Another A-ha Moment

#1

Okay, so I’ve been trying to figure out how to do two socks on two circs for sometime now and just couldn’t seem to make sense of it. I’d cast on and it would be wrong, so I’d cast on again and it would look right, but when I started to knit and would get to the second sock, I seemed to hit a mental block and couldn’t figure out how to knit it. I decided it would be best to put it away and forget about it for a while.
Well, I got it out again and was determined to figure the dumb thing out and today :figureditout: the light bulb finally went off! I finally realized that even though the working yarn of the second sock (from my last cast on stitch) was on the middle of the cable, that wasn’t the stitch I need to knit! The stitch I needed to knit was right where it was suppose to be, silly me! :teehee:

The first couple of rounds were a bit awkward at first, but now it’s all going quite well and boy, do I ever feel relieved that I finally figured it out! :slight_smile:

#2

I have tried and tried 2 socks at the same time and just cannot get it!! I learned with dpn’s and just can’t seem to get that “A-Ha” moment doing two circulars. Your post has inspired me to give it one more shot. :slight_smile: Sooner or later, maybe I’ll get it.

#3

I had the same problem visualizing the two socks on 2 needles. Look at it like you were laying out a child’s train tracks in a circle. The first track would be the first half of one sock on one needle. The second track would be the first half of the other sock still on the first needle. Now pick up the second needle and put the second half of the second sock on the needle(third track) then the second half of the first sock. Now you’re back to where you started. Now you knit the first half of the first sock with needle1, drop the yarn at the end of this part then pick up the yarn for sock 2 and knit it with the same needle. Now drop needle 1 and continue to knit the back side of sock 2 with needle 2. When you finish sock 2 drop yarn and pick up yarn you dropped from sock 1 and continue to knit to the end. I hope this helps…

#4

here is how i do it.

take 2 circs.

cast on sock 1 on needle 1
cast on sock 2 on needle 2

working 'magic loop" (well almost magic loop–it’s a tight awkward loop!) join sock 1 into round on needle 1
(divide stitches in half, do half a round, then a second half a round… check round is not twisted…)

ditto for sock 2
for both socks work in pattern (garter, ribbing, what ever)

[B](1 round done)[/B]
[B]Round 2 [/B]
with needle

Round 2 (work in pattern )
[B]1 [/B]work 1st half of stitches on needle 1 (from needle 1 to needle 1 sort of magic loop…)
[B]2[/B] Pick up needle 2 and knit 1st hav of stitches FROM NEEDLE 2 onto Needle 1. (not so hard)

[I][B]at this point Needle 1 has 3 groups of stitches. [/B][/I]
1st half of sock 1
1st half of sock 2
2nd half of sock 1

[B]3[/B] working From needle 2 to needle 2 work second half of sock 2
(no change in what is on what needle

[B]4[/B] Holding needle 2 in right, and needle 1 in left, work 2nd half of needle 1 onto needle 2.

[B]ROUNDS completed[/B],
Needle 1 has first half of sock 1 and of sock 2
Needle 2 has second half of sock 2, and second half of sock 1

for round 3 and all future rounds, work from needle 1 to needle 1, and from needle 2 to needle 2.

Round 1 is the hardest–(unless you have a spare long needle working a magic loop on a 24 to 30 inch circ is just plain awkward.

but its only 1 round.

Round 2 is only awkard for the first half of round 2 (sock/needle1)
the second (knitting sock 2 (the first half) from needle 2 onto needle 1 is not problem…
(and it get easier and easier as the round is completed.

by Round 2 you are cruising

you could start round 1 on a set of dpn’s (2) and 1 circ (and the other 2 dpn’s and circ for sock 2. (half of the stitches on 2 dpns, half of the stitches on circ.)

is a bit more mentally challenging , but physically easier… (just think of the circ as being a extra long DPN!)

#5

You [I]will[/I] get it! It took me months to finally have the “a-ha” moment, and after I finally figured it out, I couldn’t believe that it took me that long to get it! :teehee:

#6

Well…I’m actually taking a vacation next week for the first time in 8 years!!! and will be spending time camping at the lake, so there will be plenty of quiet time, no phone, no TV, no nothing. I’ll take my instructions and try this one more time. Maybe this time will make the light come on.

#7

I like knitting socks and want to do more. I do want to learn how to do 2 at a time, but I’m a dpn girl. I’ll give it a try at somepoint.

sknitter56 - keep trying those socks… I have always found the the first few rows of anything knitted in the round is akward - and sometimes I twist my stitches on the first round and have to take out and put back in. Once I have about the first half inch or so it gets a lot easier.

Thanks for the inspiration to try 2 socks at once…

Happy knitting

#8

I love 2 socks on 2 circs. Here are 2 tuts I used to learn it. Perhaps one will help anyone who wants to ‘get it.’ Of coruse, if you’re happy w/dbl pts, that ok, too. It’s all good.

http://www.socknitters.com/2circs/lessontwo.htm
http://www.az.com/~andrade/knit/twocirculars.html

#9

I love those A-ha moments!:woot: There is no better feeling than mastering something that once seemed so hard to grasp, I am knitting Starsky from Knitty 2006 I have been saying I was going to knit this since it came out and I shyed away because it was intimidating to me now I just can’t wait to finish.

#10

It’s wonderful when things come together. Really I think its great that you tried again and didn’t give up. I’ve just learned magic loop with one sock, I don’t think I even want to learn it with 2 wellll not right now anyway.

#11

I never really got into sock knitting, because it was always such a chore to me to do the second one after I finished the first. Now that I can finally do two at once, I couldn’t wait to get home from work to work on my socks! :teehee: