Moving along here. I’m not so sure about this sock, but I shall persevere. Ever onward! After all, this is Toe-Up Sock #1. Let us honor it, rather than destroy it. I shall plod to the end of my perceived design, but rather than bind off permanently, allow myself the option of ripping – after the mate is begun. Here is evidence of my hard work, done while watching Season 1, Discs 8 and 9, of The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The toe fits rather nicely. You can see how the poor yarn has been thrashed by being ripped out and knitted up about five times. It fits comfortably. The lace pattern is a stretchy lace rib, which I figure should give some shape to the sock if I don’t like the heel – and some give it is tight. I have a very high arch, so went this route deliberately. Some texts and websites state that the short-row heel may not be the best for my kind of foot. Looking at the sock in profile, I rather agree. Still, it is comfortable on the foot, but perhaps the real test will be if I wear it with shoes.
Here is the sock, sans foot. The heel is very pointy! You can see it in the shadow of the picture above, and in the one below.
I turned the heel, using a short-row technique, no gussets, and with help from the following video, which was extraordinarily clear:
Leave me a comment and let me know what you think! I’d love to hear from you.
I will say, the Kroy sock yarn I’ve been knitting and frogging, knitting and frogging, has held up great! It is some I’ve had in my stash for ages, and was made in Canada.
In my last post, I showed you a picture of a toe I’d started. It did not last long. I ripped it out and began again when I realized I had totally messed up on the design of the sock pattern. I miscalculated my stitches, and ripped back partially, but the poor yarn was so frazzled I finally just raveled the entire sock toe. And began again. This time I got it.
Here is the beginning of the pattern, if you would like to follow along. If I like it enough, I will write up the pattern and post it.
WIP: Toe Up Sock #1
Using Turkish cast-on, cast on 8 stitches. Work 2 rounds on 2 needles (see videos mentioned in other post for more details).
Round 3, on needle 1: k1, kfb, k2, place marker, knit to second-to-last stitch and in it kfb, k1. Total of 10 stitches. On needle 2: k1, kfb, k2 more stitches. Total of 5 stitches. You now will have 3 needles. Get new needle, and continue on: k2, kfb, k1. Total of 20 stitches spread over 3 needles, 5 on needle 1 (heel needle), 10 on needle 2 (instep), and 5 on needle 3 (heel).
Note: Placing the marker will be in the center of the instep needle is a great way to reference the number stitches – the instep needle should have twice as many stitches as each heel needle, with the marker making in the center being an easy way to make sure you are on track.
If you want to use 4 needles, divide stitches evenly over needles.
Round 4: Knit
Round 5: at the end of needle one, closest to the instep needle, you will begin your toe increases by kfb in the second to last stitch. Needle 1: k3, kfb, k1. Needle 2: k1, kfb, k to second-to-last stitch and kfb in that stitch, k1. Needle 3: k1, kfb, k to end of needle. 6 stitches on each heel needle, 12 stitches on instep.
Round 6: knit.
Round 7: Increase as for round 5.
Repeat rounds 6 and 7 until you have 14 stitches on each heel needle, and 28 stitches across instep. Total of stitches is 56.
Next round: knit
CHART A
Next round: k 14 on needle 1; increase as before on instep needle, k 14 on needle 3. Total of stitches: 14 on heel needles, 30 stitches on instep.
Next round: knit.
Next round: k 14 on needle 1, increase as before on instep needle, k 14 on needle 3. Total of stitches: 14 on heel needles, 32 stitches on instep needle.
Next round: knit
Next round: Begin pattern on instep needle, ending k2. Place markers to divide each pattern repeat. There will be 5 pattern repeats. Thusly, K 14 on needle 1; follow Chart A being sure to end k2 on needle 2 (32 st); k 14 on heel needle 3. Continue in pattern.
And that is all for now!
I’ve just begun, but plan on stopping about 3 inches short of my usual foot length for socks, which is 9 inches. I plan on knitting 6 inches from the cast on toe. Let’s see what happens!
Reasons for Toe-Up Socks
The usual preferences given for toe-up socks are being able to try on the sock while knitting, and to be able to use the yarn to the last bit. Let’s add to this to the list: it’s a great place to hide mistakes if you don’t want to rip!
