Two Socks -at-a-Time on one Circular Needle:Part 1

Howdy folks! Hope you all have had a great weekend! The morning started early for us...my oldest was running a 5km road race with her friends, and the venue was a hour's drive from home, so we were up really early :) It has been a wonderful sunny day here in SA, and the kids really enjoyed the race. The little one and I sat under a lovely big tree and ate pancakes and I knitted, while we waited for them to finish...a lazy Sunday :)

Thank you so much to everyone who left comments and suggestions re making soap with milk...I am going to try make some in the coming week!



Today's post is seriously photo-heavy, be warned! I have finally scraped together the courage to tackle the Two-Socks-at-a-time on one circular needle (Magic Looping) tutorial, thinking that you may want to knit a funky pair of socks for someone you love (yes, I imagine that you will need to have a fair amount of ♥♥♥ tucked away for someone you decide to knit socks for...socks are a labour of Love!). Also, I haven't blogged about knitting in ages, so if you've had withdrawl symptoms...enjoy! Here is the first installment...the Toe. I am assuming that you know how to do Judy's Magic Cast On...if you want to refresh your memory, check here. You should also have a good idea how to Magic Loop...here is a tutorial, and an update.


I am basing the stitch count on a sock that will generally fit a medium sized woman's foot, which tends to be around the 64 sts per sock, if knitted in sock yarn and a size 2.5mm circular needle. Please, please make sure that you have a decent set of circs...if your needle/cable joins are not smooth, you are so going to suffer knitting socks! I use either Addi's or KnitPro's...their joins are fabulous! I would recommend at least a 40in circular needle. If your sock has a different stitch number requirement, don't fret, the techniques are exactly the same, just follow the directions for your number of stitches.

Right! Some basics first...
In the photo above, you can see both sock toes, with the last of the Toe rounds completed. Remember that your sock's total number of stitches are divided over two needles, ie half on one needle, and half on the other, so 32sts on one needle, and 32 sts on the other (total =64sts per sock). I have arbitrarily decided that I am going to use the first-to-be-knitted 32sts as the SOLE STITCHES (of the Right Sock). The same applies to both socks, which are made in the same way. That means that when I start knitting a round, I am always going to be knitting the sole stitches first, and always starting with the right sock. So, if you look at the photo above, you'll see that you are knitting 32 sole stitches of the Right Sock (1), then 32 sole stitches of the Left Sock (2), {turn your work}, then 32 Instep Stitches of the Left Sock (3), then 32 Instep Stitches of the Right Sock (4). I have used two different coloured yarns so that you can easily see which sock you are knitting on. The dark colour is the Right Sock, and the light colour is the Left Sock.
The toe directions I am going to use, are based on my personal favourite toe shape. It is a semi rounded toe and very comfortable. Again, when you have the technique down pat, you can substitute whichever toe you prefer.


What if you have a fancy Fair Isle socks set you are wanting to knit? I like to have the pattern represented on a graph, with the two socks split open (so to speak), as seen above. NOTE: The numbers under each section of the socks! Although you will knit in the following order:1,2,3,4, when referring to the actual knitting photo, in the graph you have to skip the Right Sock Instep graph directions, ie STICK TO THE 1,2,3,4 order! I have loaded the above photo as a bigger size than I usually do, so that you can print it out and take a closer look at where the increases are situated. I use a Kfb to make an increase, and have shown which stitch should have a Kfb, by the green squares on the graph.

Let's take a closer look at the Right Sock. You've cast on 16sts (8 sts on each needle), and are ready to start Round 1. The first 8 sts on your needle are the SOLE stitches. Notice in the graph, that the 1st stitch is green coloured. This means you will do a Kfb (Knit Front and Back of stitch) IN THE FIRST STITCH ON YOUR NEEDLE. You then knit 5 stitches as usual. Next another green coloured stitch appears, so you'll do another Kfb into that stitch. Note that this is the second last stitch of the 8 stitches set on that needle. This pattern (Kfb,K to second last stitch, Kfb into second last stitch,Knit last stitch), repeats for every side of your socks (Right Sole, Left Sole, Left Instep, Right Sole), FOR THE FIRST 5 ROUNDS. Thereafter, the increases occur every alternate round, until you have a total of 64 sts for each sock (32sts on each side for each sock).
When you have 64 sts in total for each sock, you will knit each subsequent round, until your sock is 1 inch shorter than your foot length.

