JudysMagicCastOnForToeUpSocks

ByJudyBecker Thereareadvantagestoknittingsockstoeup.Forexample,thesockcanbetriedonas yougo,sothefitisperfect.Ifyouarenotsureyouhaveenoughyarn,youcanknitboth socksatthesametimeandstopwhenyouryarnrunsout. Therearevariouswaystostartatoeupsock:Figure8caston,provisionalcaston,long tailcastoncombinedwithgrafting,etc. Iusedtousethefigure8caston,butitleaves loosestitchesthathavetobetightenedbackinafterafewrounds.Evenwithlotsof practice,Iusuallyhadtomaketwoorthreetriesatit. Althoughinvisiblefromthe outsideofthetoe,ontheinsidethefigure8castonleavesablankspacebetweenthepurl bumpsofthefirstround. I thoughtthattheworldneededabetterway,amorehumanewaytostarttoeupsocks,so IdevelopedJudysMagicCastOn.Itsaneasytolearn,fastmethodthatstartsatthe veryendofthetoeandworksthefirsttime,everytime. Itscompletelyinvisiblefrom bothsides,anditcanbeusedwithalmostanytoeupsockpattern. Note:Theseinstructionsassumethatyouhavesomefamiliaritywithknittingsockstoe up.ThepicturesshowtheMagicCastOnusingtwocircularneedles.Instructionsfor knittingtwosocksatthesametimeandforusingthecaston withDPNsareatthe bottom. 1.Holdthetwoneedlestogether,withtheneedle thattheyarnisattachedtotowardthetop.Well callthisneedle#2andtheotherneedlewillbe needle#1. 2.Loop theyarnaroundneedle#2withthetail towardthefrontandtheworkingyarn(thestrand attachedtotheskein)towardtheback.

3.Withyourlefthand,pickuptheyarnsothatthe tailgoesoveryourindexfingerandtheworking yarngoesoveryour thumb.Thiswillmakealoop aroundthetopneedlethatcountsasonestitch.

2005,JudyABecker,Nocommercialuses,please. http://www.persistentillusion.com

JudysMagicCastOnforToeUpSocks

4.a.Whileholdingtheloopinplacewithafinger onyourrighthand,bringthetipofneedle#1over thestrandofyarnonyourfinger, b.aroundandundertheyarnandbackup, makingalooparoundneedle#1. c. Pulltheloopsnug,butnottight,aroundthe needle. Youhavecastonestitchontoneedle#1.

5.Bringneedle#2overtheyarntailonyour thumb,aroundandundertheyarn andbackup, makingalooparoundneedle#2.Pulltheloopsnug aroundtheneedle. Youhavecastonestitchontoneedle#2. Therearenowtwostitchesonneedle#2 the stitchyoujustcastonplusthefirstloop. Thetopyarnstrandalwayswrapsaroundneedle#1 (thebottomneedle),andthebottomyarnstrand alwayswrapsaroundneedle#2(thetopneedle). Justremember:Toparoundbottom,bottomaround top. 6.Repeatstep4tocastasecondstitchontoneedle#1.(bottomaroundtop) 7.Repeatstep5tocastathirdstitchontoneedle#2.(toparoundbottom) 8.Continuerepeatingsteps4and5,alternatingbetweenneedle#1andneedle#2,until youhavecastonthedesirednumberofstitchesandendingwithstep4.Youwillhave thesamenumberofstitchesoneach needle. Inthispicture,atotalof 20stitches,or 10stitches oneachneedle,havebeencaston. Theoutsideof thesocktoelooksliketworowsofoffsetloops. If youturntheneedlesover,youwillseethatthe wrongsideofthework(theinsideofyoursock) featuresarowoftwiststhatlooklikepurlbumps betweenthetwoneedles. Turnbacktotherightsidetobeginknitting.

