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General Questions

Knitalongs » August 2022 Toe-Up Socks » General Questions

Lesson 16 - July 5, 2022

General Questions

If you have questions and you can't find a place to put them, ask them here :) (in the comments)

28 thoughts on “General Questions”

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  1. Hi Liat, First thank you for offering this course! I have knotted the toe and ripped out around 13 times and I always end up with the “ear holes”. I’ve tried the trouble shooting videos but can’t seem to correct this. Did I miss a video that addresses this?
    Thanks!!

  2. I am responding to your last reply. I am doing the worsted weight toe up socks in a size large.

    I think my next step is to add another stitch to the gusset side and then begin to turn the heel?

  3. Hello,
    Well I’m almost done turning my heel, but am confused. I have 18 stitches left (looking for 16). As I watch the finishing heel video it looks like I have to knit all the away around for one row. However, if I go to my ready position, my working yarn is in the front not the back and it just doesn’t look right. Thoughts?

    1. Hi Deb,
      Thanks so much for attaching photos! That helps so much. You are correct, something’s not right here. I think somehow during the heel turn you knitted all the way across the row each time? You actually are not supposed to get all the way across the heel until the very last row of doing the heel. Can you check the heel turn video again and make sure you are not knitting too far on each row?

      You’ll need to remove your heel needle from the stitches and undo what you did until you are back to what looks like Ready Position with the two sides of the sock joined, and try again. You can send me photos at any point if you are not sure you are on the right track.

      Let me know how it goes! And don’t give up!
      Cheers,
      Liat

  4. Good morning, Liat!
    I’m a bit behind because I have also been watching your videos on continental knitting and practicing that. I am doing fair with the knit stitch and not so great on the purl stitches.
    I’ve definitely figured out the JMCO (I practiced a lot with scrap yarn). I am just now getting to knit your first row. In the pattern it says, “ Note: you will notice that on the first row only, the sts on the second needle are seated the wrong way. Knit these through the back loops to correct this. You will only have to do this once.” I am confused by this because I didn’t see you knitting through the back loops on any of the videos. Am I maybe using the wrong pattern? I have attached a pic of part of the pattern.

    Thanks,
    Barb

  5. Hi Liat!
    Well, I just finished my gusset! Whew!
    I am still struggling the find certain videos. For example, I was looking for the one where you showed to put a marker at the bottom of the foot?
    Is that in the emails you sent or My Class? I swear I’ve been looking.

    I am also looking for the link that tells how to turn any pattern into one for magic loop (hats in particular).

    1. Deb, that’s amazing, so exciting!
      I’m sorry it’s been tricky finding the videos you are looking for. Honestly, I’m not sure which video it is that I talk about putting a marker at the bottom of the foot.. If you mean marking the beginning of the round, you can just stick a marker anywhere in the right-hand side of the right-hand sock when you are in ready position.

      As far as turning any pattern into one for Magic Loop, there’s this article: https://www.knitfreedom.com/blog/magic-loop-2-0/ Let me know if this helps!
      Cheers,
      Liat

  6. Ok, I’m going to give a go and trust you! Ha! I feel like I have the concept of the Magic Loop process pretty good now. I have been practicing!
    I think part of my confusion is keeping where “I” should be among your many directions. I’m going to get though!

    1. Hooray! Thank you for your trust. I’m glad you’ve been practicing Magic Loop. That will help a lot.
      I’m sorry it’s difficult to keep track of where you are/where you should be. Some of the other online class software like Teachable let you mark off which chapters you’ve completed, and I think that would be very helpful on my site as well. The table of contents of the online class mirrors the order of the pattern itself, so you can go step by step in the pattern and the online class. I hope this helps.

  7. Hi Liat, Thank you for helping me sort out the difference between the “class” and the videos. I have been very worried I’m holding up the train. LOL!
    I did as you suggested using a difference set of needles and did another gauge. I am still using the worsted weight yarn as I think it is still my best option at this point.
    My gauge is 5 st/in using size 8 needles. What size “should” I be using to fit my foot which is 8″ at the widest part. I’m going to start all over again. I’m glad to hear you will be able to support me in my endeavor. I’m beginning to think I should have started with your hat KAL! Deb

    1. Great! 5 sts/in is a great gauge to learn socks. You can use this pattern: Worsted Toe-Up Socks and choose the Medium size.
      The My First Hat class is a great option to get comfortable using Magic Loop and that class will always be available if you want to take advantage of it. But I did say that you CAN do the socks without much Magic Loop experience, and that I would help you. So I appreciate your patience and I’m glad you’re coming here to ask questions when you’re stuck so that I can help you.
      Let me know how it goes as you start the new pattern!
      Cheers,
      Liat

  8. Whoops one more question. I went to Ravelry and wanted to sign up for your weekly tips, but the link would not take me there. Is there another way?

