The Only Cast-on You Need To Know for Toe-Up Socks...

...is the Turkish cast-on. The others (figure 8, judy's magic) are harder and do not add any additional value, IMO. The Turkish cast-on is ridiculously simple and can double as a provisional cast-on. Why use up valuable braincells on any others?

I've blogged about this one before, but it seems my favorite resources are gone off the InterWebz, so here are some photos and a little "how-to". I had to teach my local knitgroup this cast-on, which resulted in some excellent tips, which have been incorporated into this instruction set.

For first-timers, use a light coloured wool. It's easier to see what you're doing. I'll describe the process for two-at-a-time socks.

1. using one ball of the yarn, make a slipknot on one end of your circ. Hold the needles in your left hand so the tips are pointing to the right and the slipknot is on the bottom needle.  See below.

[slipknot on bottom needle]

2. Now start winding the yarn around both needles, from the back to the front ("like the sun rising over the horizon, towards you", a helpful tip from one of my knitgroup knitters!), counting as you go for each stitch thus wound - ie. cast - on. I usually do 12 to 14 stitches for a pair of grownup socks.

[start winding, up over the top, from the back to the front]

[keep going until you've wound on enough stitches]

3. When you've wound on / cast on enough, trap the yarn between the two needles to hold it while you cast on for the second sock.

[trap the yarn between the needles so you can cast on for the next sock]

4. Start with a slipknot on the bottom needle again. Note: it's a little easier to get the slipknot on if you pull the bottom needle out a little! Then wind on again, the same way as you did for the first sock, and trap the yarn between the needles again.

[slipknot on bottom needle for second sock, pull the bottom needle out a little]

[cast on complete for both socks]

5. Done, that's the cast-on. Unbelievably simple, eh? Now comes the fiddly bit, which is where you start knitting. Free the yarn from between the two needles and make sure it comes up from the bottom needle, behind both. Gently pull the bottom needle out (to the right) and use it to start knitting off the top needle. It should feel quite natural and not hard, the yarn loops should lean the correct way and it shouldn't feel like you're making twisted stitches. If it does, it means you wound on in the opposite direction ("setting sun"), so yeah, you'll need to start over.

[untrap the yarn, keep it behind the needles, and start knitting off the top needle]

6. Once you've knit both socks' worth of top-needle stitches, you'll have all the stitches on the top needle, which is now facing left, and a loop hanging on your right. Your other needle is hanging on the left, and it will shortly be the new bottom needle. Carefully and slowly push the bottom cord into the stitches and pull on the top needle, maintaining that loop on the right, until the bottom needle (rather than the cable) holds the stitches and the top needle is free. It's helpful to maintain the orientation of your knitting, don't flip it around just yet. 

[top stitches all knit, tip of needle is on the left (I'm holding it) 

and loop is on the right; 

push the bottom cable to the right, into the stitches; 

pull the top needle left, out of the stitches.]

7. Now flip everything over (swing the needle tips around 180 degrees) so that the needle holding the stitches is on top and the tip is pointing right. You'll see the slipknots on the top needle, as the first thing. Remove the slipknot. Drop it off the needle. Do not knit it. Being very careful to use the correct yarn - ie. NOT the end hanging off the slipknot! - knit the rest of the cast-on stitches. That's it. You are done, with two rows knit already, and you are ready for the cast-on part of the toe end of your sock! 

[almost ready to knit the other row; 

the slipknot is first on the top needle]

Now just continue as per usual, increasing for the toe of your socks. It's just that easy! Another tip from my knitgroup: use a YO increase every other row - it's much easier to see than a Kfb. On the plain knit rows, you can tighten them up by knitting the YO's TBL. 

Here's a photo of my socks, showing a few rows knit (and increased). You can see the cast-on is basically invisible from both front and back. 

[up close you can't see the cast-on, in the middle of this knitting]

[invisible from the back, too!]

To use this cast-on as a provisional cast-on (note: it has the same number of stitches in either direction, which is something you won't get from some other provisional cast-ons - like the crochet cast-on, for instance), cast on over a second circular needle, which you simply leave hanging. You can replace it with a holder (ex. string) later. 

