Two-at-a-Time Socks on a Magic Loop: The Heel Part 2

Hi everyone! This week has been really hectic at work...I had great hopes of getting through the have-to-do-stuff, so that I could go to our weekly knitting meet and blog a few times, but it wasn't to be... I guess perhaps things will settle a little towards the end of the year, and I'll be able to post merrily while at the coast, so here's hoping! I did however, work very hard to finish up the second part of my heel tutorial...I'm sure that there are eager sock knitters waiting with sticks suspended, to see how the heel grows :) That being said, I really hope that whoever of you who are actually knitting socks from these tutorials, will post some photos on the Ravelry page...I am super-keen to see your wonderful socks being born!

Ok, ready to finish up your heel?
In the last post , we ended up at the half way point... if you look at the photo below, you'll see the last stitch that was worked...remember that you are knitting/purling back and forth, just as if you had two knitting needles and not a Magic Loop.

Let's look at these heel stitches...
When we made the first half of the heel, we divided up the stitches roughly into three, so the short-rowed stitches on either side (10sts each side) and the un-short-rowed (for want of a better word) , in the middle of the heel (12sts). When you make the second half of the heel, you'll stick to this same division set-up, but now you are making "long-rows" (purely for descriptive purposes ;) ). So previously, you worked an ever shorter section of stitches, now you will work progressively more stitches on each row.

When you have worked all the necessary "long-rows", you will again have made a total of 20 Double stitches, BUT, whereas before, you made them all at once, you are now going to do ONE at a time on each row.

Looking at the photo above, you see that we still have 32 sts on the heel. You will be knitting across 22sts, until you have reached the 10th stitch for the left hand side of your knitting. This stitch represents the first stitch of the 10-stitch side section (at the side of the sock) that will be worked in "long-rows".


Knit 22 stitches.

Knit the stitch shown above. This is the first stitch of the 10st section that will become a Double Stitch. Turn your work around, slip this just knitted stitch purlwise, make a Double Stitch.


Above you can see that I have made the Double Stitch, and purled the next along stitch.

Purl across your work until you have 10sts left on your LHN. As before, you are getting to the 10stitch section at the side of the sock.

Purl this stitch, turn your work around, slip this just purled stitch purlwise, and make a Double Stitch.


Now knit across the stitches until you get to the Double Stitch. Knit the Double Stitch, making sure that you have knitted both legs, then knit the next stitch along.

Above, you can see that I have just knitted the Double stitch...knit the next stitch.....

Once you have turned your work, made the DS...purl across the heel to the Double Stitch on the other side. Purl the Double Sticth, purl the next along stitch, turn your work around, slip the just purled stitch purlwise, and make a Double Stitch. Knit across to the Double stitch etc etc

Continue along the heel, in the same manner, until you have the purl side of your work facing you, and you have reached the DS which is the second to last stitch on your LHN.

Purl the DS as well as the last stitch on your LHN.

Your work should look like the photo above.

Turn your work around. Make a Double Stitch. This Double Stitch will remain just where it is...you won't be working it again until the next round (after you have created the Left Sock's Heel and knitted all around to the Right Sock Heel stitches again). Just remember to knit this Double Stitch as a Double Stitch ie two legs together and not as two separate stitches!



Knit across all of the Heel stitches, right to the end. The last stitch you knit is a Double Stitch.


Well Done!!!! You have finished the Right Sock Heel! You are a sock knitter extraordinaire!

Sometimes (depending on how tightly you knit...), you may end up with a small hole at the interface between the instep stitches and the heel stitches. To prevent that, you can pick up a stitch in the fabric between the heel stitches and the instep stitches. Use your RHN to do this. When you have picked up this stitch, let it slip onto your RHN to lie with the Heel stitches. Just remember to knit two together when you reach these stitches again on a subsequent round.


Your work should look like the photo below...the Right Sock Heel is completed, and you are going to repeat all of the previous steps to make the Left Sock Heel....exactly the same process!

Below you can see the Left Sock Heel in progress...I have knitted the first half of the heel...

