Toe-Up 2-At-A-Time Socks

204 Pages·2010·6.69 MB·English

by  Melissa Morgan-Oakes

Toe-Up 2-at-a-Time Socks
Toe-Up 2-at-a-Time Socks
MELISSA MORGAN-OAKES
Photography by John Gruen
The mission of Storey Publishing is to serve our customers by
publishing practical information that encourages
personal independence in harmony with the environment.
Edited by Gwen Steege and Kathy Brock
Art direction and book design by Mary Winkelman Velgos
Text production by Liseann Karandisecky
Photography by © John Gruen
Photo styling by Raina Kattelson
How-to illustrations by Alison Kolesar
Charts by Leslie Anne Charles
Indexed by Nancy D. Wood
© 2010 by Melissa Morgan-Oakes
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without written
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passages or reproduce illustrations in a review with appropriate credits; nor may
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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Morgan-Oakes, Melissa.
Toe-up 2-at-a-time socks / by Melissa Morgan-Oakes.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-60342-533-9 (hardcover with concealed wire-o : alk. paper)
1. Knitting—Patterns. 2. Socks. I. Title. II. Title: Toe-up-two-at-a-time socks.
TT825.M6663 2010
746.43′2041—dc22
2009052447
For Gene,
The other day I was breathing,
you know, in and out, in and out?
And suddenly I realized that
what I was breathing was you.
Thank you.
Contents
Can’t Get Away from Those Socks!
Chapter 1 Needles, Yarn, and Other Basics
The Nicest Needles
The Yummiest Yarns
Cast Ons and Bind Offs
Adapting Toe-Up2-at-a-Time Socks
Chapter 2 Step-by-Step2-at-a-Time
Toe-Up Sock Anatomy
Toe-Up Math
Sample Toe-Up Socks
Knitting the Sample Socks
Chapter 3 Toe-Up 2-at-a-Time Patterns
Kid Stuff
Soft Waves
Tuscany
On the Town
Seagrass
Graphic
April
Ballet
Twisted Baskets
Simplicity
The Keep
Raindrops
Wavelength
Peppercorn
Helix
Appendix
Abbreviations
Glossary
Resources
Standard Sock Sizes
Acknowledgments
Index
Can’t Get Away from Those Socks!
As soon as the last word was written for 2-at-a-Time Socks, the idea of a toe-
up sock book began to grow in my mind. I’d made a decision to stop with socks
for a bit, just a little bit, and knit things that were not socks, and not two at a time
on one long circular needle. I sat down with yarn and needles, and considered
what I could create. Within a few minutes and without fully realizing it, I had
cast on for a pair of toe-up socks, two at a time, reasoning that they were not
really the same as “regular” socks; after all, they began at the opposite end of
things, right? Nice try, but in the end what I had were socks. More socks, still
two at once, still matching when they’re done, just “upside down.” Obviously I
wasn’t going to get out of socks that easily.
Not being a fan of the shortrow heel, I played around with unraveling the heel
turn and flap of a top-down sock in my mind, and soon came up with my own
way of doing things. Now, I am sure that someone out there is doing the same
thing I do, and for all I know they’ve written it down already. There are only so
many ways to do a thing, after all. But this is my personal take on a particular
knitting technique, and I am, as before, biased in its favor. Like 2-at-a-Time
Socks, this book does reflect my personal preferences in terms of heels, toes,
yarns, and such. It’s my book, so I get to be biased. The heels in this book are all
turned heels with a flap of sorts. I believe that they fit better and are more
comfortable than a shortrow heel. And as with 2-at-a-Time Socks, I encourage
you to use whatever heel method you prefer. Once you’ve mastered the