Two Socks on One Circ
April 8, 2011
I hate having UFOs lying around. I really am pretty good at not starting too many new projects before other things are finished. I like having one mindless knitting project and one more focused, chart intensive kind of thing going at the same time so I can pick which to work on. So I don’t like having a third thing lying around, which is what these socks were. These socks were from a class I took a few months ago where we learned to do two socks on one circular needle, a technique I wanted to learn and immediately knew I disliked. As much as I love Magic Loop, I don’t like doing two items at one time – too much fiddling with the cables.
But the class did force me to learn to make socks, which I had never done, mostly because I just don’t wear socks. I go from sandals in the summer to my UGG boots in the winter, with no socks. But knitting my own socks may change my mind! Plus I wanted to start making socks for gifts – I do know that other people enjoy socks.
The instructor taught us how to make socks without using a pattern, which was a great lesson. These are toe-up socks, with an afterthought heel. We got to pick which kind of heel we wanted to do (I did a wedge) and which kind of bind off we wanted to do (I did a double crochet bind off).
picking up stitches for the afterthought heel
The afterthought heel was easy for me, because I’ve done so many afterthought thumbs with my mitten knitting.
picking out the waste yarn
grafting the heel with kitchener stitch
double crochet bind off
I like these socks a lot, although I made them a little too large for my feet. When you aren’t working from a pattern, you just have to go by feel. I forget to take into consideration that the socks would grow a little when I blocked them.
Pattern: None!
Yarn: Abundant Yarn & Dyeworks 100% Merino Wool
Needles: US#1 Circulars
Ravelry Page
Italian Dish Knits 
Your crochet bind off looks like a stretchy bind off executed with needles. I am always amazed at the resourcefulness of knitters who come up with so many ways of doing the same thing.
I need to try to learn to knit socks without a pattern!
[…] which I kind of love doing. I’ve done a lot of afterthought thumbs for mittens and afterthought heels for socks, so I know the technique […]