Below is the Left sock Heel completed. Again, you can pick up a stitch in the fabric section between the instep stitches and the heel stitches, to prevent a small hole from forming.


Once you have picked up this stitch, let it lie with the heel stitches, and again, remember to knit two together when you reach these stitches on the subsequent round...that will ensure that you have the correct number of stitches for your sock.

Turn your work around.

Knit across the instep stitches of the Left Sock. Pick up a stitch in the fabric space between the instep stitches and the heel stitches of the Left Sock...just as before. This time let it lie with the Instep stitches...remember to knit two together when you get to these stitches on the subsequent round, to ensure that you have the correct number of stitches for your sock.

Next, knit across the instep stitches of the Right Sock. Pick up a stitch in the fabric between the instep stitches and the heel stitches of the Right Sock. Remember to knit two together etc etc ....

Turn your work around. From hereon out, you will knit rounds on the Magic Loop until your socks have reached the length you want.

I hope that you have found this post easy to follow...if you are unsure of any of the steps, please email me and I will try to clarify things!

The next sock post will be on the bind off for the cuff...whoooohoooo! Socks Rock!

Have a good Sunday folks!
♥Heidi

Alternative Sock Toes...

Hello my fellow sock knitters :) Today I am going to chat about the options to customize your sock toes. In the previous post, I knitted a sock toe that I like for my socks. I prefer a wider sock toe as I don't like feeling my toes squished together, but if your feet are different (narrower, toes more pointy etc), then you will want to change the shape of your sock toe...

As a quick aside note...there are countless ways to knit the toes of a sock, including Short Row toes, Star toe, as well as a bunch of provisional cast-on based toes... I don't use these , so I am not going to talk about them...suffice to say that my way is not the only way :)




If you look at the toe in the pic above, you'll see that the toe is broad and the width of knitting required for the foot (full number of stitches needed for the foot circumference), starts close to the point of the sock. This type of toe is good for people with broad +/- flat feet. Also, it's good for people who like room for their toes, whether they have broad feet or not. If you have worn a sock that has a bit of knitted fabric hanging off the point of your foot, then this would be the better alternative toe shape. This toe was the one from the previous post, where the increases were made on every row, first and last stitches of each side of a round.

What kind of toe would be good for people with very pointy feet?

The broad toe above would hang loose and wide on the foot that is narrower and perhaps pointier. The better alternative would be the shaped toe, seen below. Again, the same number of required stitches are cast-on, and then on the first round you just knit, next round increase first and last stitch (both sides of the round), then knit a round and so on. You are making the increases every alternate round, until you have the total required number of stitches for the foot. This results in a longer, sharper toe shape, which when pulled over your foot, will " hug" your toes :)



In addition, you have the option to knit toes that conform to the anatomical shape of the front of your foot. This would require a " half-half" series of increases, combining the two techniques explained above. It's easiest to read the increases on a chart (see below). Decide if you are knitting the right or left foot first. Remember that you will end up with mirror image toes, so don't get confused...do one at a time :) On one edge of the toe , you will increase every round, on the other, every alternate round and so on... this might work better for you if you prefer the shaping to be over your big and second toes, tapering sharply over the outside toes).


I have drawn a little schematic chart , illustrating these ideas. On the bottom left of the chart, you have the "alternate round" increase toe, on the right the "every round" increase toe (only one side of the knitting is shown). On the top, you have (again only one side shown), the left and right feet toes for the anatomically shaped toes. On the inside side, where the big toes are , the increases are made every round, and on the outside edge, every alternate round.

By changing the increase placement, you can shape the toes according to what works best for you...

A short post today...hope your socks are coming along nicely...

Lots of Love,
Heidi :)

The Sock Toe...a journey begins!

Hi everyone! Finally...the journey begins...today I am doing a tutorial on how to knit the toe part of your basic sock... you have worked out your sock pattern , based on the measurements you took of your foot earlier this week. Just to re-iterate, it is essential that you know how to do Judy's Magic cast on, as well as Magic Loop knitting...

I am starting the series of tutorials with how to knit one sock on a Magic Loop, ie ONE circular needle. If you have never knitted a sock before, it would be a good idea to cope with one sock initially, until you have the technique down pat, then progress to two socks on one needle.

