Friday, December 5, 2008

How to knit socks

By Jane Pied

When knitting socks the first thing to do is to choose which yarn you want to use. There are many great sock yarns on the market these days. Even self-striping sock yarns are available. Also the sock yarns are just the right weight for a good pair of socks. Many believe that wool yarn is the best sock yarn.

Even a novice can learn how to knit socks. The most difficult part of knitting is reading the pattern. Be sure to look closely at every pattern for the instructions that are being illustrated.

Here is what you need to knit socks: - Two sizes of three double-ended needles (including a small size needle that will be used for the ribbing). - Five (or more) balls of sock yarn, depending on the sock pattern. - A pattern - A highlighter (to mark the copy). - Stitch markers - Scissors - A yard needle

There are two techniques to knit socks: with or without heels. If you're not sure which technique to choose, consider that socks with heels are known to be more comfortable.

The size of any sock is dependent of the size of the ankle. If you make a sock with a heel then you have to measure the foot and figure out the heel placement. When you measure the ankle you then subtract 1" for and adult size of sock and " on a child's size for the optimum fit. On average the ankle measurement for a female is 8" and for a male it is 10".

Please use sock yarn for the best fit on your socks. Now you must calculate how many stitches you need to cast on your needles. The stitches should be equally divided between the 3 ends of the double point needles. Mark the first stitch for the beginning of the round. Do the ribbing first and use the smaller needles for this. After the ribbing has been completed you change over to the larger needles. The stockinette stitch is a good solid stitch to use for both the ribbing and making a plain pattern. This stitch does produce an excellent fitting sock.

Then you need to work on the heel by placing half the stitches on a needle. You should start the stitches at the beginning of the round. Then place the 2nd half on a different needle, which allows the heel to be knitted from the front to the back using only one needle. The stockinette stitch is used again, for 2 thirds to 3 quarters of the rows on the heel. Then, reduce the heel area and turn. Finally, create the gusset. You should end up with two selvedge edges in between the heels. To create the gusset pick the stitches up. To complete the heel, knit the remaining stitches. The gusset should be decreased at this point.

Regarding the foot, it should be 2" shorter than the foot measurement. Start knitting at the center with a quarter of the stitches on the first needle, half the stitches on the second needle the last quarter of the stitches on the third needle. Then alternate between rounds. The sock can be finished using several techniques. One way is to keep decreasing to the toe, either casting off or binding off and then sewing the remaining together. - 16003

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