…down the rabbit hole of the internet for 3-4 hours over as many days, looking for just the right sock pattern… ravelry, knitpicks, lion brand, the list goes on… not looking for any fancy patterns, cables, intarsia, etc. there are SoOoOo many insane ones, or ones with that ugly fleegle heel, or a real lack of info (sort of do this, and then kind of do this, and then wave your wand and sprinkle fairy dust…)
my preference is for 2-at-a-time, toe-up, and short row heel… (maybe on a 2nd pair i’ll think about an afterthought heel, but really who wants to CUT their knitting?!?)… and with a few sizing options.
so, anybody have a basic freebie pattern in my general parameters that they use? or a website that has some basic tips for sizing (ie, size A shoes do this, size B shoes do this many more, size C do etc etc)?
I can’t give you a pattern but I can tell you how I do socks. I also recommend that you use a fatter yarn, dk or worsted, for you first pair and do them one at time.
Pick a cast on. My preference is Judy’s Magic Cast On but that’s because it’s the one I learned and haven’t really bothered with others, though I have used the figure 8 cast on. There is also the Turkish cast on that you can find video for. If you really want to run them down I bet you can find others.
Once you cast on, start increasing on both ends of each needle. I use kfb because it’s quick and easy. Keep increasing until the sock is wide enough. After that knit in the round until it’s time for the heel. Turn the heel and continue knitting in the round to the desired cuff length, you’ll probably want some rib at the top, and bind off. Done.
I started with Lifestyle Toe Up Socks - No Swatch Needed. I abandoned plain short row heels because I don’t like the way they fit but they are a good place to start. I’ve never actually used a sock pattern. Currently I’m working on my first pair of cuff-downs and can’t wait to get back to my standard toe-ups. Socks aren’t difficult once you get past learning a cast on and doing a heel.
i can already tell this is going to be an exercise in hand-holding.
how i thought this would have been my very first knitting project 3 years ago, with some red heart super saver and clover dpns (and not even the right size for the yarn weight!) is beyond me
(maybe on a 2nd pair i’ll think about an afterthought heel, but really who wants to CUT their knitting?!?)
Cutting isn’t necessary. If you do a premeditated afterthought heel you can set up for it just the same as any other opening such as a mitten thumb. If you want to know more just say so. There are videos for doing it and if you don’t find them I’m sure one of us will be able to.
I’m relatively new to sock knitting too and yes it’s a mine-field out there. I have found this pattern www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/basic-toe-up-socks-with-a-heel-flap—fingering-weight-yarngreat. It’s toe up with faux heel flap - no picking up stitches. I have worked out a recipe using this pattern that fits me and all I do is add stitch patterns to instep and leg as suits/interests me HTH.
That’s my heel! I love it. Fleegle is great too and if I need to do a heel and don’t have the pattern to reference I can do a Fleegle without one. I actually am doing top-downs right now…my grandson’s feet are growing so fast I think he’d again outgrow toe-ups before I got them done and I want to be able to just redo the toe if needed rather than frog the whole pair a second time…and used the faux heel flap on them. Worked a treat.
Back on topic: That would be a really good pattern to start with. It’s the closest I’ve come to actually using a pattern.
ETA I gave up when I first started, the whole idea of swatching for socks just didn’t work for me and that was how I got to the Lifestyle Socks. The No Swatch Needed part had me roped and tied before I knew what hit me. :mrgreen:
lorraine - thanks for the reminder about the basic toe-up pattern. i already had it in my ravelry library, but forgot about it. and i said unkind things about the fleegle heel (ugly, i believe was the word, sorry GG) as it’s not my style, but then again, who says my first pair knitted have to be for me? i’ll give the whole pattern a look-over, now that i’ve been reminded. i have some di.Vé Zeppelin (http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/dive-zeppelin) that would be good for a thick/cushy pair - X
:roflhard: Fleegle heels aren’t really beautiful but fit trumps good looks in my book. I remembered you saying something less than super duper complimentary about Fleegle heels but hey, the knitter gets to pick and choose what they want to do. My heels: my problem. Your heels: your problem. :mrgreen:
ETA Dang it! I forgot I was offended and replied to your post before I remembered I was ignoring you. :teehee: Ah, well. Actually I just about choked on my iced tea laughing.