Here where I live, there is a small group of painters who meet monthly for class with our instructor. This is the Chinese Brush Painting and Calligraphy Association of Thousand Oaks. Our instructor, Mr. Ha, is from China. He has trained in traditional Chinese and Western art traditions. Copying the works of other artists is a tradtional learning tool in both art traditions, but perhaps more so in the East. This means to learn by imitating and reproducing the work of others. Control of brush and stroke, elements of composition, and ways in which effects are produced are studied, analyzed, and executed. In Saturday’s class, we will watch Mr. Ha as he reproduces this painting, take notes, and learn from observation. At home, we do our work.
This is a tough process. Paper and ink and color are far more challenging than may be anticipated. As I have written in other posts, brushes from Asia are not the same as Western, and the paper certainly is not. The paper we use in class is usually fairly soft and unsized, and this absorbency gives brushwork its immediacy and spontaneous quality, but in just a second, a beautiful work can be destroyed by too much water in the brush. Watch out, grab your towel and blot!
This month’s painting is peonies. They symbolize riches and honor, good fortune, and prosperity.
I’ve never made a toe-up sock in my life. There is quite a following for the process, and many reasons people give for making them. One is that they can try them on as they go along. Another is that they can better gauge the amount of yarn needed to complete them. I’ll buy the former, but the latter . . . not so sure. When I find myself getting short of yarn, I just make my toes in other colors. I also make ankle socks a lot, so that does not happen too often for me.
Recently, numerous books have come out about the toe-up sock. Several years ago, Anna Zilboorg hit the knitting scene with her colorful Turkish socks, Fancy Feet: Traditional Knitting Patterns of Turkey. Priscilla Gibson Roberts also published a book on their knitting and history, Ethnic Socks and Stockings: A Compendium of Eastern Design and Technique. These were the only two knitting books of which I was aware that even mentioned starting a sock from the toe.
Wendy Johnson just published her book, Socks from the Toe Up. I don’t think Western socks – the style and structure – had any toe-up information until recently. Wendy has provided the sock-knitting community a great deal of information about toe-up socks, and many of her patterns are free and very pretty – very generous of her!
Wendy, the internet and Ravelry and blogs and online videos are opening doors to Western-style, toe-up socks. Variety in toe structure, heel structure, gusset or no gusset, abound. These entries will be my own explorations of the toe-up sock.
Toe Techniques
I’m going to start out by saying that I have started about six socks in the past two weeks using various toe-up techniques. It’s been really frustrating, and I am actually surprised that I have even continued! I am not a patient person, and getting frustrated with yarn and needles in combination with written words does not bring out the best in me.
That said, let’s consider a few toe-up beginnings.
Provisional Cast-On
Bluntly, what is the point of a provisional cast on for a toe-up sock?
Nonetheless, in the endeavor to learn, I slogged away at it, crocheting up some waste-yarn, knitting into the bumps, and knit the very first toe-up. Trying to see the bumps was difficult. On to the second try. I ripped out the provisional crochet, and found a video on using a crochet hook to create a provisional cast-on. This video was a great little demo:
I did it quite easily. I cast on the required number of stitches and proceeded to follow directions. Then the next toe-up sock monster reared its head: The Wrapped Stitch.
Wrapping & Turning Stitches (W&T)
I’ve never officially wrapped a stitch in my life, so trying to figure it out was not easy. Once I did, it wasn’t anything difficult; in fact, it is downright embarrassing to admit that it took me hours to try to interpret the English. The fact is, when I turn a sock heel, I am already wrapping a stitch – it just was never called this.
This is where good illustrations, and better, a video, solve the problem. I find that there are some videos which are better than others. Cat Bordhi won hands-down for the subject of a wrapped stitch. Take a look at Part One:
This explains the wrapped stitch. Okay! (I wonder, though, isn’t she unwrapping her stitch???) No matter; I now know what a wrapped stitch is.
Now, take a look at Part II:
Her explanations are incredibly clear – her stories are rather hilarious – and what was a mystery is one no more.
