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!)
There are countless styles of sock cast on, and a variety of ways each style is implemented from person to person. I'm going to cover four of the more common ones - the provisional cast on, both the crochet and waste yarn type, the figure 8, and the Turkish cast on. The first two examples - the figure 8 and Turkish cast on - begin at the tip of the toe and increase up toward the ball of the foot. The provisional cast on (both styles) is best suited for casting on at the ball of the foot and decreasing down to the toe. Either way these directions will leave you at the ball of the foot and ready to work your way up to the heel.
If you're following a pattern it should tell you how many stitches you need to cast on but if you're winging it or working from a formula instead you'll need to do a little math for yourself. The first thing you will need is the measurement around the ball of your foot (line A in the following photo).
You'll also need to know your gauge - knit up a quick swatch to figure out how many stitches and rows per inch you're working with. This is relatively important for sock knitting as the fit will make a huge difference in how comfortable and wearable your socks are. Once you know both of these numbers your next step is a little math:
Measurement A (inches around ball of foot) x Gauge (stitches per inch) = Stitch Count A (stitches around ball of foot)
Another number that you will need is the number of stitches at the toe, but this one's easy too:
Stitch Count A / 3 = Stitches At Toe
If you have pointier feet or more rounded toes you can increase or decrease the number of stitches at the toe end to suit your feet, but a third is usually a good number to at least get started with. I usually cast on with 30 stitches (fifteen per needle) and work up to around 80 at the ball of the foot.
You can read through the instructions for each cast on, or jump right to the one you're after from here:
- Turkish Cast On
- Figure 8 Cast On
- Provisional Cast On (Crochet Style)
- Provisional Cast On (Waste Yarn Style)
Turkish Cast On
This cast on works with: Magic Loop & dual circulars (note: Magic Loop possible but fiddly).
This is the easiest cast on I've tried - easy to remember, no backwards stitches to look out for and super quick. You'll want to start with a slip knot and two circular needles of the same size.
Tip: if your circular needles are a different colour or length it will be much easier to keep track of which half of the sock you are working on!
 |
| Turkish Cast On: just wrap around both needles. That's literally it. |
With your slip knot on the bottom (green) needle, needles held together and yarn starting at the back, wrap around the needles half as many times as you need stitches - each wrap counts for a stitch on both needles.
Pull the bottom needle through so that it is hanging by its cable, making sure not to drop the end of your yarn as the final loop is not secure until you've started knitting. With the other end of your top needle, knit through each of the top row of loops - the first one is going to be a bit awkward, but it's more straightforward than it looks.
The stitches look a little different with the needle and cable both running through them, but you treat them the same way you would a normal stitch. The only real difference is that when you drop them off the needle they are still hanging on the cable.
When you have knit all of the stitches on the top needle, pull it through and let the cable hang, just like you did at the start with your bottom needle. This time we're working the stitches on the bottom needle - but with one last step: the slip knot needs to go.
If you look at this picture you'll see that my unworked row on my green circular has eleven loops on it, and that's because we have ten wraps and a slip knot on there. Luckily you can just slide the slip knot off the end and let it unravel. Now you can knit across this row and your cast on is complete!
To finish off a toe that begins at this point, you will need to increase up to the number of stitches you want around the ball of your foot. Simply add a stitch after the first, and before the last, stitch of each needle (four increases per increase row) on every second row until you have the desired number of stitches.
Tip: If you want to knit asymmetrical toes, now is the time to add that in: instead of increasing evenly four times every second row, after the first five or six increase rows switch to only increasing on one side of the sock (the last stitch of the front needle and first stitch of the back for one foot, and the first stitch of the front needle and last stitch of the back for the other). It takes a little more concentration as the socks will need to be mirrored, and when they're done they won't be interchangeably wearable, but it does create a closer fit to the shape of most people's feet.
You can see an example of an asymmetrical toe in the header image for this post - the yellow toed Big Top socks and blue Wintersea socks are both knitted in this way.
Figure 8 Cast On
This cast on works with: Magic Loop, dual circulars (note: Magic Loop possible but fiddly).
The Figure 8 cast on is super popular, and perhaps better known than the Turkish cast on, but pretty similar. You will want to start off with two circular needles of the same size held together and the yarn held against them (not knotted).
Tip: if your circular needles are a different colour or length it will be much easier to keep track of which half of the sock you are working on!
