Kiss My Knits!

Mom’s socks, zey are done!

Yarn: Koigu PPPM Colorway P117, Dye Lot 297
Needles: #3 (3.25mm)
Gauge: 6.25 stitches per inch
Method: Toe-up on two circs, two at a time!

Yeah, you heard me, two at a time! Maybe not a big deal for our more experienced knitterati, but this was a great learning project for me. First time using this cast-on, first time using two circs, first time doing two at once, first time with this bind-off.

And, if we’re being honest, first time actually finishing a pair. The totality of my efforts before this are a single top-down on DPNs that’s still unfinished and a single baby sock toe-up using Magic Loop, which I found out that I hate. So this is a triumph all around.

Okay, there was the false start of not allowing for negative ease and therefore making them too roomy. Rrrip! And the false start of misreading a pattern and actually attempting a toe-up cast-on with cuff-down socks, effectively casting on directly across the leg hole. Rrrip! And there’s a little hole at the heel, common among rookies. Rrri… eh, good enough. But aside from that, it’s a triumph! These were for my mother, who wears size 7 1/2 to 8 US shoes. She also has wide feet, as I do.


Because I wanted these to last for a while, I added a strand of reinforcing wool/nylon to the toes and heel. If I had it to do over again, I’d do slightly less at the toe and slightly more at the heel. I didn’t have enough thread to do as much as I’d like at the heel, although it does cover the short-row section of the heel completely. Or I might leave the thread off entirely – I’m not sure how much of a difference it’ll really make.


I cast on 18 using Judy Becker’s magic cast-on from Knitty, then increased to 50. The distance from the tip of the toe to the heel turn was 6.5 inches. It’s a short row heel a la Wendy’s sock pattern, decreasing to 12 stitches, then back up to 48 for the ankle. Bottom of heel to ribbing=3.125 inches. The ribbing is 4″ long, and I have plenty of yarn left for some other project. I used Elizabeth Zimmerman’s sewn bind-off with Denise’s variation, from this blog entry. You can see how stretchy it is! It doesn’t gap, but it doesn’t bind at all, either. I’m sold.

I liked doing toe-up socks because I was able to try them on while knitting. I liked doing two at a time because a) I knew they’d be the same size, and b) I wouldn’t finish one and then have that second one to dread. Downside: the yarn sometimes tangled between the cables. No big deal.


Mom has received these now, and has been gratifyingly enthusiastic about them. And I feel good too – she’s had trouble with her feet, so I’m pleased I could do something so specific to show I care. It’s always good to give handmade gifts to people who appreciate them. And c’mon, what’s not to appreciate about a handmade garment custom-fitted to your measurements made from 100% merino wool hand-painted by a Estonian woman and her daughter, now living on a farm in Canada? If nothing else, it sure sounds impressive.

I blogged about my early misadventures with these socks so much that I think my mom thought they were a big chore. They were time-consuming, but not a chore. Last night I dreamed I had cast on another pair for myself. It was a good dream. 🙂

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