I'm coming to all of you pro's before diving into sock knitting. I've been knitting for years, and have done everything from hats and scarves to sweaters, plus beaded knitting. I've done lots of hats for charity, etc., but would like to have something small and portable to have in my bag for in the car or wherever.
I like the idea of knitting with two circular needles and knitting both socks at the same time. Am I crazy to start out this way? If this is a bad idea what would you recommend instead? What yarn and needles are appropriate for a beginning sock knitter? I've also noticed some patterns for "toe up" socks, is this a good idea too?
Any suggestions, hints, or tips are greatly appreciated.
Well, I can't help you with the circulars and two-at-once thing, as I'm one of those who just can't seem to wrap my mind (or fingers) around knitting socks on anything other than 5 DPs from the top down, but I will say that once you knit your first pair you will be addicted, and your sock drawer will soon be overflowing with hand-knit socks in many wild colors, with a couple more pair on needles, and the folks here will do their best to enable your addiction at every opportunity.
Anyway, Linda, welcome, and I'm sure someone will be along to give you answers to your questions soon enough.
This works well, especially for travelling/waiting/standing about knitting. It's much harder to lose a circular out of the work than it is to lose a single DPN.
I've tried it and merely confused myself. Much easier to work with a single end on a single sock. If you're worried you'll run out of yarn knit one sock's cuff, put it off on a string, then knit the other, blah blah.
Once sock at a time on two short cirulars.
Sock-weight yarn (Opal, for example) and 2.5mm 16" circulars.
It can be, if you suspect you'll run short of yarn. It's also easier to try the socks on for fit as you knit them. I prefer to make top-down socks because my cast-on edge is stretchier than my cast-off edge.
Once you get started knitting 2 at a time, it's not that complicated. It takes about 3 rows to recognize that there is a rhythm to it: knit across, change yarn; knit across, change needles; knit across, change yarn; knit across and change needles back to where you started (preferably you keep a stitch marker there to make it easy to recognize).
Pro's (besides not getting stuck if you break or lose a dpn): easy to make socks identical
Con's: the "seam" where you change needles needs more adjusting knitting from two balls of yarn (or two ends of the same skein--which I try to avoid) can require periodic untangling
At present I am knitting one pair on 2 circs, and another on 4 dpns. I think I will take the dpns with me on my cross-country trip, as they're more compact to work with.
Just dive in, and have fun! What have you got to lose?
Welcome Linda!!!! I have helped several locals get started on 2 needles with this sight.
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has been posted here several times over the years. It is a great sight for knitters with you experience and beginners. It has one of the best explanations for grafting aka the kitchener stitch. Don't be afraid You will find most sights refer you to the sight above for help on 2 circulars, have fun! Also look over this Google search I made. You will find
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wealth of info.I have knitted with 4 and 5 double points, 2 circulars, and the "Magic Loop". The last is my favorite. We have a few people that like " TWO at ONCE on TWO CIRCULARS. They say they will never do one sock at a time again and they are adamant about it. :) Wooly was right about the toe up, it is easier to get a good fit. You can do the increases until it feels comfortable and length to the instep. 2 circulars make it easy to try on the socks. way easier the 4 or five double pointed needles.
The favorite in my local group is the same as Wooly. Top down on 2 circular needles.
I have also done two at once on the Magic Loop, don't try it first it is not easier if you do not know what to expect out of the sock. You will not have any trouble if you follow Wooly's advice on the 2 circulars.
Let us know how you do, we will be waiting to her from you Linda, please ask many questions. Some one here will have an answer for you.
This is a search I did on " socks on 2 circulars" on google. In a few months you will be doing the same as us, adapting any sock pattern to the sock knitting system you learn to enjoy the most. You will!!!
I haven't done socks on 2 circs yet. My LYS didn't have the right sizes in stock, so while I got the book (Cat Bordhi's), and I had the yarn, I had to use DPNs because I didn't want to wait a month to get started.
If you end up using DPNs, from another newbie sock maker, here are my tips: If your feet are larger than a size US 8 (the "average") like mine, you may find it hard to work with 6 inch DPNs when you get to the foot or leg portion (depending on if you go top down like me or toe up like others, my patt is top down so that's the one I'm following). I had to switch to 8 inch DPNs because of the worry of sts falling off the needles since my patt calls for 3 holding ndls and
1 working ndl because my ankle minus 1 inch measurement is 8.5 inches. I didn't try 4 holding and 1 knitting because I've never done this patt before and am not confident in messing around with it until I get the first sock done. Point protectors made the work too heavy to manipulate, so I had to go to a diff LYS to buy 8 inch DPNs. HOWEVER, when I cast on for the second sock, I will work it this way, use 6 inch DPNs for the ribbing, it's more compact, and will help avoid large holes at the joins, and when I do the heel, it will also be on 6 inch DPNs, but the rest will be done on 8 inchers.
I also recommend wood/bamboo DPNs, because they are a little stickier and less likely to fall out of your work. I have worked in the round many times before, and I have some metal DPNs which slip through the work much more easily than wood/bamboo. Also, if you get wood/bamboo, try and make sure all the points are the same sharpness before you buy them. One of my Crystal Palace bamboo DPNs was a LOT more blunt than the others and since the LYS I got them from is hard for me to get to, I ended up sanding it down and spraying it with wood finish to make the tips match the other needles as the single blunt one made it too hard to pull sts through. Yes, I switched to the 5th needle in the pack, but in order to have a full working set, I had to either pull them all out and find time to return them for an exchange when the LYS is open, or I could redo it myself. Since I'm familiar with making wood ndls, it was no big deal to refinish it after asking advice here. It took fine sandpaper and a couple of nail buffing boards, patience, and careful work to make the tips match the others, and a lot of drying time in the shed since the spray on wood finish has a strong smell to it. The other LYS I made it to for the 8 inch DPNs has Skacel, not sure what kind of wood, but while more expensive, they were all very uniform tips, and I bought 3 sets of Skacel 8 inch DPNs in different sizes.
Also, if you're not familiar with working with DPNs and really fine yarn, the first couple of rows might go very slowly. I did my rib first, and working with very little fabric along with switching between K and P made it go very slow. Speed is back to normal now that I'm on the leg portion, nearly to the heel; I have very little time to knit, so even something like a sock takes a couple of weeks for me to find enough time to finish!
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