Thumb Attempt #2

I'm still stewing in disappointment that the Cat Bordhi-inspired afterthought thumb won't work. It was just so clean! The thing I really hate about mittens and gloves is darning all the holes at the base of fingers and thumbs.

Since I need to increase the mitten circumference around the base of the thumb, there are two obvious paths. After knitting the finger portion:

1. Knit a separate, tip-down thumb and join it at that point, then complete the mitten by decreasing down through the palm to the wrist.
2. Cast on extra stitches, and continue working down the palm to the wrist. Work the thumb last by picking up held stitches and knitting to the tip.

For the first option, I like the I-cord technique from Handknitting with Meg Swanson. (nonaKnits also has instructions if you can't get your hands on Swanson's book).

• The thumb circumference is about 33% of the hand circumference. Cast on half the stitches on a DPN.(Example: my mitten is 42 stitches around the hand, so the thumb will be 1/3 of that, or 14 sts; I cast on 7).
• Work 1 row of I-cord.
• In the second row of I-cord, K1, then repeat [M1, K1].
• Work I-cord until thumb is desired length.
• With a crochet hook, find the first horizontal bar at the tip, twist it into a loop, then chain up the ladders to close the gap in your tube.

At this point, you can pop the finger and thumb pieces on your hand to see where the thumb should join and how many stitches meet up. Put the stitches to be joined on holders; you can graft them closed at the end.

Work a decreasing gusset at the base of the thumb stitches as you work down the palm toward the wrist.

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Aside from the I-cord thumb, there's not much I like about this. The grafting is a pain, and there are messy holes to sew up at the end. I think working the thumb last is a better plan.

Antepenultimate Toe

Recent experiments in the Evil Genius lab have caused me to contemplate sock toes. My "Go To" toe remains the Just Start Knitting toe, but it's less than ideal in some situations.

I recently encountered the Knitting Swede's Rounded Toe. This is a great method; because the increases aren't stacked on top of one another, it eliminates the visible band, producing a smoother fabric. Because the increase rate is faster than usual -- 8 increases in 3 rounds instead of 4 -- the resulting toe is shorter than most. If you have short toes, you might prefer that.

I wanted something a little longer, so borrowing the Knitting Swede's method of offsetting the increases, I started working from an earlier experiment that produces a toe-up version of the Francie sock. This is the result:

While working on this, I knew it wouldn't be the "Ultimate Toe." I was thinking of it as the "Penultimate Toe," but I still think it falls somewhat short of the mark. Here, then, are the instructions for the...

ANTEPENULTIMATE SOCK TOE

Turkish Cast-on 8. Knit 1.5 rounds (16 sts total).

Begin toe increases:

1. k1, yo, k6, yo, k1; repeat for top of sock (20 sts total)
2. k1, ktbl, k1, yo, k4, yo, k1, k-twist*, k1; repeat (24 sts total)
3. k1, yo, k2, ktbl, k4, k-twist, k2, yo, k1; repeat (28 sts total)
4. k1, ktbl, k1, yo, k8, yo, k1, k-twist, k1; repeat (32 sts total)
5. k3, ktbl, k8, k-twist, k3; repeat (32 sts total)

Begin alternate increase rows.

1. k1, yo, k14, yo, k1; repeat for top of sock (36 sts)
2. [and all even rounds] knit, twisting the yarnovers as established
3. k3, yo, k12, yo, k3; repeat (40 sts)
5. k5, yo, k10, yo, k5; repeat (44 sts)
7. k7. yo, k8, yo, k7; repeat (48 sts)
9. k9, yo, k6, yo, k9; repeat (52 sts)
11. k11, yo, k4, yo, k11; repeat (56 sts)
13. k13, yo, k2, yo, k13; repeat (60 sts)
    

I wasn't quite up to my desired circumference at this point, so I continued adding increases to the sides of the sock, as the Knitting Swede does.

15. k1, yo, k28, yo, k1 (64 sts)
17. k3, yo, k26, yo, k3 (68 sts)
    

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* k-twist: Slip next stitch knitwise onto the right needle, changing its mount. Slip the stitch back to the left needle purlwise; the front leg of the stitch now lies in back of the needle while the back leg of the stitch comes down the front of the needle. Knit the back leg like it's a normal stitch, which further twists it to the right.

Evil Genius Heel Replacement

As I mentioned, my aunt had worn through the heel bottom of her favorite pair of socks. I got inspired yesterday to try fixing them: although the original socks were knit cuff-down, I figured I could fix them using the heel turn method from my toe-up Evil Genius Socks.

I ran a circular needle through the stitches along one side of the heel flap, across the bottom, then up the other side of the flap. I purled back across those stitches with my replacement yarn, and then followed the Evil Genius Lessons to turn a new heel and work a new flap.