Right...let's get started!


You'll cast on for the LEFT SOCK first. Using Judy's Magic Cast On, cast on 16 sts (8sts on each needle). Then cast on 16sts for the Right Sock, again, there will be 8sts on each needle.

Your work should look like the photo above. Notice that I have pulled the Tail Yarns in one direction and the Working Yarns in the other. It is very important that you are familiar with where your Tail Yarn should be relative to your working yarn. The first Round "locks" your Tail yarn into place, but only if you have placed it correctly. Look here to check if you are unsure. Swivel your work 180 degrees to the right, which will have your working yarns at the top of your needles now.

Above you can see that the needles are now pointing to the right hand side. Take a closer look at the actual stitches. When you do a Magic Cast On, you will actually have "knitted" the cast on stitches, with one side showing Purl Bumps and the other a Knit stitch configuration.


If you roll your needles over, you can easily see the Purl "bumps", as shown above.

Roll your work back, so that the "knit" side is facing you again. Above, I have indicated the first stitch you will knit into, doing a KFB (remember the graph? :) )

At this point your needles are still aligned and together. Carefully pull out the bottom needle towards your right. This is the needle that you are going to start knitting with. Be careful not to pull it out too far, or your Magic Loop will be undone!

Above you can see that I have made the first Kfb, and now have two stitches on my RHN. There are still seven stitches left of the Right Sock Sole on my LHN.

Knit 5 stitches...you will have reached the second to last stitch on your LHN (of the Right Sock).

You need to Kfb into the second to last stitch.

Now you have one stitch left of the sole of the Right Sock...knit it.

Ok, so you have made two increases (2 x Kfb), so you'll now have 10sts on your Right Sock Sole.

Drop the working yarn of the Right Sock, and pick up the working yarn of the Left Sock. You are going to do exactly the same sequence as for the Right Sock Sole stitches.

Kfb of the first stitch on your LHN of the Left Sock. This gives you two stitches on your RHN (of the Left Sock Sole).

Again, knit until the second to last stitch, then Kfb into it.

One stitch left on the LHN...Knit it. Right, you should have 10sts on your RHN (Left Sock Sole).

Swivel your work through 180 degrees to the right as shown above.

Above, the work has been rotated through 180 degrees, with the 10 sts sections at the bottom.

Push back the cable as shown, towards the left , so that your needle points are next to each other.

Your work should look like the photo above.

Now pull the bottom needle out towards the right. This is the needle that the working yarns are coming off of. Remember that the "knit" side of your work is still facing you as you work.

The needle that you just pulled out towards the right, becomes the RHN that you will knit with.

You are starting to knit the Left Sock Instep stitches. Kfb into the first stitch on your LHN.

Kfb completed...you have two stitches on your RHN.

Now Knit 5 stitches. You will have reached the second to last stitch (just as before :) ).

Kfb into the second to last stitch.

You have one stitch left of the Left Sock Instep stitches.

Knit this last Left Sock stitch.

You should have 10sts on each side of the Left Sock now...well done! You have finished Round 1 of the Left Sock :)
Repeat exactly the same process for the Right Sock Instep stitches...Kfb into first stitch, K5, Kfb into second to last stitch, K the last stitch.

