As everyone knows, I’m a rabid sock knitter. I knit ‘em top-down , toe-up, you name it… I’ve knitted ‘em all.
And no matter which direction you go, the stretchiness of the top opening of the sock matters. There is nothing more heartbreaking than a sock you can’t actually get on your foot because it won’t fit over your heel.
If you’re working top-down, you need a nice loose cast-on. If you’re working toe-up, you need a nice loose cast-off.
My favorite cast-on for top-down socks is the long tailed cast-on, also known as the double cast-on.
With this cast-on, you create stitches from two ends of the yarn, one draped over your thumb, one draped over your forefinger.
I’m often asked how long the tail needs to be… unless you’re using very very thick yarn, you’ll never run short if you leave an inch per stitch, and if you make sure that the tail end (as opposed to the ball end) of the yarn is over your thumb. (You use them up at different rates.) I always have far too much left over, but that’s better than running out 2 stitches before the end, no?
This cast-on has a number of benefits, and I use it for pretty much everything. It makes a nice, attractive edge, and it’s decently stretchy without being floppy. The key thing is to not pull too tight as you’re going… the stretchiness comes from the yarn between the loops of the stitches, and not from the stitch loops. Casting on over two needles doesn’t help as much as you think it might. Just keep loose as you go.
For casting off, you have a few options:
The easiest but least extra-stretchy is to work the standard cast-on with a larger needle. A MUCH larger needle. If I’m using size 1/2.25 or size 1.5/2.5mm needles, I’ll use a size 6/4mm needle. Yes, really. The process of casting off causes the stitches to tighten up, that’s just the nature of the movement. A larger needle helps a lot.
Next up is Elizabeth Zimmerman’s sewn bind off. It’s sort of a one-sided Kitchener stitch, if that doesn’t sound terrifiying… I love this one, but it does require you to have a yarn needle to hand. Not so useful if you’re traveling or away from your kit.
And then there’s the techniques commonly known as the Russian lace bind offs. The Purl variant is the stretchiest, but it’s fairly visible. The Knit variant is less stretchy, but more attractive. They are sometimes called the Decrease bind-offs.
These are all given in detail on this page – look for Decrease bind off and Elizabeth Zimmermann’s sewn bind off.
The newest addition to the toe-up sock knitter’s toolkit is JenyC’s Surprisingly Stretchy bind-off, published in the Fall 2009 issue of Knitty. Check it out – it is indeed surprisingly stretchy!
No matter which way you’re going, try the sock on as you’re going – just to make sure it’s fitting ok…
<include picture: trying_sock_on>
To do that, distribute your stitches as evenly as possible amongst the four (or five) needles you’re working it, and try it on. Just make sure you don’t poke the cat in the eye when she comes to investigate what the heck you’re up to.
And once you know you’ll be able to get your sock on, you can knit on!
March 4th, 2010 at 1:37 pm
[...] 5th, 2006. Categories: In … 6 Comments to Kitchener stitch, more like bitchener stitch …Guest Blog: Kate Atherley TOPIC: Cast ons and Cast off for …As everyone knows, I'm a rabid sock knitter. I knit 'em top-down , toe-up, you name it… I've [...]