    1. Hi Deb,
      I’ll answer this question first. I’m sorry for the broken link from Ravelry. If you can post a screenshot or tell me what page on Ravelry you clicked from, I’ll update the link. I’ve added you to our weekly tips email series, you’ll start receiving it now. Cheers!

  9. OK…so I am really going to ask a couple of dumb questions here… First of all I have never done a KAL before – so… I believe I should be going to the title that says “my class” to view the KAL video? I have been watching a lot of videos trying to comprehend the process, but am still not “quite” sure where I am supposed to be looking.
    So if I understanding correctly this “class” would be done when I have completed all of the “class” videos whether that takes me two weeks or two months? How long are you available for us to ask questions.
    I started a too big sock, but now you suggested I download the pattern which I did,magic loop in size 8 or 10. I’m going to go back and start with just ONE sock, but I think I need to do another gauge since I still am confused as to which size of needle to use. As I am looking at the pattern, I think I am going to try a size 8 needle with worsted weight yarn hoping for a 4.5 st/in. Is that correct? Geeze…
    My foot measurement is 8″ (Good grief! I hope all of your students are not as dense as I seem to be and hoping I don’t slow down anyone else… again I have never done a KAL before). LOL! Thank you for your kind responses. By the way, we had our first negative test for COVID today!

    1. Hi Deb! So glad you are asking your questions here, and I’m sorry if any of this has been confusing.

      First, congrats on testing negative for COVID!! Hooray.

      So you’re not slowing down anyone – everyone is going at their own pace, which is one of the benefits of a KnitFreedom knitalong. :) I’ll support you until you’re done with your socks, no matter how long it takes.

      I get that it can be confusing with the knitalong and the “class” being two separate things, so I’ll try to clear that up here:

      You purchased our Toe-Up Socks video class as part of this knitalong. You have access to that class for life, and you can refer to the videos any time you need. They’re not going anywhere. The class is a stand-alone tutorial walking you through the basic pattern and many common questions or issues you may run into. So if you follow the videos in the class, in order, you’ll be able to knit the socks. The emails I’ve been sending out walking you through the different sections of the class are an added bonus that you only get as part of the knitalong. You don’t really need them because you have the entire class there for you, but they can help you take things step-by-step if you just follow my emails.

      In addition, I will support you in any questions you have about knitting the socks, whether today or next year or in five years. For now, I prefer you to ask questions here as comments on the knitalong lessons, as you have been doing, so others in the knitalong can benefit from reading the answers as well. If you have questions in six months or a year or five years from now, you can comment here or ask me by email ([email protected]) – whatever is most convenient for you.

      Regarding your sock, let’s take it one step at a time. If you are going to change needles, please knit another gauge swatch in the round to check your gauge and we’ll go from there. You don’t have to hope for any particular gauge – that could be stressful and cause you to alter your knitting somehow. Just knit comfortably and see what gauge you get. Then we’ll find the right pattern for you or change needle sizes if needed.

      Great that you measured your foot. You’ll be a Medium or Medium-Large, depending on which pattern we end up choosing. I hope this helps and let me know if you have any questions.

      Cheers,
      Liat

    1. Hi Maria,

      If you mean you can’t see the photos posted as comments to these lessons, it’s probably because the photo uploader was broken until this morning and I wasn’t aware of it. I’ve fixed it now in case you or anyone else wants to upload photos as attachments to your comments. I hope this helps!

      Liat

  10. Hi Liat, I just tried to send you a message but I am having some trouble with my computer so I logged out and relogged in so if you have this, please let me know. I decided to take a bit of a detour on the lesson plan. My husband and I both came down with COVID and we are still testing positive which put a delay in my practice! I thought since I was having a bit of a problem with the two and at at time, I thought maybe I should just try to do one sock on magic loop with worsted weight yarn, size 6 needles which I know would be too big for me; but I was more concerned with the “process” rather than having an exact pair to wear! Do you think I can still follow along with this modification?