Good! You have finished Round 1 of both socks!. If you look at the photo above, you can see that it is very much the same as the photo after you finished the Sole Stitches of both socks...back then you swiveled your work 180 degrees to the right. NOW you are going to flip your work instead, so that the "purl" side is facing you. Tip: You will know that you have finished a Round when the Tail Yarns and the Working Yarns are on the same side of your sock.
Above, you can see that the work has been flipped to the right, and you can clearly see the "purl" side facing you. Take note of where your working yarns are. They are coming off the TOP NEEDLE now. An easy tip to remember: From Round 2 onwards, the needle that you pull out to the right hand side in preparation to start knitting again, ALWAYS has the working yarns coming off it!

Lets go through this again...push the cable backwards towards your knitting, so that both needles lie next to each other.

Now pull the other needle out towards the right hand side (if you have reached the end of a side of knitting, the needle you pull out will always have the working yarns coming off of it!!!)


It is very important that your working yarn lies above the other needle tip when you start knitting ...make sure it isn't tucked under!

Ready to start Round 2? If you squish your LHN and and the cable lying next to it together, you'll see the purl bumps "pop" in and the "knit" side will be showing. (If this doesn't happen, then use your finger to push the purl bumps down between needle and cable). Above I have shown the first stitch of Round 2 that will be knitted, using a green arrow. Remember your graph? You still need to start with a Kfb into this stitch.

Above, the Kfb is done, you have two stitches on your RHN.

Now continue exactly as you did in Round 1...Again, you are starting to knit the Right Sock Sole stitches. Kfb into 1st stitch, Knit until you get to the second to last stitch, Kfb into the second to last stitch, Knit the last stitch. Repeat for the Left Sock Sole stitches.

When you have completed the sock sole stitches, your work should look like the photo above. You should have 12 sts for each sock sole. Flip your work again to the right.

Just as before, thread your cable backwards so that your needle points lie next to each other. Then pull the other needle out towards the right hand side (again...this is the needle that has the working yarns coming off of it).

You are ready to start knitting the Instep Stitches of the Left Sock.
Edit: Continue to knit these and the stitches of the Right Sock that follow, just as you did before...follow your graph and make sure you keep track of your rounds :) The process is exactly the same for each round...

Above I am starting Round 3...again, starting the Right Sock Sole Stitches. See that the working yarns and the Tail Yarns are on the same side of the socks? That is a reminder that you are starting the beginning of a new round :) Kfb of the first stitch, just as before.

You essentially continue in exactly the same manner, until you have completed 5 Rounds of knitting. Take a look at your graph...after the fifth Round, you only do increases every alternate round. As you complete rounds, you'll see the little sock toes starting to take the shape of a little pocket :)

Once you have reached 64 sts for each sock, you are just going to knit each round without any further increases. Keep going until your work (when fitted over your foot), is one inch shorter than your foot length.


I like to tie a loop of different coloured yarn to the toes at the side where the tail yarns originate. When your sock forms a pocket, you can tuck your Tail Yarns into the pocket, and still always know where you are in your knitting. When you have the different coloured yarn ties on the RIGHT, your Round is done.

Ok, that was a long post! I hope that things are clear and that you'll all be inspired to start knitting Two-at-a-Time :) Please let me know if there are any bits that are unclear or if I have made any errors...feedback is always appreciated!

♥Heidi

Cold Processed Soap...lessons learned and a Tornado comes to town

Summer is now here in full force, with flowers blooming and bees a-working! The garden is super-green after several days of rain, and a serious thunderstorm that sparked two tornados...yes, you heard right folks!...tornados! Now, many people will be blase' about this, living perhaps in areas that see tornados a-plenty, but I tell you...tornados do NOT happen here where I live in SA! Little dust devils and small whirlwinds maybe...but a full scale tornado...no. So, when the wind started blowing so hard that I thought our roof would bid us farewell, I wondered what the heck was going on. Next morning, I hear about the tornado that devastated a region about 20km from our home, and couldn't imagine what kind of wind speeds they must have experienced! I really feel bad for the poor people who have had their homes destroyed. There was a second tornado in a nearby Province (equivalent to a State in the US), that sadly killed a young child.

