Spun by Sorcery (34 page)

Slip next st purlwise to the right-hand ndl, bring yarn to front, slip st back to the left-hand ndl, turn work around (so the WS is now facing you). The wrap is completed.

 

Technique: Crossing a Cable without a Cable Needle
For a 4-st cable: Slip all 4 sts to the right-hand ndl. Pinch the last 2 off between your fingers, then either hold them in back or hold them in front (depending on the pattern) while you slip the rem 2 sts from the right-hand ndl back to the left-hand ndl. Then put the 2 pinched sts back onto the left-hand ndl and knit them in this new position.

This method ensures the sts are never dropped while you’re repositioning them.

 

Feel free to use ssk, instead of k2tog, in the shaping—just be consistent.

Cap Base
Knit 7 rnds.

Wrap first st of next rnd, turn, knit around, knitting wrap together with the last st of rnd. WS of work is now facing you. This will be the RS from here on, so pop the work, and the beginning yarn tail, up through the center, to make knitting easier.

Knit 13 rnds.

 

With tail threaded into tapestry ndl, place finger at peak of cap. Wrap yarn around finger (to make a loop) and sew through top of cap; rep until 5-6 inches of yarn tail rem—approximately 14 loops made. Thread tapestry ndl through center of loops, near the base, then bring around and through loops again. Rep on other side of loops, then weave tail in on WS to secure.

Soak briefly in cool water with your favorite detergent or wool wash. Rinse in same temperature water. Squeeze out gently. Lay flat to dry.

 

These socks will fit the miniature sock blockers found on the Internet, or you can add a loop to make it a decorative ornament.

 

Use the Turkish cast-on or Judy’s Magic Cast-On, for 12 stitches total. Begin by holding the yarn between the two needles with the tail hanging down in front of the lower needle. Wrap the working yarn up and over from back to front, down and under from front to back, six times. At the end of the required number of wraps, your working yarn is at the back, coming up from behind the lower needle. Slide the lower needle farther to the right and the upper to the left, and just start knitting across. Turn and do the second needle the same. I find it easier to split the sock across four dpns or two circulars at this point. Then we do the increases. Knit 1. Make 1—by lifting the bar between the two stitches or by knitting into the stitch below the next stitch. Knit across the top of the row until one stitch shy of the end. Make 1—by lifting the bar between the two stitches or by knitting into the stitch below the previous stitch (so it mirrors the other side). Knit 1. Turn work and repeat on bottom half. Then knit a full round. Repeat until you get the desired number of 24 stitches over all needles on the round.

Knit until when you insert your thumb into the toe the edge of the knitting reaches your knuckle. It should be about 5 rows after you finish your toe.

 

Because your ankle is wider than your foot, one usually needs a gusset. On the bottom half, do an increase row: Knit 1. Make 1—by lifting the bar between the two stitches or by knitting into the stitch below the next stitch. Knit across the top of the row until one stitch shy of the end. Make 1—by lifting the bar between the two stitches or by knitting into the stitch below the previous stitch (so it mirrors the other side). Knit 1. For the miniature sock, you only need one stitch on each side of the sole. Then knit across the top of the sock, and begin the heel.

 

All heel directions look weird and confusing until you actually try them. Work
only
on the bottom half of the sock.

Now you’ll work the second half of the heel:

On subsequent rows you will pick up both wraps and knit or purl them together with the stitch. Continue until you run out of wrapped stitches on a knit row. You will go back to knitting across the top of the foot. When you reach the bottom of the foot and the wrapped stitches there, pick up the wraps and continue around.

Now we have to get rid of the extra stitches we put in for the gusset. At the start of the next bottom half of the sock, slip 2 stitches and then knit them together. At the end of the bottom of the sock, knit 2 together. For the miniature sock, you only added 1, so do it once.

Just knit. Again, you can use your thumb and knuckle as a guide, or fold the sock at the heel, and when you reach the start of the narrowing of the toe, you’ve got enough.

A little ribbing on the top looks nice and helps your sock stay up. Three rows of k1, p1 suffice. You can do the whole ankle in ribbing if you like ribbing.

I have a nasty habit at this point of getting out the crochet hook. But a simple repeat of k2tog, move loop off right needle and back onto the left needle, also works well.

 

 

 

I’ve long suspected I was born in the wrong century, for I’ve always delighted in arcane crafts and skills. Few things are more exciting or satisfying to me than watching a lamb’s first steps and shepherding its care through adolescence and beyond. The first year’s harvest of fleece is spun into a fine, soft yarn to knit into lace patterned scarves or a cabled sweater. Subsequent years bring more fiber for sweaters and, if I’m fortunate, daughter lambs to increase the flock.

The more intricate the knitting pattern, the more interesting, I think. Simply knitting the patterns isn’t enough. It’s such fun to adapt them to handspun, to mix, match, and experiment. What’s the worst that can happen? The results are ugly? So what? What’s knit is easily unraveled into yarn again for a fresh start on something else that might turn out better. Imagine if life were so manageable.

Despite this taste for adventure in fiber land, I’ve realized I spend the majority of my knitting time with the simplest of stitches. I like to blame a hand injury that left me with three numb fingers for months, but the truth is, I simply love the mindlessness of knitting something so simple I could continue in the dark without dropping a stitch if I’m careful—very, very careful. Instead of straining my already tired eyes, I can relax with friends, watch television with the family, or keep my fingers busy through a tense meeting and project an air of calm attention that is so unlike the real me that’s hiding inside, fidgeting and tapping away in irritation as I await my turn to speak.

My MARA scarf features probably my favorite of these simple stitches—so called because for some ten years now, I’ve carried my knitting bag along to meetings of my writing group, the Mid-America Romance Writers, MARA for short. When one scarf reaches an appropriate length, I bind off, add fringe, gift it to someone deserving, then cast on for the next one. The pattern is a loose seed stitch, usually on U.S. size 9 or 10 needles, knit with an angora or mohair blend. The halo of the yarn creates a soft, luxurious scarf that hides the occasional minor stitch error.

Knit into the fabric of each scarf are a hundred memories—smiles, giggles, outright belly laughs, a few grumbles and frustrations, and maybe even some tears. Each scarf has lived with me through at least one or two crises and has known the touch of many friends, for who can resist the sensual allure of a well-spun baby-soft yarn?

The pattern is a simple seed stitch, repeated throughout the entire scarf. Cast on an uneven number of stitches—25 for a 7-inch width, 35 if you prefer something closer to 10 inches wide. In every row: k1, p1, repeating across and ending with k1. In each subsequent row, you’ll be knitting in the previous row’s purl stitches and purling in the previous row’s knit stitches. That makes it easy to tell when you’ve goofed and easy to know how far to frog (unravel your work) to correct a mistake. The only thing easier would be a simple stockinette or garter stitch, but the seed stitch creates a prettier fabric that’s reversible. When the scarf is as long as you want it to be, bind off loosely and add fringe. Or not. Gift it or keep it, or if the results aren’t to your liking, unravel the whole thing and make something else.

There’s only one unbreakable rule for making the MARA scarf. You must use yarn that you love. The sensation of soft yarn as it slides over tender flesh should be a quiet pleasure. No matter what’s happening in the world around you as you knit, your yarn should be a pleasant companion for the many hours you’ll spend with it.

 

Socks are a wonderful knitting project. They are small and portable, so I can work on them anywhere. They also provide the opportunity to learn every knitting skill imaginable without a huge commitment of resources or time. Different forms of short rows, color work, lace, or cables—socks allow the knitter to experiment with new techniques. This is my basic, no-frills beginner sock pattern, written so that even fairly new knitters can succeed with their first sock project.