This one is a little hard to explain with words, but you should be able to see where the yarn goes from the above pictures -
- pass the yarn down between the needles
- wrap it over the top needle from underneath and back to the middle
- pass the yarn down between the needles
- wrap it around the bottom needle from underneath and back to the middle
You will want one wrap per stitch - in my case, ten per needle. Keep an eye on your tails, as they are currently the only thing securing your first and last stitch.
Pull your bottom needle through, so that its stitches are resting on the cable, and let it hang.
Take the other end of your top needle and knit across the row, making sure to keep that first and last stitch snug as you go. Then turn your work, let the first row hang on its cable, and bring up your second needle.
The final thing to note for this cast on is that your second row will be twisted - you can see in the above image that the left leg of the stitch is at the front. Just knit this row through the back loop for this round, and the stitches will be fixed.
To finish off a toe that begins at this point, you will need to increase up to the number of stitches you want around the ball of your foot. Simply add a stitch after the first, and before the last, stitch of each needle (four increases per increase row) on every second row until you have the desired number of stitches.
Tip: If you want to knit asymmetrical toes, now is the time to add that in: instead of increasing evenly four times every second row, after the first five or six increase rows switch to only increasing on one side of the sock (the last stitch of the front needle and first stitch of the back for one foot, and the first stitch of the front needle and last stitch of the back for the other). It takes a little more concentration as the socks will need to be mirrored, and when they're done they won't be interchangeably wearable, but it does create a closer fit to the shape of most people's feet.
You can see an example of an asymmetrical toe in the header image for this post - the yellow toed Big Top socks and blue Wintersea socks are both knitted in this way.
Provisional Cast On (Crochet Style)
This cast on works with: DPNs, Magic Loop, dual circulars.
The word provisional refers to something that is just for now, a placeholder to be changed later, and that's just how a provisional cast on works: you start out with some placeholder stitches, and then you replace them with the real ones as you go. In the crochet method you begin with a crochet chain, knit some stitches into it, and then unravel that chain - this leaves the 'back' of those stitches exposed and lets you knit from them in the other direction as well. The first step is to get a crochet hook and some scrap yarn (preferably a contrasting colour that will be easy to see) that are of a similar size to the yarn and needles you're going to use for the sock.
Not a crocheter? No problem - the movements are going to be a little foreign, and it might feel weird to be working with only one hook instead of a pair of needles, but the process isn't as dissimilar as it might seem. Making a chain is one of the first things a crocheter learns.
You start off with a slip knot, then add loops until your chain is as long as you want it - bring the yarn over from the back of the hook, then catch that loop under the hooked end (to keep it on the hook and pull it through) and pull the previous chain off over the top. I find it helps with tension if I keep both the yarn tail and the work pulled fairly taught with my other hand.
Your chain should be a few stitches longer than the number of stitches that you need, and the number you'll need will depend on what method you want to use to create the toe: you can cast on the number of stitches you need around the ball of the foot then use paired decreases and Kitchener the toe shut*, or cast on half of the stitches and use short rows to create the toe 'pocket' (click here for a link to a picture tutorial for the short row method).
You start off with a slip knot, then add loops until your chain is as long as you want it - bring the yarn over from the back of the hook, then catch that loop under the hooked end (to keep it on the hook and pull it through) and pull the previous chain off over the top. I find it helps with tension if I keep both the yarn tail and the work pulled fairly taught with my other hand.
Your chain should be a few stitches longer than the number of stitches that you need, and the number you'll need will depend on what method you want to use to create the toe: you can cast on the number of stitches you need around the ball of the foot then use paired decreases and Kitchener the toe shut*, or cast on half of the stitches and use short rows to create the toe 'pocket' (click here for a link to a picture tutorial for the short row method).
Once your chain is as long as you need it, cut the yarn and pull on the last loop so that the tail comes out of the chain before it - it looks like it will unravel but this will actually hold until you need to undo your cast on.
Once you have your chain you're going to knit stitches into the loops on the back - the front looks braided, and the back is lumpy: each lump can hold a stitch, and you just insert both points of the needle into that lump and treat it like a normal knit stitch. If you're having trouble getting both needle points through with enough room to work, you may need to redo your chain more loosely.
