double- pointed knitting needles. All that's left is finishing the sock. Back to the pattern: Work knit one, purl one ribbing for 12 rounds. Change to size 8 needles, and work in stockinette stich (knit all stitches) for 6 inches. HEEL FLAP: Newbies: What's going to happen here is that you will knit back and forth on *half* the stitches to make a square, then you will do some short rows to turn the heel (make it more rounded), then pick up stitches along the sides of the flap, and then do decreases until you're back with the original number of stitches. Persevere! It will be easier than it sounds, I promise. Back to the pattern: Knit 8 stitches and place remaining stitches on needle 2, then turn. Slip 1, purl 7, then 8 stitches from needle 3. (knit these all onto the same needle, now called the heel needle) Place the remaining stitches onto the instep needle to hold for awhile. On the heel needle, you will have 16 stitches. Work as follows: Right side: *Slip one, knit one, repeat from * across. Wrong side: Slip one, purl across. Repeat these two rows until you have 8 chain loops along the sides of the heel flap, formed by the slip stitch. Newbies: The slip one, knit one is a stitch pattern that makes for a more durable heel. It's traditional, but not mandatory on all socks. TURN HEEL: Newbies: follow blindly, and it will work if I haven't made a typo. Take a deep breath, and Persevere! Back to the pattern: Slip one, purl 8, purl 2 together, purl one, turn. (yes, there's still stitches on the needle.) Slip one, knit 3, knit 2 together, knit one, turn. Slip one, purl 4, purl 2 together, purl one, turn. Slip one, knit 5, knit 2 together, knit one, turn. Slip one, purl 6, purl 2 together, purl one, turn. Slip one, knit 7, knit 2 together, knit one, DO NOT turn. You should have 10 stitches left if we've both done things correctly. You are at the end of the right side row. PICK UP STITCHES: With the same needle, pick up a stitch in each loop (8 total) of the side of the flap. With an empty needle, knit the instep stitches. With an empty needle, pick up a stitch in each loop of the other side of the heel flap PLUS knit 5 stitches of the heel needle. The beginning of the round is now at the center of the heel. Newbies: Take a look at the place where the heel flap joins the instep needle. Often, I have a gap there. I take care of this by picking up an extra stitch in that gap. If you need to tink back and redo the pickups, now is the time to do so. These extra stitches will be taken care of in the gusset. GUSSETS: Back to the pattern: Round 1: Knit to within the last 3 stitches of needle one, knit 2 together, knit one. Knit across instep stitches. On needle 3, knit 1, ssk, knit to end of round. Round 2: knit all stitches. Repeat these two rounds until you have 32 stitches. Work in stockinette stitch until you are within 2 inches of wanted length. (Newbies: try it on, and don't let the kids make Freddy Kruger jokes) TOE: Back to the pattern: Round 1: Knit to within the last 3 stitches of needle 1, knit 2 together, knit 1. On needle 2, knit 1, ssk, knit to within 3 stitches of end of needle, knit 2 together, knit 1. On needle 3, knit one, ssk, knit to end. Round 2: knit all stitches. Repeat these last two rounds until 16 stitches remain. Weave 8 top stitches to 8 bottom stitches, using Kitchener stitch. End off. Newbies: I simplify this a bit by putting the stitches on two needles, not three. (decide where your own comfort level is) I like the decreases to be at each end of the needle, where I can keep better track of them. The Kitchener stitch is a method of weaving the two rows together so that they are seamless, and look like solid knitting. There has been lots of discussion of it on the list, and there are good explanations in each issue of Knitters and other various sources. Email me if you need more help. Whew! We made it! Take a bow, you deserve it. And don't forget to post the FO (Finished Object) to the list! Notes on Laddering: If you notice that you can see the stitches between the needles even when they're down a few rows, that's called laddering. It usually disappears after washing. This can be prevented by knitting the first stitch on the needle a little more tightly than usual. Sometimes, its' caused by wrapping the yarn around a needle funky before knitting the new needle. Permission granted to re-post this pattern, with proper credit given to Joan Hamer for the original pattern, and to Ruth Hiebert for the annotations. --------------------------------------------- Magic Socks, Part III Being a thoroughly wonderful, marvelous, and totally modest description of how to Knit A Sock Inside Another Sock! If you've stuck with me through Part I, How to Double-Knit, and Part II, How to Knit A Sock, and you're still with me, may the Good Lord grant me enough clarity to deserve your faith! Casting On By now, I expect that you will have done the double-knitting exercise in Part I so that you will not knit the socks together, and that you know the basics of knitting a sock as in Part II. Ingredients: 2 skeins Wool-Ease Size 6 dpns (Double-Pointed Knitting Needles) Size 8 dpns Using the pattern from Part II, based on Joan's Socks, cast on in the following way: Cast on 32 stitches (10-12-10) with size 6 needles for each sock. Since you are casting on ABAB etc., with the outer sock being A and the inner sock being B, you have 64 stitches (20-24-20). When I say purl 8 A/B, it means purl 8 FOR EACH SOCK, or 16 total. Do Ribbing and Ankles: Work knit one, purl one ribbing for 12 rounds. Change to size 8 needles, and work in stockinette stich (knit all stitches) for 6 inches. Remember that you are knitting ABAB, and keep all A stitches in front and B stitches in back (see part I for clear explanation of how to keep layers separate). The stockinette sides of each layer will be towards you. Periodically, stick your finger between the layers and check that you haven't knit the two layers together. There is no