Cast-ons for Toe-up socks

Most of the time, I knit toe-up socks. I find the casting on easier, and, especially if I'm knitting with handspun (as I now do at least half the time!), I find it easier to fit -as-I-knit (I don't have to worry about how many stitches to cast on!). Also I never have to fret about having enough yarn, which is a huge bonus with my not-so-consistent yardages of handspun...

So let's review the different cast-on techniques:

1. turkish - this one is the easiest. Basically you wind the yarn (tightly) around both needles and start knitting. Couldn't be easier. You need to choke down on the tension for the very first row, but apart from that, this one is so simple as to be ridiculous. For 2AAT knitting, wind the yarn for both socks before starting to knit. You start knitting the first side of the first one, and then then move on to the second sock, then you turn and do the second side for both. Don't wind-and-knit one on both sides, and then expect to be able to wind-and-knit the second! The link is for a written-up version, which I personally find easier to work from than a video, but I'm sure there are loads of YouTube vids showing this cast-on for those who prefer that medium.

2. figure 8 - this one's easy as well and gives identical results to the turkish cast-on to which it is very closely related. It's more fiddly than the turkish cast-on, because a) it's harder to tighten the loops before knitting the cast-on off of the second needle, and b) you need to knit the second needle's row TBL. In effect, you add the complication of doing a figure 8 to wind on, only to undo that complication when knitting. So, after trying this one once, I ditched it in favour of the turkish method. Again, for 2AAT knitting, make the figure 8's for both socks, then start the knitting.

3. Judy's Magic Cast On ("JMCO") - this one is much more complicated than the two above, and requires some serious studying of diagrams and/or videos. It's like learning the long-tail cast-on all over again. Check out YouTube for videos. In fact, when I use this cast-on, I'm pretty sure I'm doing it "wrong" because my second needle's stitches are all twisted in the wrong direction, so I need to reseat them prior to knitting (or, as is more usual, I simply ignore this and wind up with one row of inversely-twisted sts. Who cares? It's on my toes!). The advantage to this cast-on is that you don't have to worry about correcting the tension before you start knitting off the second needle. I use it quite frequently, although - as I've said - incorrectly.

These cast-on techniques are useful because they can be used as provisional cast-ons as well. In fact, there's an advantage to using them instead of more traditional provisional cast-ons, and that is that they overcome the problem of having one stitch too few or too many. That problem is explained in detail by TechKnitter, here. The JMCO is especially useful for this application, it works better as a provisional cast-on than the turkish/figure 8 because the cast-on stitches are more completely formed and it's easier to keep them on a string for pick-up, later.

But if you're looking for a quick 'n simple cast-on for socks or mittens, Turkish is the one to learn, IMO.

Decorative edges

I'm starting to knit a threesome of handpuppets for a cousin's little kids (my teenaged sons are - unfortunately - well beyond this type of thing now...). They are "estonian" sheep, very cute, and will give me a chance to exercise my rusty colourwork skillz. I recently learned how to do two-handed colourwork (from a lady in my knitgroup!), so this is an excellent opportunity to practise! (BTW, here is an excellent video on that technique!)

I also thought I'd try to figure out some nice decorative edgings. Here are a few I've been able to source:

• Latvian Twist (this is an easy cast-on technique - can be done with many colours)
• Latvian Braid (basically, colourwork with the purl side showing, while being consistent about twisting the yarns around each other - can be done anywhere in your work, and with as many colours as you like)
• Braided cast-on (again, can be done with many colours)
• Then there is this cross-over between a picot cast-on and the twist technique, which produces a neat row of picots with eyelets above.
• fringed cast-on, or use the loop stitch to create one or more rows along the bottom of your work.

I'll have lots of opportunity to try these techniques on my flock!

[braided cast-on in 2 colours, followed by K1P1 ribbing in 2 colours]

[Latvian Twist cast-on in 3 colours, followed by Latvian Braid in 2 colours]

Matching Cast on and Bind off

Recently I got Debbie New's "Unexpected Knitting" out of my library. What an inspiring book! There are all kinds of off-the-wall techniques in there. Some of the garments are not things I would wear, but the techniques sure piqued my interest!