I had to modify the instructions slightly, since I couldn't work the complete sock round to pick up up my wraps (I just left the wraps in place). I grafted the top of the new flap to the bottom of the old cuff, then cut and unraveled the old heel.

It's not perfect. Obviously, the pretty, pale blue sock now has a drab, gray flap stuck on the back of it. (Still, it coordinates better than all the other options I considered at the yarn shop). I'm sure it won't be as comfortable as before.

Both socks began to unravel in unexpected places once I was finished, so I had to do some emergency suturing to keep things together. I expect that there are other areas where the old yarn will work loose from the new heel.

Still, it was worth a try. I'm really rather proud to have figured this out, and amazed that it worked as well as it did. It's probably not permanent (and I hope my family doesn't expect me to make a habit of such repair jobs), but I think it will squeeze a little more life out of these socks.

Center-pull Ball Holder

I decided that I better work both sleeves of the Wash Sweater at once. That way, if I stall out again, I won't have to figure out how to make the second sleeve match the first: each decision I make I will make for both sleeves simultaneously so they'll match without any extra pain and effort.

I also decided to work from the inside and outside of a center-pull ball, so that the inconsistent dye jobs on the yarn will at least match sleeve to sleeve. But my yarn was tangling. After a couple attempts to mangle a wire hanger into shape, I came up with this:

Something heavier would probably work better to keep the whole thing place, but this does seem to be doing the job: the ball doesn't flip around, and I can keep the strands from winding around each other.

"You're Still Putting Me On" Socks

I've found it -- a new perfect sock pattern. Ironically, it's the first sock pattern that I fell in love with and used over and over: Judy Gibson's "You're Putting Me On" Socks.

My new perfect pattern is actually a mash-up of YPMO and Brooke Chenoweth Creel's Widdershins. Widdershins is only for one size, while YPMO is charted to adapt to various circumferences and has a handy guide for when to start the gusset increases. The only problem with YPMO is the ridge that forms beneath the heel, but there is no such ridge in Widdershins. So here is my Widdershins-inspired revision of the "You're Putting Me On" heel. Stitch markers make it very easy. The numbers for [K], [P], and [A] are from the YPMO chart.

Set-up and Turn Heel
After finishing the gussets, knit around to the center of the sole stitches. Place heel markers [K] ____ stitches away on either side of the center to mark the area for the heel.

Row 1: Knit to 2 stitches before heel marker. Lift the stitch below the stitch to the left and knit it, k1, wrap and turn.

Row 2: Purl 3, place turning marker, purl up to 2 stitches before the end of heel stitches. Lift the stitch below the stitch to the left and purl it, p1, wrap and turn.

Row 3: Knit 3, place another turning marker, knit to other turning marker and remove it temporarily. Lift the stitch below the stitch to the left and knit it, k1, wrap and turn.

Row 4: Purl 3, place turning marker, purl to other turning marker and remove it temporarily. Lift the stitch below the stitch to the left and purl it, p1, wrap and turn.

Repeat rows 3 & 4 until you have increased to [P] ____ stitches for the heel (between the heel markers, ignoring the turning markers you use in rows 3 & 4).

Knit one complete round, making sure to knit the wraps with the stitches that they are wrapping.

Heel Flap
Knit to end of heel stitches, combining the last heel stitch with the next stitch using SSK. Turn, slip the first stitch, and purl across heel stitches, combining the last heel stitch with the next stitch using P2tog. Repeat until you are back to your original sock circumference, or [A] ____ stitches.

The YPMO sock pattern doesn't call for it, but if you like the reinforced heel stitch you can work the knit side with a sl1-k1 repeat. I also think it's helpful during your first round after completing the heel flap to pick up stitches on either side of the flap. This closes the gap that forms at the top of the heel flap.

Sock Insomnia

Four nights in the past week, I've lain awake thinking about toe up socks. It's pathological. But I've felt close to a breakthrough on a new perfect sock pattern, one that incorporates all the best ideas, requires minimal pre-planning, and carries a clever elegance for a dash of intellectual delight that will keep me faithful to it for years to come.

Oh, and while I don't mind devoting lots of mental energy to construction and technique, I don't think I should have to work very hard to make it fit. What I'd really like is to find a way to knit fantastically fitting socks just by knowing the recipient's shoe size.

I was thinking that the answer might be some sort of mash-up between Widdershins and Queen Kahuna, with maybe a few dashes of Charlene Schurch, Nancy Bush, and Priscilla Gibson-Roberts. I expected to draw on the work done by Mel and Tallguy: Mel's work makes the Widdershins instructions more generic than the original, while Tallguy is working out a version that relies more on percentages.

