Friday, December 12, 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 beginner can learn to knit socks. The hardest part of knitting is reading the pattern. Be sure to pay close attention to any pattern for the instructions that are being illustrated.

Here are the materials that are needed to knit socks: 2 sizes of 3 double-ended needles, the smaller size being for the ribbing. 5 (or more) balls of sock yarn depending on the pattern. A pattern A pair of scissors Stitch markers A yard needle A highlighter to mark the working copy.

There are 2 ways to complete your knitted socks. You can make them with heels or without heels. Some say that the ones with heels are more comfortable.

Regarding the size of the sock, this depends on the size of the ankle. If you knit a sock with a heel, you should measure the foot and figure out the heel placement. When you measure the ankle, subtract 1" for an adult and " for a child. Generally, a female ankle size is around 8" and a male ankle size is around 10".

Use sock yarn for the best fit on your socks and estimate how many stitches are required to cast on your needles. The stitches should be evenly divided between the 3 ends of the double point needles. Start by marking the first stitch for the beginning of the round. You should do the ribbing first, using the small needles. When the ribbing is completed switch to large needles. The stockinette stitch is the best option for both the ribbing and making a plain pattern and it produces a great 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.

It is now time for the foot, which should be 2" shorter than the foot measurement. Start knitting at the center with a quarter of the stitches on the 1st needle then one half on the 2nd needle then the remaining quarter on the 3rd needle. Alternate between rounds. Then the sock can be finished off in several methods. One way is to keep decreasing to the toe and then either cast off or bind off and then sew the remaining together. - 15359

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