I started on a "scribble lace" shawl, which, being knit on 10mm balloons, didn't take long to finish:

[scribble lace shawl]

The "scribble" is a single row ("back" and no "forth") of bulky yarn, and the background is lace-weight yarn (in this case, a silk/mohair blend).  You use double-points or a circular needle so that you can shove the work to the end of the needle where your working yarn is; this changes periodically because of the single thick row. It takes about 100m of thick yarn and 4x that in thin to make a 32"x70" stole, if you have (on average) 4 rows of thin yarn to every 1 row of thick.  For this project I increased and decreased the number of rows of thin yarn from 3-5 (sometimes even 6) and back again to give the stripes a subtle "motion".

I love this idea. It is a fantastic way to showcase those homespun art-yarns that I love but, until now, had no idea what to do with! You can use ribbon, too.

The one thing that is useful to know when making these shawls is how to match the cast-on and bind-off. They both need to be quite elastic because the fabric is so stretchy. Start and end with the thick yarn to give a stable edge to the shawl.

I used a "knit-on cast-on", and my bind-off, which matches very closely, is variously referred to as a "knit bind off", a "lace knit bind off", or a "russian bind off". Here's a write-up. It's pretty easy. I use it all the time for toe-up socks. For me, this bind-off falls between the YoBo (yarn-over bind-off or JSBO) - which I find very loose - and the standard knit-one-pass-over bind off (which is too tight for toe-up socks).

[russian/lace knit bind-off]

Picot Cast-on and Bind-off

I've been on a tear with toe-up, "forethought" heel socks lately. So I'm becoming pretty adept with JSSBO (a variant of "the yarn-over bind off" which is a pretty standard technique).
But this bind-off isn't particularly "pretty". For ladies' lacy socks there's another option: a picot bind-off. Here it is, in summary:

1. decide the size of your picots (N stitches, where N=1, 2, or 3)
2. Cast off 2 stitches.
3. Slip the remaining single stitch on your right needle back to the left.
4. knit-on cast-on (or, alternatively, cable cast-on) N stitches
5. bind off N+2 stitches (two more than your picot size)

Repeat steps 3-5 until you've bound off all your stitches.

This works well and is quite stretchy - there's no hard "edge" to the sock. You can make the picots any size, but I find for a traditional look that 1, 2, or 3 gives good results (that's not to say that a 10-stitch picot couldn't look funky...it'd probably flop over and look almost fringe-like...) The spacing between the picots is always 2 stitches in this recipe, it's determined by step 5 where you bind off 2 more than you cast on (and by step 2 where you position the first picot). Feel free to improvise!

There's a matching cast-on, which you can probably unvent yourself because it is obvious once you've got the cast-off in your head:

1. decide the size of your picots (N stitches, where N=1, 2, or 3)
2. do a slip knot to start.
3. knit-on cast-on (or, alternatively, cable cast-on) N+2 stitches (two more than your picot size).
4. bind off N stitches
5. slip remaining single stitch on your right needle to the left.

repeat steps 3-5 until you have the desired number of stitches. Again I've made the picot spacing 2 stitches, but this is adjustable.

I've made  fingerless mitts (pattern here) with picot edges on both ends. They match quite nicely.

[Mitaines or fingerless gloves]

Here's another "bumpy-and-stretchy" cast on option: the Channel Islands cast-on.

Casting on for 2-at-a-time, Top-down Socks

Casting on for two-at-a-time, top-down socks is a bit tricky. You'll need a long (47") circular and a helper needle (a single-point one) of the same diameter (or a bit smaller, not critical). 

[use a helper needle and a long, flexible circular needle]

Step 1: Hold one end of the circular needle and the helper needle together, points in the same direction (you will be totally ignoring the other end of the circular throughout this whole procedure.) Cast on over both the helper needle and the circular - this will keep the stitches a bit looser and make it easier to knit the first round. Cast on half of the stitches for the first sock (shown in green below), and then all of the stitches for the second (pink) sock. Place a marker exactly halfway in the second sock.

[half of the first sock, all of the second cast on, with marker halfway.]

Step 2: now, pull the helper needle out of the stitches of the second sock, but not out of the first.

[remove the helper from the second sock]

Step 3: now pull on the end of the circular needle that comes out of the second (pink) sock, bending the stitches around. You want to fold the flexible cable in half sharply and pull it through, between the stitches. Use the marker as a handle and yank the cable through. 