2005,JudyABecker,Nocommercialuses,please. http://www.persistentillusion.com

JudysMagicCastOnforToeUpSocks

9.Round1: Droptheyarntailandletitdangle. Turntheneedlessothatneedle#1isonthetop. Pullneedle#2totherightuntilthestitcheslieon thecable. Pickuptheworkingyarn.Besurethat theyarntailliesbetweentheworkingyarnandthe needle.Inthepicture,youcanseehowthetail passesundertheworkingstrand(purplearrow). Knittherowof stitchesfromneedle#1. Thefirst stitch willprobablybecomeloosewhileyouare knittingit. Pullgentlyonthetailtosnugitback up. Youwillseearowofstitchesappearbetweenthetwoneedles. 10.Turntheworksothattheworkingyarnison therightandneedle#2isonthetop. Pullneedle #1totherightsothatthestitchesyoujustknitlie alongthecable.Pullneedle#2totheleftsothat itspointistowardstherightandthestitchesare readytoknitfromit.Knitthestitchesfrom needle#2. Becareful!Thecastonloopsonneedle#2are twisted.Onthefirstroundonly,besuretoknit themthroughthebackoftheloops inorderto untwistthem.Afterthisroundthestitcheswillbe normal. Youhavecompletedoneroundandarebackwhereyoustarted. Note:Dothestitchesbetweentheneedlesappeartoolooseorsloppy?Makesurewhen youcastonthatyouhavetightenedeachloopupindividuallyasyouplaceditaroundthe needle. Trytokeeptheloopsatyourregulargauge.Ifyoufindthatyourcastonstitches aretootight,youcantrycastingontoapairoflargerneedles. Therearetworowsofstitchesbetweentheneedlesnow.Theabsolutecenterofyoursock toeliesbetweenthetworowsofstitches. Wenowreturnyoutoyourregularlyscheduledtoeupsockpattern.Workthetoe increasesasspecifiedbyyourpattern.Ifyourpatternspecifiesadifferenttypeoftoe,the followinginstructionsareforatypicaltoeupsockthatstartsattheveryend: Round2: onfirstneedle,*K1,M1,Keachstitchtowithinonestitchoftheendofthe row,M1,K1,turntosecondneedle.Repeatfrom* Round3:Kall stitchesonbothneedles(noincreases).

2005,JudyABecker,Nocommercialuses,please. http://www.persistentillusion.com

JudysMagicCastOnforToeUpSocks

Repeatthesetworounds,increasing4stitcheseveryotherround,untilthetotalnumberof stitcheshasbeenreached.

Inthispicture,10roundshavebeenworkedand thereare20stitchesoneachneedle(40stitches total.

Hereyoucanseethetoespreadout.Theveryend ofthetoewherethecastonwasmadeisrightin thecenter.Theleftimageistheoutsideofthesock andtherightimageistheinside. Youcanseethatthestitchesflowoverthecenter ofthetoewithnovisiblebreakorseam.Thecast onisinvisibleonbothsides.

Thetailcanbewoveninandtrimmedatanytimeafteryouveworkedatleastonenon increaseround. IusuallyletitdangleuntilIvefinishedthetoeincreases.Sincethetail hangsatthebeginningofthefirstround,itmakesahandywayoftellingwhichsideof thesockeachroundstartson.

TousetheMagicCastOnfortwoatoncesocks, dropboththetailandtheworkingstrandswhen youhavecastonthetotalnumberofstitchesfor thefirstsock. Pushthestitchesbackalongtheneedlessothereis roomatthetipsforanothersetofstitches. Startingfromanewballofyarn,castasecondset ofstitcheson to thesameneedles.

2005,JudyABecker,Nocommercialuses,please. http://www.persistentillusion.com

JudysMagicCastOnforToeUpSocks

Workstep#9onsock#1.Droptheyarnand pickupsock#2syarn.Repeatstep#9forsock #2. Workstep#10onsock#2.Droptheyarnand pickupsock#1syarn.Repeatstep#10forsock #1.(Dontforgettoworkthestitchesthrough thebackofthelooponthisroundonly.) Continuewiththesubsequentsteps,alwaysbeing carefultoworkeachsockwithitsownballof yarn.

IfyouareknittingwithDPNs,Castontotwo needles. Workstep#9byknittingofthestitchesusing oneneedleandtheremainingofthestitches usingasecondneedle.Thestitchesmaybetight andratherawkwardtowork.Thiswillimprove afterthefirstround.

Workstep#10byknittingofthestitchesusing athirdneedle,andtheremainingofthe stitchesusingafourthneedle.(Dontforgetto workthestitchesthroughthebackoftheloopon thisroundonly.) Note:Youmayalsoworksteps#9 and#10on twoneedles,andthenslide1/2ofthestitches fromneedle#1toa3rdDPNand1/2ofthe stitchesfromneedle#2toa4thDPN.Useany methodthatendsupwith1/4ofthestitcheson eachoffourneedles. Onsubsequentrounds,worktheincreases1stitchfromthebeginningofneedles#1and #3,andonestitchfromtheendofneedles#2and#4. So,isthisgood foranythingbutsocks? Absolutely! Itcanbeusedforalmostanypatternthatrequirescastingonandworkingin asmallclosedcircle.Forexample:

2005,JudyABecker,Nocommercialuses,please. http://www.persistentillusion.com

JudysMagicCastOnforToeUpSocks

Whencastingonacenteroutpinwheel,caston5totalstitches,threeonthebottom needleandtwoonthetop.Workroundoneandatround2,beginthepatternsstandard yoincreases. Toknitthebottomofanoblongbagorpurse,castonenoughstitchestoequalthe lengthofthebagminusthewidth(i.e.,ifthebagwillbe10longand3wide,caston7 worthofstitches).Workrounds1,thenincrease4stitcheseveryrounduntilthebottom ofthebagistherightsize. Andwhen anyoneasksyouhowyouaccomplishedthatwonderful,invisiblecaston,you cansay,Itsmagic!

2005,JudyABecker,Nocommercialuses,please. http://www.persistentillusion.com