Creative Knitting – Beyond Knit and Purl

I designed my Double Knit Cozy Slipper Socks so I could use the “Slipper Toe”  pattern I stumbled on to while playing around with short rows.   I am delighted with the results.  And …. they feel so…… good on my feet.  My husband even said he might like a pair for next winter.  Hummmm… , maybe I could chart an  elk on them. There were nine on the hill behind the house this morning.

Here are the pictures of the ballerina slipper.  I will post the pattern as soon as it it off the press.

You will notice that I incorporated that rose I used in “Charting Your Knitting Ideas.”  Next time I’ll turn it around so I can see it.

Beside using the Slipper Toe, I was able to use several techniques for this project.  I picked up my stitches for the ribbing as I went- yes,  picked ‘um up on the fly.

I used the invisible cast off, which provided me with a tube through which to slide my elastic thread, for a nice fit.

Combine that with the fun of  double knitting, and what more could a girl ask for?

You may purchase the pattern in my Etsy store.  Click here.

I thought I would share tip with those of you who might NOT have done a lot of Magic Loop knitting.

Last night I was working on a pair of socks for my friend, and in the process of putting pictures of her Doxies on the leg  portion, using the Armenian weaving method,  I discovered that if  I divided my sock into smaller sections,  I didn’t have to worry about the ” laddering” at the needle divisions.  It  allowed me to lay the adjacent section out flat before proceeding to the next one to the left.   Here’s the  pictures of what I mean.

These three smaller sections (three Doxies, sections A, B and C) of stitches allowed me better control over the tension of the floats, especially between the sections.  It also saved me from having to use markers to identify the beginning of the chart, or new dog.

Hummmmmmmm??  Why,  I might be able to use this method as if I had double point needles.

I think I am going to opt for a 47 inch next time I order my needles from KnitPicks. I could , of course, pull the cord out at every section, but I guess I’m not very keen on pinching and pulling.

Below is a picture of the left foot sock, finished with an invisible cast off- my favorite.  This toe shape is the one I posted in “New Toe Shapes for Toe-up Socks.”

This cast off looks very professional. It makes your sock look like it came right from the factory.  I learned this wonderful technique from  a book by Peg Arnoldussen, entitled, “Essential Techniques for Serious Knitters.”  The book also includes working with “steeks” as well as various finishing tips. It is inexpensive and well worth the money.

You can get her book here.

Just a PS.  My socks are modeled on a sock form I made from an old sock. Just stuffed it with fiber fill, and made a heavy folded paper ring to go in the leg part.  It works great.

My most recent post showed you a method of shaping your toe-up socks by starting them off with a waste yarn crocheted chain.  Taking that one step further,  I thought I would show you the Tabby Sock I designed using the same method.

As you can see in the photo above,  I measured the width around my big toe about a half inch from the tip.  Dividing this in half gave me the CO width for my Toe Tip Cap for this section of the Tabby Sock.

Calculating the stitches using my gauge (9 sts , and 12 rows per inch), I made my chain, adding 10 additional chain sts for something to hang on to, and proceeded to pick up the number of  CO stitches required.

Next, I worked  3 short rows each side to make my cap.  Picking up the stitches off the chain, and I knitted in the round with no increases till my toe measure about 2 inches.  * This measurement was  1/4  inch longer than the inside length of my toe, to allow for the two sections to meet in the middle of the gap.  Not allowing this extra length would have  made it uncomfortable to wear.

Leaving a long tail, I cut the yarn, put the live stitches on some waste yarn and proceed to the next toe section.

The four toe section Toe Tip Cap is made exactly like the pattern in this tutorial-More toes tutorial,  the only difference is that you only need to measure the width of the first two toes adjacent to the big toe, to calculate your CO stitches.  Work the increases on one side only, till you have the number of stitches needed for the width of the four toe base. See below.

Once this section is done, place it on a piece of waste yarn so that it will be flexible.  Do not break you yarn.

Now, using the tail from your big toe section, Kitchener stitch the big toe and four toe section together, using about a third of the stitches from the big toe section.  Secure the yarn, and weave it in.  Next, pick up the stitches off the waste yarn from both sections.

Knit around, picking up at least 3 stitches where the section are joined (front and back). These extra stitches make the sock more comfortable to wear. Try it on!  If it needs a few more stitches in the gap, this is the time to do it!!

From here you can proceed with whatever style sock  you want.

Hummmmmm???? I wonder if this could work for mittens, too?? I can just imagine have all those little finger tip caps lying around.