    1. Hi Deb,

      Oh no! I’m so sorry to hear that you are sick. I did get your other comment as well but I will answer you here. You can absolutely do one sock at a time and use worsted-weight yarn. That’s a great way to keep learning without as much stress.

      There is no reason the sock has to be too big for you – we have patterns for worsted-weight yarn that will fit you. Here is our worsted-weight pattern – it works for a gauge of 5 and 5.5 sts/in. https://www.knitfreedom.com/free-pattern/toe-up-worsted-socks/

      Let me know how that sounds! And rest up.
      Liat

  11. Patrice Phillips

    Hi Liat,

    I realized my name was showing as Trix instead of my actual name, so I changed it in my profile…. So now, – this is Patrice, same person as Trix in the previous comment…

    Anyway – thanks so much for your advice! Now that I understand what I was doing to cause the tight stitches, I can pay more attention to it and hopefully prevent it. I’m doing better, but it is amazing how easy it is to pull that first stitch too tight. But I’ll work on that.

    I watched several of your Magic Loop troubleshooting videos this morning. Very helpful. And I’m doing the YO as you said above and I like that better. I’m working on these with “practice” yarn and needles while I wait for my Addi Rockets to arrive. Then, I’ll start all over. Since I know I’m going to start over anyway, I’ll try the KFB increase for a few to see how I like the look of that compared to the YO way.

    thanks again!
    Patrice

    1. Hi Patrice,
      Yay, thanks for changing your name in your profile! You’re probably the first person who has ever done that.
      I am thinking with the YOs you’re going to get holes, even if you knit them through the back loops. I’m looking forward to seeing what you decide to go with.

  12. Hi! I have a few questions. One is about needles and the other is about the M1 increases. I’ll put them both here in General because I don’t see a section specifically for them.

    I have ChiaoGoo stainless steel needles with the red cable. I would like your opinion on whether or not I should buy the Addi Lace needles for this. I think the CG are plenty sharp, but the cable gets a bit wonky when doing magic loop. Your thoughts??

    Next, I am having a hard time with the M1 increases (even with worsted weight!). What do you think of placing a YO in the row below where I am going to need the M1 in the next row, then knitting into the back loop of it when I get to it in the next row? Seems like it does the same thing, but with less struggle.

    Last, when I go to turn my work and pull the stitches onto the needle I was just knitting with – the last two stitches (on the left) are extremely tight and I have a hard time sliding them onto the needle. I’m sure this is a common newbie mistake, but I can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong.

    Thanks so much for hosting this KAL! It is my first KAL and only my second pair of socks. I knit a pair about 10 years ago, then gave up…. Trying again!

    1. Hi Trix,

      Great questions! And this is the perfect spot for them. If it turns out people have lots of questions about either of these things I can make a separate lesson and move our comments.

      About your needles: I do not personally have experience with the ChiaGoo needles although I have heard from LOTS of KnitFreedom students that they love them. However, if the cable is bothering you AT ALL, this is not something that will just go away on its own. Knitting on Magic Loop should be a pleasure and a joy, so if you feel any sort of snag in the join of the cable, or if the needles are bothering you, this is something to address.

      For me, you can’t go wrong with Addi needles because the join is just completely unnoticeable. It’s very smooth. However, I don’t buy Addi Lace needles that often because I like to knit fast and the coating on the needles is meant to give a bit more traction on the yarn so the stitches don’t slide around so much – that’s very good for lace knitting. For socks, you might consider Addi Rockets, which have sharp tips and a smooth nickel finish that will make your knitting fast. Imagiknit is providing a discount on all their Addi needles to knitalong members during this knitalong.

      If you are having a hard time with the M1 increases, you’re not the only one. You could do a YO and then knit it through the back loop, although I’d suggest you doing the YO on the round where the increase is required and then knitting it through the back loop on the plain round. Another alternative is to use the KFB increase. Here’s the video in your socks class showing how to do that. It is quite straightforward.

      Lastly, if your last two stitches are extremely tight, this is something to address immediately as well. It is a common newbie mistake, and it comes from pulling the first stitch at the beginning of the round too tight. Here’s how to avoid pulling the first stitch too tight on Magic Loop.

      I am so glad you joined this knitalong. Your questions here will not only help you grow and enjoy knitting more, they’ll also help everyone else who reads them! I think you’re going to knit a lot more socks after this KAL. Most students do.

      Let me know how all of this works out!

      Cheers,
      Liat

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