The garden has been annexed by large flocks of birds, probably due to the magnetic power of the fruit and vegetables, and despite the presence of a large and ferocious (not) canine, they are unperturbed. I have been forced to put bird netting around the strawberries and fruit trees...have no idea what I am supposed to do when the trees are big... for now the produce is safe :)

The roses are blooming, irises rising up like soldiers and the lavender is truly spectacular at the moment...Spring is just wonderful!


My sister came over several times over the last few days, and we made loads and loads of cold processed soap. We are totally smitten with new art! Making cold processed soap is really, really easy, as long as you take a heck of a lot of care with safety and the caustic soda handling. I have spent ages on the net, researching all that I could lay my hands on regarding the difference between what I call "real" soap, and the stuff that you can buy in the supermarket. I must say that I am horrified at what goes into most "soaps" that you get on the shelf...really there isn't much by way of actual soap in many of them. And the additives are generally not things that you want on your skin.... so from here on, we will only be using the real deal soap!

I played around with some recipes, using different oils and have come up with some interesting variations on the olive/coconut theme. Take NOTE folks...if you vary your oil content, YOU MUST run everything through a lye calculator! MUST! It's not optional! The one I used is SoapCalc, very user friendly. You can combine any number of oils, and have the recipe printed and saved.
In my journey of soapy exploration, I have picked up some tricks and learned some things that I didn't have a clue about in the beginning. Perhaps these seem like silly inconsequential things, but I am going to post them anyway...maybe someone will be inspired to make some homegrown soaps :)


1. Not all candy thermometers are created equal. It may seem like nit-picking, but I picked up a difference of between 5 and 7 degrees between readings on thermometers in the same liquid. So I checked which were the closest in temperature, and paired those for the soap making. You need two thermometers...one for the oil pot, and one for the lye glass container. Ok... so you say, "Will such a small difference have any impact on your soap?"...dunno people, but I am too type A to see this and just ignore it...

2. Soap Dust/ Soap Chalk/ Soap Ash/ Funny white residuey stuff stuck on one side of my beautiful soap....what the heck?

Hmmmmm.....so here I made my first batch of soap and was as proud as a new parent, when Lo! and Behold!...I see that as it dries, a film of white, chalky stuff starts to appear on top of the soap. At this point, the soaps were still in their silicone moulds. When I gingerly touched it, it was hard and dry, but friable and easily scraped off with a spoon. What is this? After reading what felt like thousands of web pages, here is what I have come to conclude...

This is called Soap Dust (amongst many other terms), and happens when a saponifying soap is exposed to the cold air. It doesn't seem to happen on the sides of the soap that was still in the mold, only on the bit that you could see . There appear to be two schools of thought: first, this stuff is dangerous and caustic, and you musn't tolerate it on your soap, or secondly, this is exactly the same thing as soap, just a different form, and is safe to touch and use, if a little unsightly. Goodness know! I reckon I am in the second camp: I used the soap for bathing for two days now, and I am still alive and well (and it must be said, feeling pretty smug at how good my skin feels ;) ). So then I though...ok...if it's caused by the air contact, I can stop that by putting some cling wrap over the soap after I poured it into the moulds. And it worked!!! The subsequent batches of soap were duly cling-wrapped and NO soap dust appeared anywhere....so me feeling very smug indeed! Below you can see the pretty, adorable little dust free soapling, after the cling wrap has been removed.


When you see the two soaps next to each other, you can clearly see the difference...

The soap dust is really easy to remove, if you don't want it on your soaps...just rub it off or cut /scrape off with a knife :)

3. Handheld stick blenders rock! Just don't gas the Nitro! My first batch of soap was made using a steel whisk , a strong arm, and the patience of Mother Teresa! I am (ashamedly!), no Mother Teresa, so this became tedious very quickly! Enter the Blender! This thing is superfast :) But be careful...if you use the turbo speed, you will go from water consistency to brick in 10 seconds! Just blitz the blender for 5 seconds or so, then stir, then blitz, then stir, and so on... You really can get to trace in about a minute. If you over blend, you end up with stuff that you have to push into your mould, using a steel instrument! Gently does it...