Be sure that you have a circular needle that is at least 32 inches long (if possible a 40 inch length is even better), or you may struggle with keeping your " loop" between the sides of your knitting.



Ok, start by casting on the required number of stitches onto your circular needle. Remember, that your number of stitches may be different to mine...don't fret...just keep the principles in mind... I needed 14 stitches , which are divided over the two needles as seen above (7 stitches on each needle). Ideally, I would want to start with an even number of stitches on each needle, so could have upped the number to 8 (ie a total of 16 stitches), but I wanted to show you that one stitch is not a crisis...we'll increase to an even number when we increase for the toe.

So...you will start to do the increases for the toe immediately, straight onto the cast on stitches. This is a little different from how some people teach this, but I prefer to do it this way, as I find it makes a nice even slope to the toe edge, and doesn't make a funny little bump at the toe tip edge.

The increase will take the form of a " kfb" . If you are relatively new to knitting, you may not have come across this term. It stands for " knit front and back ", and is a very easy way to make an increase in your knitting. By knitting into the front and into the back of a stitch, you are making ONE extra stitch, so if you have 10 stitches on your needle, and you do one kfb, you will have 11 stitches in total, after you finished the kfb.
Let's walk through it...

In the pic above, you have the "knit" side facing you, and you have inserted the right hand needle into the first stitch.


Yarn around the tip of the right hand needle (just as you would do for a regular knit stitch). Pull through...BUT DON'T drop the loop off of the left hand needle.



Insert the right hand needle into the back of the loop that is still left on the left hand needle. In the pic above , you can see the turquoise arrow indicating the direction of your right hand needle's path, into the back of the red stitch (red arrow).


Above, you can see the right hand needle is now placed through the back of the red loop...now you loop your yarn around it in exactly the way you would for a regular knit stitch. (see below)



Pull the yarn through, and now you can drop the red loop on the left hand needle ( just as for a regular knit stitch). You created a new stitch !


Kfb is completed.


Continue to knit across until you have one stitch left on your left hand needle. You will repeat the kfb as before, increasing into the last stitch on this side of your work.




Ok, so in total you now have 9 stitches on your needle, because you have done two kfb's. Turn your work around and repeat the procedure above on the second side of your knitting. When you have completed round 1 , you have a total of 4 stitches extra.

Continue in this way, increasing into the first and last stitch of each side of your knitting, until you have the total required number of stitches for your sock.


Remember that I had an odd number of stitches to start with , on each needle when I did my cast on...so at the point above (where I have 27 stitches on each needle), if I do an increase into the first and last stitch of each side , I am going to end up with two stitches more in total, than I actually need. If you started with an odd number of cast on stitches, keep increasing until you are just two stitches short of your required total. Then ONLY increase into the first and last stitch OF THE ROUND. I have indicated these stitches in the pic above, by red arrows. Remember that a ROUND of magic loop knitting includes knitting BOTH sides of your work, so the first and last stitches of a round are on different needles.

This added increase will not affect your toe fit at all, and you will have the proper amount of stitches for your sock.


If you look closely at the pic above, you will see that each time I did a kfb, a little "purl-like" bump was made at the base of the increase. This is a nice way to tell where the increase is. Other methods of increasing can look different, so it is quite easy to spot a kfb increase.


Now that you have the total required number of stitches on your needles (half on one needle, half on the other), you will continue to knit in the round...on and on...until the length of your sock is about 2 inches shorter than to the back of your heel. Measure the sock on your foot as you go along. Just be careful that you don't " undo" your magic loop, by pulling the cable all the way through :)

I have so enjoyed posting these tutorials and knitting with this yarn...can't wait to show you how to turn a heel.... :D

Let me know if there any questions...email me at the following address:
heidibearscreativeblog@gmail.com

That's all for today!
Have a great movie night! (wonder what's showing tonight at 8pm?...will run off to look ;) )
Lots of Love
Heidi :)

Designing a basic sock...Part 2

Welcome to the second part of designing a basic knitted sock! I hope that you are feeling a bit less daunted by the prospect , and are going to have a go at knitting your first sock :) . I am also going to answer a question about the beginning round of Magic Loop knitting. So here goes...