With Judy’s Magic Cast On… judy herself says it doesn’t matter which direction the initial loops are going (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pmxRDZ-cwo), as long as you do “top yarn over bottom needle and bottom needle over top yarn”… but then when you get to the next part with knitting into those cast-on stitches, you have to double check for twisted stitches. which means it DOES (to me) matter which direction the loops are going.
so… which direction could/would it be done, top over bottom in a certain direction, and bottom over top in a certain direction, to avoid twisted stitches?
tried finding anybody posting about this on judy’s blog, ravelry, liat gat’s knit freedom, cat bordhi demos, etc, and found a big ol’ pile of zilch.
Me again, when I do JMCO I put the yarn over the bottom needle and then do the top needle/bottom thread, bottom needle/top thread and I don’t think my stitches get twisted but then again, what would I know - I still have to sit and look at and work out how to keep the purl bumps on the side they should be - it can be a challenge but I eventually get there.
GG: I know it’s your heel, I got it from you along with the Lifestyle socks which were the first pair I ever knitted.
ETA: I’ve knitted Liats pattern in sock yarn (on 2.5mm needles & 48 stitches) and DK weight yarn (on 3.25mm needles & 48 stitches) for my small/short/fat foot - about 8 1/2 inches around the foot. Not sure what size needle you would want to use for your yarn but it looks good.
JMCO w/o twisted stitches. I got yarn and needles just so I can figure out what I do.
I hold the yarn like I would for a long tail cast on except that the tail goes over my finger and ball end goes over my thumb, as shown in the videos.
I put the bottom needle under the yarn between my thumb and finger from right to left and turn my thumb so that the yarn goes under the bottom needle from front to back - the opposite to how I start a LTCO without a slip knot. Next the yarn goes between the needles, coming to the front, over the top needle to the back.
The yarn over my finger then comes under the bottom needle from back to front then between the needles from front to back.
Essentially, I am coming up under the needle with the yarn toward the front and over the needle to the back.
The very first stitch seems twisted and I sometimes will knit it through the back leg, sometimes I don’t. I’ve yet to figure out which I prefer and no toes have bothered to complain.
I doubt that makes sense. I can only guarantee I tried to see what exactly it is that I do and explain it.
Lorraine, I’ve seen your socks, they look great. http://www.knittinghelp.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1401652&postcount=1 http://www.knittinghelp.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1399404&postcount=2
Liat’s pattern was linked to in a thread I did some time back about why do people do heel flaps. Deciding to try it was a difficult process but I’m glad I did. If you could benefit from some of my agony in getting started with sox, I am thrilled. :happydance: I often felt like I was banging my head against a bloody brick wall trying to figure it out. I wanted a guide, not a pattern as such. I figured people have been knitting socks for a long time and many of them couldn’t read so it couldn’t be so horribly hard if you knew how to do the toes, heels, and cast off with enough stretch. Since I’ll go to a lot of effort to avoid things like swatching and seaming whenever possible the Lifestyle Socks were a must in my knitting world. My feet are about 10" long and about 8 1/2" around at the widest but my toes are really long and my heels really narrow.
My pink sox with Fleegle heels are my faves. This last winter I rarely wore anything but hand knit sox. This winter I’ll have more and will only wear other than hand knits if my shoes require it. That’s not a common occurence.
Just a quick suggestion - do one foot at a time while working out sizing and take good notes of what you do. It’s a real pain in the butt to have 2 socks that don’t fit and have to frog them-less distressing if it’s only one, ask me how I know. Also the notes will help you with sock 2. I used copious lifeline to mark steps too. Once your past the heel and have a foot that fits, do foot 2 and then you could continue 2aat on the leg.
I find this useful when I don’t have the foot to put the sock on. Shoe Size Charts for Knitting Socks It doesn’t have foot circumference numbers and I’ve not come across anything useful for that.
just wanted to say, thanks to everybody for the advice, help, patterns, links, encouragement, etc. i do really appreciate it all, and you all.
tried 2-at-a-time last night… the results were disastrous/hilarious. it’s ok, it’s fine, i’ll just scale back my ambitions for now, and instead do one toe-up sock per set of DPNs and get the hang of the basics. but, with multiple sets of DPNs, i could still do 2 at a time, just going back and forth between needle sets to do it. i WILL have a finished pair of socks by labor day. i mean it.
GG - already went looking for a few sizing charts yesterday - great minds thinking alike - but thanks for your link. they’re all slightly different, but it’s good to have an average range to start with.
lorraine - you’re right, copious notes. also i’m also thinking if i can do the 2 simultaneously on separate sets of DPNs, then if one sock is right and i’m doing the same thing on the other sock, all should be well… that’s the hope/plan, anyway
- X