(Mel, I love your adaptation. I just have this feeling that for larger feet, you'd want more gusset increases and that the heel turning instructions would somehow vary depending on gauge and foot size).

There's a chance that someone beat me to it. It seems that K2Karen has been on the same quest I have, following pretty much the same guides. She does the same toe that I do, and she's worked out a chart for adapting the Widdershins heel to different sizes. When I tried it, my sock came out shorter than I expected, the heel somewhat blockier, but I still think there's potential there.

I goofed on the heel flap, but I was so tired of reworking this sock (I've frogged and reknit the heel six times already, trying to make different sets of instructions work), that I tossed it aside and picked up another pair in progress. This one follows Schurch's idea to knit a heel flap for the sole of the foot. Good but not great. I'm generally pleased with these, but this will not be my preferred sock construction method going forward.

Queen Kahuna, revisited

When I finally settled down and began reading Queen Kahuna's book, I realized I was going to have to take back some of the snarky things I said in the last post. There's good stuff in there.

First of all, I should say that Mary Ann Beattie does a good job of justifying her style. "Crazy Toes & Heels" is purposefully written for the visual learner. She is deliberately careful to write complete instructions and provide illustrations for every step. And I have to admit, sometimes this was helpful to me. Her "no wrap - no gap" short row method is identical to the Sherman Sock stitch encroachment technique, but the illustrations explain it much better, and I think I'll give this method another try.

The book really is packed with gems to add to your sock-knitting arsenal. I'm particularly taken with her suggestion to knit the first round of the toe with both the working yarn and the cast-on tail, then in the next round working some of those doubled stitches separately to effect a rapid increase. The result is a very attractive, round toe. The next time I do a cuff-down sock, I think I'll try finishing it off with "Cathy's Creation toe," which creates a band across the front.

Last night I began experimenting with the Queen Kahuna techniques using some Interlacements Tiny Toes. I still think Turkish cast-on can't be beat -- what can be easier than wrapping the yarn around your needle? And I like the speed of increasing with yarn-overs rather than the lifted increases Beattie recommends (she makes a good case for them, though).^* I decided to give her fan toe a try, and I like the effect.

I am disappointed that she offers no guesstimating guide for when to start the gusset increases -- like, begin gusset increases when you have knit 60% of the planned sock length -- but I expect that really does depend on gauge and actual foot measurements. (Hmm. Maybe what I need to do is create a website where people I knit for could enter their foot measurements and the results would get emailed to me, like my own version of the Sockulator V.)

In short, reading the Queen Kahuna guide is like taking a class from an affable, experienced teacher, who will patiently explain every step to you while also offering you handy tips for making things a bit easier. Is it really worth $25 plus shipping? Probably not, but in the final analysis, I'm glad to add it to my own knitting library.

^* Update 3/18: Beattie's variation on (and explanation of) lifted increases is the best I've ever seen. I've tried lifted increases before, and never liked them. Her method involves a different way of picking up and manipulating the various stitches, and the effect is very clean.

The Gusset Experiment

As I've said before, the main reason I adore Simple Socks, Plain and Fancy is the nearly fool-proof method for making socks that fit. But it's only nearly fool-proof: many people prefer the fit of the standard top-down sock that uses a gusset for shaping, and affords a roomier fit around the top of the instep.

So the Gusset Experiment is based on this hypothesis: the fit of the sock can easily be improved if, at a point roughly one inch (or x rounds) before starting a short-row heel, you begin increasing every other round on both sides of the sock. Complete the short-row heel, and then begin decreasing on subsequent rounds until you've returned to your desired circumference. I also propose that x is generally equal to 20% of the number of circumference stitches, the same number as the width of the toe or the point of the heel in Priscilla Gibson-Roberts' formulation.

My first pass at this was with some gray Trekking XXL, which knits up 8 sts/in for me on 2.25 mm needles (size 1). For my foot, that means 72 stitches for the circumference. I cast on 14 stitches (20%) for the toe, and began knitting the typical toe-up version of a banded toe.

After several inches into the foot, I checked my vertical gauge. 14 rows was a little over an inch, so about an inch before reaching my desired length, I began adding stitches on either side of the instep, increasing every other round for 14 rounds. (M1R, knit across instep, M1L). I then knit the short row heel over 36 stitches (50% of the original circumference count).

I learned that I prefer decreases at the opposite side of the gusset from my increases. So since I increased on the instep side, I would decrease on the heel side. (Knit gusset stitch together with first heel-side stitch, knit heel stitches, join last heel-side stitch with gusset stitch using SSK). When all the additional gusset stitches have been decreased away, I've reached the point where PGR recommends beginning the ankle ribbing.