[pull the cable through and start bending it]

[Pull on the marker, fold the cable, and yank through between the stitches]

Step 4: you have finished with the second sock (pink one). Move it out of the way, by continuing to pull on the marker to pull more of the cable through (not too far though, you don't want to loose the stitches of the first - green - sock!). Take hold of the end of the circular needle that comes out of the second (pink) sock, and hold it against the helper needle, so you can cast on the remaining stitches. Make the two needles point in the same direction. Remember: you are always using the same end of the circular needle. The other end is being ignored.

[helper needle and circular point in the same direction!]

[remaining stitches cast on over circ + helper]

Step 5: Now you can remove the helper needle. It has done its helpful job! Then, fold the circular needle over to meet its other end...in the picture below, that means I'm moving the point clockwise (to the right).

 

[helper needle removed, folding stitches over]

This is what you should have:

[done!]

Notice that the wool ends are in the same position on both socks. The ends of the circ are off to the right, and the marker to the left.

You start knitting with the wool ends on the right and with the needle farthest from you. Yank the far side of the circ out to free it totally and move the stitches so that the first sock (green) is actually on the needle closest to you so you can knit it. Be careful when pulling on the circ to keep the marker end of the loop from sucking into the stitches - you want the "magic" loop to be maintained. Join, being careful to avoid twists in the stitches. I usually grab both ends of the wool (the remaining tail as well as the end heading to the ball) and knit a couple of stitches with both, this anchors everything.

Ribbing for Two-at-a-Time, Top-Down Socks

Once you've cast on, you'll start knitting the ribbing. This is where you have to do a bit of planning, because you cannot adjust the position of the ribbing once you've started (well...you can, but it's a pain). So make sure that whatever you start is symmetric - that your ribbing pattern has a mid-point (either a single stitch, or between two stitches), that is centered over what will be the front of the foot, or you will be in trouble later! Unless, of course, you are making asymmetric socks...but in that case, think about the 2nd one on your needle. Is is supposed to be a mirror image? Or identical? Adjust ribbing - and the leg pattern - as required - before you start!

For example:
k2-p2-k2-...-p2-k2 is good, although you will end up with a k4 band down either side of the sock,
k1-p2-k2-...-p2-k1 is good,
k2-p2-...-k2-p2 is probably not!

Coarser ribbing is stretchier. So, a k2p2 rib is stretchier (and keeps its shape better) than a k1p1. You can try different numbers of k's and p's for extra jazz (k3p2, k1p2k3p2k1, etc etc). You can try substituting a ktbl for every k, to get a tighter effect. It looks a little different as the twist makes the k's pop out a bit more. Don't skimp on the ribbing if you want it to actually hold up your sock.

Alternatively, you can skip the ribbing entirely if you are:
1. making short socks (I am particularly fond of anklets that come no higher than 8 cm/3 inches over the ankle bone.). Try a few rows of garter stitch instead (knit a row, purl a row) to give some "frame" to the design. I like about 3 ribs (that's 6 rows total). It won't hug your leg, but because the sock is short it won't fall down.
2. making lace socks that naturally scallop. Even here though, a small garter edge can add a little "weight" to the design. I find that lace socks are best kept short also, so they don't fall down and spoil the effect.

Advanced notions:

For design buffs, consider having the ribbing flow naturally into the design of the sock. Takes planning!

A nice touch is to have the ribbing flow further down at some parts than in others. Cookie A does this very well in some of her new designs.

Plan for symmetry (or deliberate asymmetry) so that the upcoming division into "heel" and "instep" stitches doesn't wreak havoc with your design!

Try having the pattern only on the front side of the sock. This was traditional in days of yore and can even be interesting today.

For clingy socks that hug your leg, ribbing-based designs are great as they are naturally elastic.

For lacy socks, I find that the best designs are small and based on 6-8 sts, maximum, for an all-over effect. Check stitch dictionaires for inspiration. Of course, all-over and complex designs like those found in German and Austrian dirndl outfits are stunning...

Charlene Schurch's books have excellent stitch libraries that are ideal for socks. Many are rib-based, but she also includes small lacy patterns.

The Burda book has a beautiful collection of dirndl-type designs plus tips on how to knit them into long stockings that go over your calf. You'll have to translate from the German though...