Knit Socks - Betsy Lee Mccarthy [5]
1. Cast enough stitches onto a needle to make a gauge swatch approximately 3“– 4” wide. For example, if the suggested gauge is 6 stitches = 1“, cast on 18–24 stitches plus 4 extra stitches. (These end stitches are ignored in the measurement as they tend to loosen when knitting this type of swatch in the round.)
2. Knit the cast-on stitches onto the empty right-hand needle or needle tip (for circular needles).
3. Slide all stitches on the right-hand needle/needle tip to the opposite end of the needle. Then loop the yarn around the back of your hand to create a tube effect as you knit the swatch. Drape the yarn behind your swatch loosely enough so that you will be able to flatten the swatch to measure your gauge.
4. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 until the piece measures 3”– 4” (7.5 –10cm).
Working a gauge swatch in the round
The Anatomy of a Sock
You can make socks from the top down to the toe, from toe up to the top, up from a hollow knitted foot, and probably other ways as well. All patterns in this book, however, are knit from the top to the toe in the round on double-point or circular needles. Whatever way you knit them, socks are little engineering miracles whose shapes emerge and become recognizable during the knitting process — a special delight for first-time sock knitters!
Top to Toe
Cuff and leg. You begin each sock in this book by creating the cuff (or other top treatment) and the leg. The cuff needs to be stretchy enough to keep the sock up and wide enough to allow your whole foot to be inserted.
Heel. When you get to the place at the ankle where you begin the heel, you set aside half the stitches, leaving them on their needle(s). You'll use these stitches later to knit the instep (top of the foot), but for now, they wait on their needle(s) while you knit the heel flap.
Heel flap. The heel flap is a rectangle that covers the back of the heel. It's created by knitting back and forth in rows using two needles or needle tips (if you are using circular needles), rather than being knit in the round. Then, working back and forth in short rows that gradually become longer, you turn the heel, creating the cuplike portion of the sock that fits under your heel.
Gusset. Next, you pick up and knit stitches along the right side of the heel flap, work across the instep stitches, and then pick up and knit stitches on the left side of the heel flap. At this point, you are positioned again to knit circularly. To accommodate the shape of the foot, the circumference of the sock is wider here than at the leg and the foot, so you must make a series of decreases at each side to form the gusset. To see why you need this extra space, measure the circumference of the widest part of your foot and then measure on the diagonal from the bottom and back of your heel around to the top of your instep.
Foot and toe. Once you complete the gusset reductions, you'll find it's quick to knit the sock foot and finish the sock by shaping the toe with a series of paired decreases that create a nicely rounded toe. Close the stitches at the end of the toe, usually by grafting them together. Voila! A sock is waiting to have its mate finished and then to be worn.
Casting On and Dividing
Start knitting any top-down sock by loosely casting the total number of stitches onto one needle — one double-point needle, one 24” circular, or one long (32” to 40“) circular. Stitches are then most often divided evenly, either among three or four double-point needles (one-third or one-fourth on each needle), two circulars (half on each), or one long circular (half on each tip, a feat accomplished by pulling up a big loop — approximately one-third of the cord — between the two middle