In the last post, you had measured your foot circumference and worked out your stitch gauge. You are now going to work out how many stitches you will need to knit your basic "tube", in order for it to fit comfortably.
Using your calculator (or if you happen to be a math genius...work it out in your head ;) ), subtract 10% of the circumference measurement of the ball of your foot, from the total measurement. So in my example, my foot circumference was 9 and 3/4 inches. 10% is equal to 0.975in, so my math will look as follows:


Since I have 6 and a half stitches in an inch for my gauge, I need to multiply 6.5 stitches, by 8.775in (the needed inch circumference of my foot). This gives me 57.04 stitches, which of course
is not possible, so I have to round this number to 57 stitches.

However, you want to have an even number of stitches , so that you can do a Judy's cast-on, so you have a choice...either round UP to 58 stsitches, or DOWN to 56 stitches. I am going to (arbitrarily), round down to 56 stitches for these sock posts.Right....you have determined how many stitches you need for the sock, but obviously you need to START your sock with fewer stitches...to make the toe. So, how many stitches are you going to cast on? A very general rule is to use ONE QUARTER the total number of stitches required for the sock, as the cast on number of stitches to make the toe.
So, if you need 56 sts in total for your sock, one quarter is 14 sts. Remember that you are going to use Judy's Magic cast-on, and this means that your 14 stitches are evenly cast on over the two needles....therefore you will end up with 7 stitches on each needle.

So lets recap...

Total number of stitches needed to knit the sock = 56sts
Number of stitches needed for the toe cast-on = 14 sts
(you will have half on one needle, and half on the other)
For this KAL, I am using a DK weight yarn, so I have relatively fewer stitches per inch than say someone who is knitting with proper sock yarn (will probably have somewhere between 8 and 10 stitches per inch for gauge). Remember, the formula....don't be concerned if your gauge doesn't match mine. Follow the steps above, and even if your results are different...your sock will still be right for you!

Tomorrow, we'll cast on and do the toe increases...so whip out your measuring tape and start your calculations :)

Magic Loop Revisited...

I wanted to do a quick recap of the first round of the Magic Loop knitting. You will use Judy's Magic Cast-On as the basis for the first round.



When you have cast on the required number of stitches, your needles will still be pointing to the left hand side. Remember to bring your tail yarn towards you and to the right across the working yarn.

Keeping your tail yarn in this position, rotate your needles clockwise to your right.


The pic above is what your work should look like...Now if you look closely, the side of the cast on facing you is actually the knit side....no purly bumps seen...


If you twist your needles over you'll see the purly side with little bumps...remember that the purl side will eventually be on the "inside" of your work as you knit in the round, and all the lovely knit stitches will be facing you (because you are just making "knit"stitches all the time...)


Remember that the needle that the working yarn (the yarn that comes from the ball of yarn) is coming from, is the needle that will be pulled to your right , being the one you use to start your knitting with. Once you have knitted several rounds, a little "pocket" will start to form, with all the purl stitches facing in and all the knit stitches facing out. But...at the beginning of your first round, you haven't yet gotten "sides"of knitted fabric to form the little pocket, so all you have, to guide you as to where you will insert your right hand needle, is the look of the cast on stitches, ie the "knit"vs "purl" sides, as seen above...

In order to insert your right side needle into the "knit" side of your first stitch, you will need to slightly twist your work , so that you are looking square onto the "knit " side of your cast on.


Things should look like the pic above...


Here, in the pic above, I have now knitted two stitches, and you can see that the "knit" side of the cast on is still facing me.

Once you have done enough rounds to form the pocket of knitting , it will be obvious where you need to knit into...but in the first few rounds it may be a little confusing, so just walk through the pics above step by step...if you start seeing purl and knit stitches on the SAME side of the fabric, you have gone wrong somewhere...

I hope that makes things a little clearer...

Have a good evening folks!
Lots of Love,
Heidi :)