Knit Socks - Betsy Lee Mccarthy [7]
2. Use the tip of the right needle to move the first stitch on the left needle to the right needle.
3. Use the tip of the left needle to lift the current second stitch on the right needle up and over the first, and slip it on the left needle to become the new first stitch on the left. Pull both ends of the yarn to snug up. (You can also use a crochet hook to pull the last cast-on stitch from the right needle through the first cast-on stitch now on the right needle, lifting it onto the left needle.)
Note: After completing this join, check to be sure you still have the number of stitches originally cast on. You simply made the first and last stitches trade places; no stitches were eliminated.
After joining, knit the stitches from the first needle (held in your left hand) onto the empty needle (held in your right), going right to left (clockwise). As you complete the stitches on each needle, use the newly empty needle to knit the stitches off the next needle. Always work with the right side of the sock to the outside when knitting in the round. (Every five-needle pattern in this book follows one of the needle configurations in the illustration below, but socks knit with four needles may also begin at either the right or the back.)
Round starts at side.
To keep track of where you are on any type of needle, place a marker between the last two stitches of a round, slipping the marker from one needle to the next when working stitches.
Round starts at center of heel.
TWO CIRCULAR NEEDLES
I recommend using 24” circulars when you knit socks on two circular needles because each one is just long enough to stay out of the way when you're knitting with the other needle.
1. To join the stitches now divided onto two circular needles, hold the needles together vertically and parallel. Carefully slide the stitches on both needles together toward the needle tips of the open end of the cast-on stitches.
2. As with double-point needles, join the first and last cast-on stitches without twisting and using the same crossover, as illustrated at the top of page 18. However, unlike double-point needles, you cannot move the two circular needles held parallel into a tip-to-tip position to cross the stitches over each other because they are connected with the yarn between the two middle stitches. For me, what works best is to choose either of the two dangling needle tips as the tool to help manipulate the stitches. I move the first cast-on stitch from its position as the first stitch on the left needle to become the first on the right.
3. Use the same dangling end to move the current second stitch on the right needle (which was originally the first on that needle) over to become the first stitch on the left needle. This transfer can be accomplished most easily by using the left needle to loosen that “live” stitch a little and then lifting it over the first stitch to become the new first stitch on the left needle. Again, when the join has been made, tug the working yarn and the tail to cinch the last transferred stitch up a bit.
The Rule for Two Circular Needles
With stitches ready to work, you're good to go once you understand the one rule about knitting socks on two circular needles. The stitches have been divided between the two needles, to be either instep stitches or heel stitches. The rule is that you always knit the instep stitches only with the instep needle and the heel stitches only with the heel needle. Many find it easier to learn this technique by using two different kinds of needles; for example, one circular with metal needle tips and the other with wood or bamboo. If you see a wooden and a metal tip poised to work together, it's a sure sign that the rule is about to be violated, that is, you're about to work instep stitches