Lesson 11 - June 26, 2020
Cast On
Practice Judy's Magic Cast-On (JMCO)
It's time to learn to cast on for toe-up socks! This is the hardest part of toe-up socks, and you will feel so accomplished once you do it.
If your yarn and/or needles haven't arrived yet, you can use scrap yarn to practice this cast-on.
Go to the Cast-Ons chapter of your Toe-Up Socks class .
Practice the cast-on a few times.
If you have questions, post in the comments below.
PS - I've received many questions from knitters in the knitalong about which patterns to use, questions on heels, and troubleshooting loose stitches. I'll be answering them as fast as I can, but I wanted to make sure you all could start learning this cast-on first. Thanks for your patience!
Quick question about losing stitches (?) for second sock on the magic loop when I did the first round. I can do the casting on just fine and have the correct number of stitches to begin with but after I knit the first 8 stitches if the first sock, the second sock has always managed to loose at least one and sometimes two stitches. What silly thing might I be doing with my hands or fingers??
Hi Beverly,
I wanted to let you know that Liat got your comment and she’s going to answer it as soon as she can.
Thanks. I sort of worked one sock beginning and then the second and will put them on one needle today. I also think I should have just turned it around and added the stitches again and then went back to knit them. I would like to know what Liat would do; I watched all of the videos of helping with the CO mistakes and they were so amazing and helpful to me!!
Hi Beverly,
This is a great question and I’m so glad you asked it! The trick is to twist the tail and working yarn of the second sock together a few times so that the stitches don’t fall off. I’ll record a video for you today.
Hi again Beverly,
I made you a video showing how not to lose the first stitches on the second sock:
https://www.knitfreedom.com/knitting-video/how-not-to-lose-stitches-when-knitting-the-first-round-of-toe-up-socks/
Let me know if this helps!
Cheers,
Liat
Thank you so much for adding that video (and others in this KAL). It is so helpful and makes this KAL so good. Your attention to detail and answering all the questions is great and I know time consuming for you – thank you! You are the bomb!
You are so welcome! I feel so appreciated, thank you!
This is the only sock pattern that actually makes sense to me. I have made maybe 6 pair already, but for some reason, (I’m sure it’s operator error), having trouble with the toe increases. It says to repeat rows 1-2 until there are (32) sts on each needle. Does that mean 16 per each side of sock? There is no way my toes are going to fit in there. But 32 on each side of sock might do the trick. I am just a little confused. So if I went 32, (64 per needle) that means I would have a total of 128 stitches if you added ALL the stitches, on both needles, correct?
Hi Vonda,
Good questions!
First, never add all the stitches for both socks together – this will never make anything clearer. The numbers in the pattern are for one individual sock at a time.
Second, it sounds like the pattern you’re using is for worsted-weight yarn (32 sts total per sock) Are you using fingering-weight yarn? You will need to use the fingering-weight pattern. Then the numbers will make sense for you.
I hope this helps!
Hi Liat, I was doing great and then somehow the knitting stitches and the beginning of round marker are in the inside of the sock. I’ve just finished the increasing and ready to knit until the sock reaches the front of my ankle. Should I keep knitting?
I have done that a few years ago and just poked the toe so it was turned to the right side out.
Hi … thanks for the feedback… I tried that but the working yarn is in the wrong place. Just wondering if I should continue to knit and then turn the socks inside out when I’m done.
Sent from MCs iPhone
Hi Margaret,
This is common. If your working yarn is in the wrong spot, you’ve gotten turned around the wrong way. I’m going to send out an email on this soon as it is a common question.
Check this post:
https://www.knitfreedom.com/blog/getting-turned-around-purl-bumps-on-outside-on-magic-loop/
If this is NOT the problem, try what Janice mentions:
https://www.knitfreedom.com/blog/getting-turned-inside-out-in-more-ways-than-one/
How do you cast on JMC left handed? I’m having problems.
That is a great question! I haven’t tried it. When we get to the JMCO part (we’re almost there) I can flip the video for you and see if that helps.
Hi Elaine,
Can you let me know if this video helps you? I flipped it horizontally so that it is like left-handed knitting.
https://youtu.be/ZX3AYUj_z9g