Christmas Cooking - Part Two: Sweet

When it comes to Christmas treats, my mind automatically goes to two things - gingerbread and peppermint slice. The first is a recipe I've spoken about before and the second is one my mum has been making for years at Christmas-time and that everyone I've introduced it to looks forward to. At this time of year when my friends come over it's with a hopeful "got any leftover mint slice?". I also made the most adorable "rice krispie treats" (I don't even know what those are meant to be called here!) and some fudge. Let's not beat around the bush: recipe time.

So You Want To Knit Socks, Part Two: Casting On (Toe Up)

Now that you've figured out your yarn and needle situation (or, if you haven't, check out Part One: Equipment) and settled down with your chosen pattern or guide (such as my fitted formula method for designing socks to fit your specific measurements) - what next? It's time to cast on! There are a lot of ways to do this, and until you try them it's hard to say which will work for you.

There's a divide in sock knitters between those who knit from the toe up and those who go from the cuff down. Both sides say their way gives the better fit, is easiest to try on, and gets the best result... so I'm guessing that neither is actually superior to the other. Personally I'm a toe-up gal but I'm going to include information for cuff-down knitting as well for those who prefer to try it that way. Both directions have their pros and cons so, if you aren't sure what will work for you, I recommend you give both styles a try before settling on a favourite. In this post I'm going to talk about types of toe-up cast on - if you'd like to try from the cuff down, jump ahead to the next post.

(Warning - this post will be very image heavy!)