quick fix; if you've twisted the yarns or knit A for B, you must tink (un-knit) back. Don't try to take the stitches off the needles and ravel back (aka frog-stitch, or rip-it, rip-it!). HEEL FLAP: Newbies: Read Part II for an explanation/overview of what happens here. Back to the pattern: Knit 8 stitches A/B (16 total) and place remaining stitches on needle 2, then turn. Slip 1 A/B , purl 7 A/B, then 8 stitches from needle 3 A/B. (knit these all onto the same needle, now called the heel needle. If it's too many, use 2 needles.) Place the remaining stitches onto the instep needle to hold for awhile. On the heel needle, you will have 16 stitches A/B (32 total). Work as follows: Right side: *Slip one A, Slip one B, knit one A, knit one B, repeat from * across. Pay attention so that you keep the A layer separate from the B layer. Wrong side: Slip oneA, Slip one B, purl across. Repeat these two rows until you have 8 chain loops along the sides of the heel flap, FOR EACH SOCK, formed by the slip stitch at the edges. Newbies: The slip one, knit one is a stitch pattern that makes for a more durable heel. It's traditional, but not mandatory on all socks. If it's too hard to do with double-knitting, just do stockinette. Really, it's no big deal to change. TURN HEEL: Newbies: Forget this. Just skip to the picking up stitches section. Your heel will be squared, but trust me, your socks will be easier. Experienced knitters: when I say purl 8 A/B, it means purl 8 FOR EACH SOCK, or 16 total. Work the knit or purl 2 together like this: slip three stitches (ABA) totally off the needles. Then, pick them up again in AABB order. Then do the knit (or purl) 2 together A/B. Back to the pattern: Slip one A, Slip one B, purl 8 A/B, purl 2 together A/B, purl one A/B, turn. (yes, there's still stitches on the needle.) Pay attention to which is now in front and which in back. A is whichever is first, because I'm doing mind-knitting here and may get inside and outside turned around! Slip one A, Slip one B, knit 3 A/B, knit 2 together A/B, knit one A/B, turn. Slip one A, Slip one B, purl 4 A/B, purl 2 together A/B, purl one A/B, turn. Slip one A, Slip one B, knit 5 A/B, knit 2 together A/B, knit one A/B, turn. Slip one A, Slip one B, purl 6 A/B, purl 2 together A/B, purl one A/B, turn. Slip one A, Slip one B, knit 7 A/B, knit 2 together A/B, knit one A/B, DO NOT turn. You should have 20 stitches (10 A/B) left if we've both done things correctly. You are at the end of the right side row. PICK UP STITCHES: With the same needle, pick up a stitch in each loop (8 A/B, 16 total) of the side of the flap. Be sure you're picking up A stitches with A yarn, and vice versa. With an empty needle, knit the instep stitches. With an empty needle, pick up a stitch in each loop of the other side of the heel flap PLUS knit 5 stitches A/B (10 total) of the heel needle. The beginning of the round is now at the center of the heel. Newbies: Take a look at the place where the heel flap joins the instep needle. Often, I have a gap there. I take care of this by picking up an extra stitch in that gap. If you need to tink back and redo the pickups, now is the time to do so. These extra stitches will be taken care of in the gusset. GUSSETS: By now, you should have the hang of the inside sock/outside knitting. Beginners: Remember that you need to work the knit or purl 2 together like this: slip three stitches (ABA) totally off the needles. Then, pick them up again in AABB order. Then do the knit (or purl) 2 together A/B. Use a cable needle if you feel like you're going to lose the stitches you drop off the needles, but unless you have a small child or other jostling of the elbow, they're not really going anywhere. Back to the pattern: Round 1: Knit to within the last 6 (3 for each sock) stitches of needle one, knit 2 together A/B, knit one A/B. Knit across instep stitches. On needle 3, knit 1 A/B, ssk A/B, knit to end of round. Round 2: knit all stitches. Repeat these two rounds until you have 32 stitches FOR EACH SOCK (64 total A/B). Work in stockinette stitch until you are within 2 inches of wanted length. (Newbies: try it on, and don't let the kids make Freddy Kruger jokes) TOE: Back to the pattern: Round 1: Knit to within the last 3 A/B (6 total) stitches of needle 1, knit 2 together A/B, knit 1 A/B. On needle 2, knit 1 A/B, ssk A/B, knit to within 3 stitches A/B of end of needle, knit 2 together A/B, knit 1 A/B. On needle 3, knit one A/B, ssk A/B, knit to end. Round 2: knit all stitches. Newbies: I simplify this a bit by putting the stitches on two needles, not three. (decide where your own comfort level is) I like the decreases to be at each end of the needle, where I can keep better track of them. Repeat these last two rounds until 16 stitches A/B (32 total) remain. Make one last check that all stitches for the inner sock are separate from the outer sock. Using a pair of spare needles, separate the stitches for the inner sock from the outer sock, so that each sock is separate from the other. Weave 8 top stitches to 8 bottom stitches for the inside sock, using Kitchener stitch, then do the outer sock. End off. The Kitchener stitch is a method of weaving the two rows together so that they are seamless, and look like solid knitting. There has been lots of discussion of it on the list, and there are good explanations in each issue of Knitters and other various sources. Demand the attention of all beings in the vicinity, human or otherwise. Make a short speech to indicate: (1) that this is a feat of no little skill, and (2) that the accomplishment deserves much praise. (a short mention of this author is optional...) Literary types might want to read the appropriate passage from _Anna Karenina_. Then, with much fanfare, pull the socks apart! Don't forget to post the FO to the list! Permission granted to re-post this pattern, with proper credit given to Joan Hamer for the original sock pattern, and to Ruth Hiebert for the instructions and annotations.