Denise's Houdini Socks

First lets talk about how to make the sock pretty.

To make the increases on the toe, use the tip of the right needle to pick up the right leg of the stitch from the row below and place it on the left needle beside the stitch there. Knit it and then knit the other stitch. Sometimes you need your left index finger to keep these two stitches separated until you can get them knitted. The increase on the opposite end is a little bit more fidgety. You need to take the tip of your left needle and reach down TWO rows and pick up the left leg of the stitch there and place it on the left needle. This you knit through the back of the stitch. If you only reach down one row, you are picking up the stitch you just finished knitting and that doesn't work.

When you knit in the round, you are really knitting spirals, so it is something to make stripes look even without a little bit of work. Fortunately this is not too difficult. However, this is what I do to help fool the eye even further. I make my stripe changes on the bottom of my foot and up the back of my legs. These are usually the least seen places on the socks.

After you have finished the toe of your first sock, slide the stitches around until you are four stitches into the second needle's stitches. Attach the new color. To attach my new color, I place my right needle into my left one as to knit. Then I simply lay the new yarn between these two stitches with the short end toward me. I complete the stitch and knit on. Doing it this way will mean you have no knots to bother your foot.

When you come back around to start the second row, here is where you work your magic to make the strips not look like a jog. Remember how you reached down to the second row to pick up a stitch to make an increase? Okay, you want to do that again. Now you have two different colors side by side on the left needle. Knit these two colors together in one stitch. That's it. Complete the row. Knit as many rows as you need in this color.

When you need to change colors again, you will now need a second stitch marker. Leaving your first stitch marker in place (always) the second one will move as you add more colors. You are now ready to add the new color. Simply slip two stitches unworked to the right needle. Stick your right needle into the next left stitch, lay in the new color, and complete the stitch. Knit around. Dip down and pick up the left leg of stitch below and knit these together. Complete as many rows of color as you need.

Now you are ready to change colors again. However, look, where you picked up the first stitch leg. That stitch is stretched and it looks like you have less rows even though you don't. So, to make it visually more appealing, knit that one more stitch. You are now three stitches away from the first stitch marker. Slide two more stitches unworked onto the right needle and start the process again.

When you have knitted your last stitch of color on your last row before starting the cuff, slide all of your stitches around until you are back to your original stitch marker. Now add in your last color and start your ribbing. This way you know you will end at the exact spot where you started so the sock won't be off in any height.

Picking out the waste yarn is rather slow and tedious. Concentrate on making sure you pick up the stitch rather than its orientation on the needle. Once you have them all picked up, you can turn each stitch before you knit it.

There are some people who simply do not like working with Judy's Magic Cast On. I get it. Fortunately you do not have to in order to make toe up socks. Here's what you do with this sock to avoid JMCO.

Using waste yarn, cast on 64 stitches. Join to work in the round. Using beige (color B) work 12 rows. Change to yellow (color A) and knit 1 round. Start your decreasing on the next round. Use the decreases as described for the heel in the original pattern. Knit 1 row, decrease 1 row, until you have 10 stitches. Kitchener these close. Pick up the 64 stitches, attach tan (color C) and proceed as given in the original pattern.

This is the striping patter for the denim sock

With your base color (color A) and using Judy's Magic Cast On, cast on 10 stitches.

Knit 1 row.

Row 2. K1, increase 1, knit across to the last stitch, increase 1, K1.
Repeat on the second needle for 4 increases on the row.
Repeat these two rows until you have a total of 64 stitches, 32 on each needle.
Knit 1 more row.

Change to blue (color B) and knit 4 rows.

Change to base (color A) and knit 4 rows.
Change to green (color C) and knit 4 rows.
Change to base (color A) and knit 4 rows.
Change to purple (color D) and knit 4 rows.
Change to base (color A) and knit 4 rows.

Continue knitting this stripe pattern until the sock reaches where the foot joins the leg. For regular knitters of toe up sock, this will be further than you regularly knit.

For my size 7 foot, this was all the way through three stripes of blue, plus 4 more rows of base for a total of 56 rows.

Using waste yarn, knit across the 32 stitches on needle 1. Slide these stitches back onto needle 1 and now knit them again, this time using the base color A. Complete the row AND THEN KNIT MORE MORE ROW.

Two row of even knitting in base color completed.
K1, SSK, knit across to the last 3 stitches, K2tog, K1. Repeat on needle 2. Four decreases made on this row.
Repeat these 3 rows until you have 10 stitches left. Kitchener these stitches. The foot is complete.

Pick out the waste yarn and pick up the live stitches. Now you get to decide how you want to knit the leg. Depending on which stripe on which you ended the foot, you may want to start there. You may want to start over with blue, as you did at the toe. Or you may want to work the stripes in a backwards order, meaning as you went toward the heel the order was B, C, then D so away would be D, C, then B. You decide.

When the sock is the length you desire. change to color A and start K1,P1 ribbing for 18 rows.

Bind off using a stretchy method. Weave in all of your ends. The sock is finished. Make second sock.

This is the striping patter for the khaki sock.

With tan (color A) and using Judy's Magic Cast On, cast on 10 stitches. Knit 1 row. K1, increase 1, knit across to the last stitch, increase 1, K1. Repeat on the second needle for 4 increases on the row. Repeat these two rows until you have a total of 64 stitches, 32 on each needle. Knit 1 more row.

Change to beige (color B) and knit 12 rows.

Change to yellow (color C) and knit 4 rows.
Change to beige (color B) and knit 4 rows.
Change to brown (color D) and knit 8 rows.
Change to beige (color B) and knit 4 rows.
Change to yellow (color C) and knit 4 rows.
Change to beige (color B) and knit until the sock reaches where the foot joins the leg. For regular knitters of toe up sock, this will be further than you regularly knit.

Using waste yarn, knit across the 32 stitches on needle 1. Slide these stitches back onto needle 1 and now knit them again, this time using color E (orange). Complete the row and then knit another one. Two rows knitted in color E.

K1, SSK, knit across to the last 3 stitches, K2tog, K1. Repeat on needle 2. Four decreases made on this row. Repeat these 3 rows until you have 10 stitches left. Kitchener these stitches. The foot is complete.

Pick out the waste yarn and pick up the live stitches. Using beige (color B) knit the leg. For a look of uniformity knit the same amount of rows that you knitted in B from the end of your second row of color C and the waste yarn.

Change to yellow (color C) and knit 4 rows.

Change to color B and knit 4 rows.

Change to brown (color D) and knit 8 rows.

Change to color B and knit 4 rows.

Change to color C and knit 4 rows.

Change to color B and knit 12 rows.
Change to color A and start K1,P1 ribbing for 18 rows. Bind off using a stretchy method. Weave in all of your ends. The sock is finished.

Knit sock 2 using second striping pattern.

SECOND SOCK

 

Toe and cuff - yellow

heel - brown

narrow stripes - tan

wide strip - orange