i seen these socks that i love and I’m trying to knit but the pattern seems confusing when going into detail on how to do a cuff down… I’m confused
SOCK PATTERN:
[COLOR=“Yellow”][COLOR=“Red”]CO 64 sts using long tail cast on. Divide sts evenly between needles (16 sts per needle) and join to begin
working in the round, being careful not to twist. You may wish to use a stitch marker at the beginning of
needle 1 to indicate the start of the round.
Knit in stockinette (k every st) for 5 rounds.
Purl every st for one round. This is the turning round.
Knit in stockinette for 6 more rounds.
Fold at purl round so CO edge is touching the live sts. Using the tip of the right needle, pick up one side
(the closest side) of the first CO st. Move that picked up stitch to the left needle. K the first live st
together with the picked up st. There is now one st on right needle. Repeat this all the way around until
all CO sts have been picked up and knitted with the live sts.
Knit one round.[/COLOR][/COLOR]
Generally, there are many different constructions of knitted socks. One of the basic differences is the side you start the sock on. You can either start it from the cuff (the part around your calves) or from the toe. This starts from the cuff. What it explains in the section you’ve quoted is a hem. A hem is created sometimes to give a “cleaner” edge, a thicker look and a bunch of other reasons. So what you basically do here is cast on the 64 sts, join, knit 5 rnds, purl one round (that one will indicate where you fold the knitting to create the hem) and knit another 6 rounds. Now you need to fold the knitted piece you have so far so that your CO edge will be on the same level with the sts on the needles. What you do now is pick up a stitch from the CO edge and knit it together with a stitch from the needle. Eventually you’ll have a 2-layer fabric as a hem. I really hope i explained it clear enough:think:.
[color=#300090]
So, “top down” or “toe up” would be the two basic pattern groups. To cuff or not to cuff seems to be your question. I think Nat has answered that in good form.
This is the first discussion of cuffs that I recall reading, but then I’ve only been knitting about a year now. Nat also did a great job addressing the cuff as a hem.
All I get to do is learn from your question and the answers that were give. All in all a great way to learn.
Good luck with your cuffed socks, now I think I’ll apply a cuff to a knitted “stocking” or Toboggan hat (that’s what Pennsylvanians call a Canadian Toque style hat.)[/color]
Thanks for the explanation KNat. I, too, had never heard or read of a “cuff” for a top down sock, but that sounds kind of cool and I think I’ll try it on my next pair.