4. Adding an essential oil at trace, can cause your mixture to seize (or turn into a messy, rock hard, lumpy catastrophe!) So what you should add and in what quantities, seems to be a matter of trial and error. It appears that any alcohol containing additives, will cause your mixture to get to trace faster and /or cause it to seize. I made a batch of soap today, and let it get slowly to trace, and then hand stirred the Chamomile essential oil in...it was all ok, but because I had made a 2kg batch, by the time I was filling the last mould, it was quite thick again (I think this may have been because the temperature dropped), and I had to use a spoon to flatten the mixture a bit.

5. Gelling
This was quite a worry for me, and I spent some time trying to track down what this was and why you should /or shouldn't do this. When soap has just been placed in your moulds, it is still hot and the process of saponification (Lye/Caustic Soda turning the oils into Soap and Glycerin), generates even more heat. Some people like to insulate the soap by covering the moulds with blankets etc, to keep it warm for longer. From what I read, this seems to speed up the process of Saponification. If you take a peek, you'll see the soap become transparent from the middle to the outer edges as the heat and reaction continue. I made one batch gelling it, and another without. The only conclusion I came to was that the gelled soap was darker in colour. Several online sources, stated that your soap has undergone 99% of it's saponification at about 48hrs give or take. Over the subsequent weeks, as it cures, the last little bit happens, and supposedly the soap become "milder"... I was way too impatient and used my first soap batch after about 60 hours. It was absolutely fine and my kids and family have been using it too, with only good things to say about it!

Next, I have got to try making some kind of soap with milk in it...any tips?

♥Heidi

Home Made Cold Processed Soap

Today I made my first home made cold processed olive oil and coconut soap. I was initially a bit nervous, having read about the inherent dangers of Caustic Soda, so I took paranoid precautions. The kids and dog were expelled from the kitchen, I cleared an area and covered everything with newspaper. I used Rhonda's excellent tutorial for this soap, please go and take a look at her blog, it really is fantastic! I used this version for the ingredients, wanting to incorporate some coconut oil (I love the stuff!). I buy all my ingredients from a local organic supplier, but really, you could find olive oil and coconut oil at the supermarket just as easily :) The Caustic Soda I also bought from a local supermarket.

First, I donned latex gloves and apron. Then got all my containers ready. These must be glass or plastic. YOU CANNOT USE ANY ALUMINIUM STUFF! The caustic soda will destroy it!!

You will also need two candy thermometers...one for the Caustic Soda bowl and one for the oil bowl. The two sets of ingredients must be at the same temperature when you mix them.
For my Olive Oil , I used Olive Oil Pomace (which is a lot less expensive than Virgin or Extra Virgin Olive Oil ), which is absolutely fine to use for soap.

Prepare the moulds that you are going to use. I used some silicone moulds that are rose shaped...pretty! I sprayed them very lightly with some Spray and Cook. Put them on a tray covered with newspaper. Right, moving onto the ingredients....

So I measured out the required amounts of the oils and water (you can use rain water , but since it hasn't rained here, I used distilled water).

I took a cast iron pot, placed it on low heat on the stove, and melted the coconut oil and the olive oil pomace together. Then poured it into a glass bowl. Placed the candy thermometer on the side of the bowl.

Measure out the Caustic Soda powder in WEIGHT (not mls!), and carefully pour into the glass container with your water. I also put a candy thermometer into this glass bowl. VERY carefully and gently mix the caustic soda granules until fully dissolved. The mix is initially very cloudy, but as the soda dissolves, it becomes clear. You'll see that the mixture produces fumes and quite a lot of heat. (I made sure before I started the process that all the windows in the kitchen were open, and there was a nice breeze.) It wasn't hot enough to make my hand feel hot, ie you can still continue to mix comfortably, but you can see the temp on the candy thermometer rising quite a lot!


Above you can see the mixed caustic soda, and the heat it produced.


I waited until the temperature on both mixtures was the same, ie 50 degrees Centigrade, then very carefully poured the caustic soda into the oil mixture.


When you start mixing the ingredients, the stuff look pretty awful! Like some kind of glue! I decided to use a stainless steel whisk to mix, and as the minutes passed, the mixture became creamier in colour and thicker. It took about twenty minutes to get to the point where I could see thickening, so I decided to see what would happen if I used a handheld mixer. I didn't use the normal egg beater attachments, because you do NOT want this stuff to splatter everywhere (at this stage the stuff is still caustic!). I attached the dough hooks , and within 5 minutes of mixing , the mixture became thick enough that you could see ripples in the liquid which held their shape.

Above you can see the ripples in the mix. I have never made soap before, so I really didn't know if this was the right consistency, but having mixed for so long, decided that it must be...
I added in a blend of essential oils (I have read on the Web that the essential oil/fragrance oil etc component shouldn't be more that 1-2% of the total , but here again, I haven't tested this myself), including Lavender, Patchouli and Orange , mixing it in well with the whisk.

I then carefully transferred the mix to the moulds, being careful not to drip any on my counter top or hand :)

Above you can see the uneven surface, showing how thick it has become. When you have a mixture that has this consistency, it is referred to as having achieved "Trace" .

I placed an oven wire rack on two upside down bowls over the moulds and covered with a thick towel. Apparently you now leave it be for about a day before you can take the soaps out of the mould and leave on a wire rack to cure for 6 weeks or so.

I must say that this process was a lot easier than I imagined it would be! I really enjoyed making this soap, and will try out some more recipes. I found some great ideas here, and here.

These soaps make really nice gifts. I am going to make up a whole load to give as stocking fillers :) ...and the best part of all? If you are on a budget, these really save you loads of money. Here is my cost breakdown:

Olive Oil Pomace: 800mls = R7.28
Coconut Oil 200mls = R2.00
Caustic Soda 130g = R6.50

Total Cost = R15.78 for 12 soaps....one soap cost R1.30 to make!

For all my international readers, the "R" is for South African Rand. At today's exchange rate, the cost per soap in US Dollars is US$0.16!!! Wow! I haven't costed in the essential oils, as they are not strictly necessary and you may want to add your own blends. Suffice to say that the essential oils don't add a huge amount of extra cost :)

How have your Heartmade lists come along? Have you looked at some of the links I posted before? I am adding a Linky List for any ideas you folks may want to share for ideas for Homemade gifts...just add them below...I would love to see what ideas you've seen and liked :)

♥Heidi

Home Made Laundry Detergent...and a wip

I have been working on and off as time allows on my new pattern using the African Flower Hexagon. Above you can see a sneak peek at the wip...I have really enjoyed working with the red yarn, and of course, had to add some pink in... :)

Some feedback on the Home Made Laundry Detergent. IT ROCKS!!!!! Well, I was a bit hesitant, thinking (stupidly!) that if it cost so little to make, it couldn't do the same job as the regular stuff. It works like a charm! I have given some to my sister and mom, and so far my sister has given it a thumbs up... Mom, I still have to chat to about how she found it works :)

I did a costing exercise for you all to see...

Borax R9.99 for half a cup
Washing Soda R6.25 for half a cup
Sunlight bar of soap R5.00

So...total cost of making a very concentrated 10L bucket = R21.24

At the very least, I will do around 80 loads of washing with 10L....so the cost = R0.26 per load!!!!!

I have used half a cup of the concentrate for a load of washing. As it is really thick, I have watered it down with about 500mls of water. It really works very well. I am decidedly not buying the regular stuff anymore...after all, why spend money on that which goes down the drain?

I am going to try my hand at making soap this weekend...again, using Rhonda's recipe. This blog is awesome...go and take a look around :)

Any good ideas for cost saving that you've tried? I'd love to know :)

♥Heidi