These socks were feeling a bit snug -- they never would've fit properly if I hadn't put in the gusset increases. In the picture to the left, you can see how the gusset makes the sock wider at the point it needs to be. To keep the sock from pulling too tightly at the ankle, I didn't decrease all the additional stitches, and worked the ankle over 76 stitches instead of the original circumference of 72. (The back of the ankle is simple K2P2 ribbing; creates a better fit for me than continuing the dragon scale pattern all the way around).


Wider Wyvern Scales
Early in the year, a listsib mentioned the Wyvern Sock pattern. I glanced at it, thought it was interesting, but probably not for me. But then I began a pair of socks in gray Trekking XXL for my gusset experiment, and once I had completed the toe, the yarn said, "Make me into dragon scales."

Because the Trekking has a smaller gauge than the pattern calls for, I needed to widen the scale pattern; my scales are worked over 32 stitches instead of the 26 in the original pattern. My chart is below.


One sock down. One to go.

Tinking Time

I've been thinking for some time that Listsib JoVE is right, and I can make better-fitting socks by adding some stitches for a gusset. So I decided to experiment with the current sock project: a pair made from some gray and taupe Trekking XXL adapted from the Wyvern Socks pattern.

All was great for the increases. Almost an inch before I was ready to knit the heel, I began adding stitches on either side of the instep, increasing every other round for 14 rounds. I could tell by slipping it on that the fit was greatly improved. I made the heel, and then began decreasing. That's where things went wrong.


The red lines are there to highlight what I don't like. The ridge created by the increases suddenly angles to the left. And notice how the stitches to the left of the increase/decrease ridge seem to curve around, forming an arch? Yuck.

I think I'll be happier if I decrease someplace other than the point where I increased, maybe seven stitches over, on the "heel" side rather than the "instep" side. But getting back there is going to be painful, slowly un-knitting (or tinking) back to before the decreases I dislike.

Knitting the Wong Way

My mom taught me to knit in 1999, when we were visiting my sister in Maine for Thanksgiving. She laments that I'm a better knitter than she is. It's not true: I just get bored more easily, and I have stubborn rules about sewing, so that makes me more adventurous. My stitches are more even, but she's faster. (She props her right needle in her lap, leaving her right hand free to throw the yarn).

Wanting to improve, she signed up for a class at her LYS for the Wong Way of Knitting; "It's easy on your hands, fast, and helps to improve gauge," says the shop newsletter. I figured, Eh, my technique's fine, speedy and ergonomic enough for my purposes, so I'll pass.

Well, last night one of my students was knitting with that technique and it was amazing, especially her purling. I woke up this morning thinking, "I've got to try this." So I did some Googling and was shocked to see that Andrea Wong is here in Columbus! Not visiting, but actually lives here in central Ohio. For all I know, I may actually have even talked with her in Temptations.

I keep telling you: central Ohio is a knitter's paradise.

Math anxiety

I'm about a month behind listening to Cast-On episodes, so I only recently heard Brenda kvell about the Widdershins sock pattern. I tried it before -- it was one of the aborted projects that I tried to do with the Handpainted Opal -- but didn't like it. Still, I know that Brenda has some of the same "sock issues" that I do, and if she says this may be the Holy Grail of sock patterns, then maybe, I thought, I should give it another shot. Other bloggers mentioned that the designer had written on her own blog about how to adapt the pattern to other stitch counts.

I thought I had sufficient math skills for my knitting (I whined to my GLBT-Knitsibs). I thought they were more than sufficient, actually. (Hey, I do Kakuro puzzles in bed).

And I was with the designer up to a point. I get that, if you have a 54 st circumference, you do gusset increases until you have 74 st: 27 for the instep, 14 each for the gussets, and 19 heel stitches. But I could not for the life of me figure out where that 19 comes from. The designer said:

For a round heel with a flap n stitches wide, the number of stitches below the heel turning is h(n) where h(k) = k for k.

Uh...what? I get what "h" is. I know I'm solving for "n." But what the hell is "k?"

The people on GLBT-Knit came through, leading me to realize that it's not about the math: there just need to be enough heel stitches to cover the bottom of the heel, whatever my gauge happens to be. So I made some quick notes and set off.

I leached the color out of this picture because these socks will be a gift, and the recipient sometimes reads my blog. I have to admit, except for the drama of the multi-variable equation above, the Widdershins construction is pretty cool. It reminds me a lot of Judy Gibson's You're Putting Me On socks. And I had an important sizing epiphany: a short-row heel would "begin" about halfway into your gusset increases. So with an L measurement of 6.5 inches, I'd want to begin my increases 15 rounds before I reached 6.5 (or around 5 inches, with my current gauge). Significantly more thinking is required than with my usual sock pattern, but I think this sock may be more comfortable for people with higher insteps. I think _____ is really going to like it.