Once you've picked up as many stitches as you need you can either join to work in the round (be careful, as always, not to twist the stitches when you join them) or turn and begin working flat. You can leave the other side of the stitches on the crochet chain until you are ready to work them.
When you want to use your held stitches you need to undo the crochet chain. To do this, tease out the back lump of the last chain stitch you made (the one we pulled the tail through before) and pull the tail back through - it should now unzip as you pull on it, and you can grab the live knit stitches as they pop free. Don't worry too much if you struggle with this step, as it can take a little practice to know which strand to pull. If you get hopelessly tangled just (very carefully) snip your waste yarn and have another go.
Once you've picked up as many stitches as you need you can either join to work in the round (be careful, as always, not to twist the stitches when you join them) or turn and begin working flat. You can leave the other side of the stitches on the crochet chain until you are ready to work them.
TIP: it's easy to end up with the wrong number of stitches here, as you're basically knitting upside down into the bottom of the original stitches and the 'v' will be offset by half a stitch - there will be an extra half-stitch loop at the start of the row that you can pick up as a stitch to counter this, but don't worry if you miss it, your knitting will be fine. Just make sure you grab every stitch and then count to make sure you have enough.
* To create the toe with paired decreases: on every second row knit the first stitch, k2tog, knit to last three stitches, ssk, knit the last stitch (and repeat for the other needle). Then knit one row plain. Continue decreasing until about a third of your stitches remain and then sew the end together using the Kitchener stitch for a near-seamless end.
Tip: If you want to knit asymmetrical toes, now is the time to add that in: instead of decreasing evenly four times every second row, after the first five or six decrease rows switch to only decreasing on one side of the sock (the last stitch of the front needle and first stitch of the back for one foot, and the first stitch of the front needle and last stitch of the back for the other). It takes a little more concentration as the socks will need to be mirrored, and when they're done they won't be interchangeably wearable, but it does create a closer fit to the shape of most people's feet.
You can see an example of an asymmetrical toe in the header image for this post - the yellow toed Big Top socks and blue Wintersea socks are both knitted in this way.
Provisional Cast On (Waste Yarn Style)
This cast on works with: DPNs, Magic Loop, dual circulars.
 |
| There is a slight ridge across the toe where the stitches switch direction at the cast on row. |
For this cast on you will need a length of waste yarn a needle. Begin by making a slip knot in your main sock yarn and slipping it onto the needle. Hold both yarn tails together off to the right and the working ends to your left. You want to keep the waste yarn as straight and taught as you can, while wrapping your working yarn around both it and the needles to create your stitches.
Wrap the working yarn under and around the waste yarn, then under and around the needle - it's a little difficult to explain with words but the images should show it well enough. The main difficulty with this cast on is keeping your waste yarn taught and your wrap stitches neat. Adjust them as you go and continue until you have enough stitches, half on the needle and half on the waste yarn. The number you'll need will depend on what method you want to use to create the toe: you can cast on the number of stitches you need around the ball of the foot then use paired decreases and Kitchener the toe shut*, or cast on half of the stitches and use short rows to create the toe 'pocket' (click here for a link to a picture tutorial for the short row method).
Once you have the desired number of stitches, turn your work and knit across the stitches held on the needle. The stitches on the waste yarn will wait until you are ready to work them - you simply knit into the stitches and slip the yarn out of the way as you go. Keep in mind that the stitches on the waste yarn will be twisted: the left leg of the stitch is at the front, and you will need to knit this row through the back loop to untwist them.
* To create the toe with paired decreases: on every second row knit the first stitch, k2tog, knit to last three stitches, ssk, knit the last stitch (and repeat for the other needle). Then knit one row plain. Continue decreasing until about a third of your stitches remain and then sew the end together using the Kitchener stitch for a near-seamless end.
Tip: If you want to knit asymmetrical toes, now is the time to add that in: instead of decreasing evenly four times every second row, after the first five or six decrease rows switch to only decreasing on one side of the sock (the last stitch of the front needle and first stitch of the back for one foot, and the first stitch of the front needle and last stitch of the back for the other). It takes a little more concentration as the socks will need to be mirrored, and when they're done they won't be interchangeably wearable, but it does create a closer fit to the shape of most people's feet.
You can see an example of an asymmetrical toe in the header image for this post - the yellow toed Big Top socks and blue Wintersea socks are both knitted in this way.
No comments:
Post a Comment