Still, I see no point in a provisional cast-on for a toe of a sock, and for nearly anything else I knit. That said, it was a great learning experience – after all, that is what all this toe-up sock knitting is supposed to be!
Turkish Cast-On
What I love about Zilboorg’s book is that she gives fairly pithy directions that are incredibly clear (at least to me) for this method of starting a sock. I had it figured out, and was off and running in no time. There are actually two ways of doing this type of cast on – the first one, you just wrap the yarn around both needles, and the second, the yarn is woven in and out of the needles in a figure-eight shape. Both methods are pretty easy, but the first rows are not the finest until you are well practiced in the methods. Once more, Cat Bordhi comes along with a very nice video describing Judy Becker’s method of doing a figure-eight cast-on. The result is a very evenly tensioned toe beginning.
My opinion: this is the best way to begin a toe-up sock.
How many needles to use?
I knit my socks on three needles, using the fourth for stitches. After struggling with four needles, I actually used my brain and figured out that all I need to do, once the toe is started, is to increase the toe stitches in the opposite direction. Thus, on the instep needle, increase one stitch in from either end. On the heel needles, increase one stitch before the instep needle, on the second-to-the-last stitch on my first heel needle, work across on the instep, and then on the other heel needle, knit a stitch, increase, and proceed. So far, so good. Now I just need to choose the pattern for the sock.
This is what I have accomplished so far. Turkish cast-on, as learned from Bordhi’s demo, and increases every other round on three needles. I did eight stitches before beginning the knitting. The instep needle has a marker dead center. This way I know how many stitches I have – or should have – on the heel needles, and the instep needle is easily recalled.
Being a brewer is always good for a few interesting questions at a barbecue or cocktail party. First, a lot of people are really amazed that it’s possible to brew one’s own beer at home. Second, there’s a vague feeling that homebrewing must be illegal or otherwise dicey. Then there are usually one or two people who are really lit up by the idea and want to learn more about how it’s done, whether it’s difficult, expensive, &c.
I don’t imagine there are many readers of a blog like this who fall into the ‘homebrewing must be impossible’ camp – if you’re reading about Ink, Yarn & Beer, it’s a good bet that you have at least some interest in making things yourself, and have already learned that practically anything is doable by a determined and resourceful home practitioner.
As to the second question, there are places in the US where homebrewing is illegal, and some smaller jurisdictions (dry counties) may prohibit it, but the majority of states have legalized homebrewing. Even Utah just recently passed a law allowing people to make their own beer at home. Apparently, there were already lots of people doing so (possibly encouraged by some of Utah’s other pecuiliar blue laws); now they can just do so legally. Even Alabama, where homebrewing is illegal, has homebrew shops, so it may be that, even if it’s illegal to brew in your area, the law is ignored or unenforced.
Of course, I can’t encourage you to break the law, but I can help you to find information about the law in your area. This site has some information about what states outlaw brewing. You should be aware, though, that web pages are frequently out of date, so it’s well worth doing a little research of your own to find out what the laws are in your area before possibly breaking them.
So, assuming you enjoy a nice craft beer and are interested in making your own, how should you start? I generally recommend to people that they read a good homebrewing book before they run out and buy equipment and ingredients. The reason for this is that homebrewing is not for everyone, and it’s better to find out you don’t like it after having spent $12.95 (or whatever) on a book than after spending a hundred bucks (or a few hundred) on gear. I have to admit a particular soft spot for Charlie Papazian’s classic homebrewing text, The Complete Joy of Home Brewing, but these days I am hearing people say they don’t like his writing style. And really, there are lots of good resources on the Internet, one of the best being John Palmer’s How To Brew, which is a free online version of his book of the same title. It’s really, really hard to beat the cost:benefit ratio of free information.
Another great way to get a feeling for the hobby is to sit in on a batch or two. If you’ve met a homebrewer at a barbecue, ask them if they would mind inviting you to their next brew day. If there’s a homebrew shop in your town, ask if they have a club with an open meeting or club brew you can come to. The overwhelming majority of homebrewers like sharing their hobby, so it’s pretty likely you’ll find someone to help you get started.
Part 2 will include information about what to look for in a starter’s kit and what you should make for your first batch. Watch this space.
Ink, Yarn & Beer 