Yarn is 75% SW Merino 25% nylon
Foot and ankle circumference is 9”
Foot length is 10.25”
US 1 10.8 spi
US 1.5 10 spi

https://www.interweave.com/article/knitting/knit-stranded...

CastOn CastOn 88 sts using Old Norwegian CastOn with CC using US 1.5 in 9” circular.
First needle (Heel) has 45 sts
Second needle (Instep) has 43 sts
https://youtu.be/tLGWXtxEF8w

Alternate CastOn is LongTail CastOn in Purl, join in round and knit one row purl to form the two rows of inverse stockinette to avoid edge from curling
https://youtu.be/MnARm-kgn2U

Avoid divot when joining after LongTail Caston
https://www.masondixonknitting.com/techniques-in-depth-jo...

Turn and purl one row on purl side of cast on and then join in the round w purl side showing to the outside so it looks like 2 purl rows on right side

Corregated Ribbing
https://youtu.be/iN4nWJd61Mw
Knit one row in alternating colors to set up for corregated ribbing to avoid the blips at the top of the purls. Knit 1” of corregated ribbing. After corregated ribbing, knit one row and purl one row in MC.

Catching floats
https://youtu.be/ajppfcE_HAA

Follow chart adding 2 knit sts in background MC before and after the vertical stripes at sides to add increase the sts from 80 to 88 to accommodate my wider 9” circumference foot.

Gussets
https://youtu.be/9k-0LduIU-M
Start gusset after working 43 rows of chart design.
M1s in colorwork: pick up the color corresponding to the “M” color on chart.
Gusset makes Right triangles grow outward from back of leg and taper toward the instep. There are 3 CC stripes at the sides. The M1s occur between the middle CC and the MC & CC of Back of Leg Chart.
M1 occur every odd row of gusset chart and alternate between being made w CC and MC to be in pattern w vertical stripes.

First Needle (Heel): BOR, CC, Gusset, MC, CC, back-of-leg chart, CC, MC, gusset, CC,
Second Needle (Instep)MC, CC, front-of-leg chart, CC, MC,

On gusset Increases, pick the right colored strand as indicated in chart: https://youtu.be/9k-0LduIU-M

Continue until you’ve made 8 new CC gusset stripes, stopping at row 30 on gusset chart. Rows 31 and 32 work across back of leg chart in CC from 27 in row 31 and make final M1 of row 31 in MC. Work front of leg in patten. On row 32 work to column 35 in CC. Begin Heel on column 36 of row 32.

Heel
Start heel turn on WS
All decreases are done with CC
When turning work to WS, turn work counterclockwise
When turning work to RS, turn work clockwise.
This catches MC yarn, that’s being carried, at the edges between the fabric and the CC yarn so holes don’t form at the turns. The MC strand that’s needs to be caught should lie on top of the CC strand that you will use for next stitch.
https://youtu.be/b2A-aZWpArY

On decreases, useing k2tog on RS and SSP on WS
ssp video: https://youtu.be/O46Bsd3digE

Continuity Between the Charts
I identified the 5 stitches that will be in the red rectangle on Chart 5 Sole (p.7 of pattern)
These 5 stitches are columns 19-23 on Chart 1 Back Leg (p. 5)
columns 35-39 on Chart 3 Gusset (p. 6)
columns 17- 21 on Chart 4 Heel (p. 7)
columns 19-21 on Chart 5 Sole (p. 7)
For alternate patterns on pp. 7 & 8 on Lesson 2, those 5 stitches are in columns 17-21.

When finished with RS row 30 of Heel chart, don’t turn work. Heel needle has 42 sts total(3 sts of gusset not worked on the right and 39 sts worked.

If you caston 88 sts, keep in mind where the center 5 stitches are and that there are 2 stitches to both sides of the charts in the pattern.

HEEL TURN

Note To Self: The last row of the Gussets/Back Leg chart is really comprised of working in pattern over to the first row of the heel turn. The first 35 stitches are worked in pattern and columns 36 thru 41 of the chart are the first row of the heel turn.

Also, slow down when turning and make sure you are bringing the yarn you are carrying between the fabric and the yarn you are about to use, which traps it.

SOLE

Had to remember to make that final heel turn decrease at the beginning of the first sole row. (k2tog stitches 3 & 4 together)

Sole
The first row of sole will contain the final heel turn decrease bringing the number of sts on the heel needle to the original number of 39. The final heel turn decrease will be worked on those 3 unworked sts on the heel needle by k1, k2tog w CC.

If you had CastOn 88 sts, when you begin the sole decreases and increases, watch that your end sts match up to the pattern’s stripes. Another Knitter that had casted on 88 sts restarted the sole on row 3 instead of row 1 so the CC begins with k2 to align the stripes. Mine lined up as I moved from gusset chart to heel chart without needing to adjust.

To mark the decreases and the increases on the sole chart, place markers after the 17th, 18th, 23rd, & 25th stitches.

After completing the sole chart, I worked 16 more rows which also completed the 20 row alternate design chart plus six more rows. The sock foot is now 8”.

More Rounded Toe
Toe chart is 25 rows ~2.25 inches.
Decreases are done in CC (gray) near edges of instep and sole.
The edges outside of the decreases are MC, CC, MC.
The last white stripe of instep is continuous from cuff to toe graph; then the other CC and MC stripes are from sole stitches.
There are 41 instep stitches and 37 sole sts so decrease instep stitches every other row to bring instep and sole sts to same number. (4th row of the 25 toe rows)
Start toe decreases slowly by decreasing on alternate rows
5 times: straight row, decrease row (14th row of 25 toe rows)
Then decrease every row 11 times until 10 sts rem (5 sts on sole needle and 5 sts on instep needle) 25th row of the 25 toe rows)

You’re down to the final stitches. Before you begin grafting the toe, Cat Bordhi taught me to create a smoother toe by passing the outside stitch on each end over the stitch next to it. Not only does this smooth the edge of the toe, it means two fewer stitches to graft. Score!

Kitchener Toes Closed
https://youtu.be/eFHXnvfmoBE
Avoid ears on Kitchener by skipping the normal setup and finish steps of Kitchener. This will rounded off half stitches at beginning and end because embroidery needle only went through the end stitches once.
Begin: with yarn from back needle bring yarn under needle tips to front needle and knit off, purl on. Bring yarn to back needle and purl off knit, on. Continue until last 4 sts. Knit off, purl on last stitch on front needle and purl off, knit on through last stitch on back needle. Slide needles out. Snug up yarn. Bring yarn to inside of sock by passing embroidery needle through on other side of the stitch that the yarn is coming out of. Weave in on instep by three duplicate stitches.

Blocking Socks
https://youtu.be/UPFnmdyU0BI
20 min soak. Line up side stripes for front and back creases

Other colorwork sock designs
https://lookaside.fbsbx.com/file/Helle%20Hansen%20sock%20...
********KAL Discussions*************
https://youtu.be/grhGwPVpy6E (1/16/2019)
Durability of sock: at least 3 plies, tight twist, small stitches
100% wool or wool blend—doesn’t have to have silk or nylon added to yarn if the above 3 criteria are met.

I generally buy 100% merino wool and have no problem with knitting or wearing either. so in my personal opinion it is not always necessary to have nylon in your sock yarns.
Nylon is OK but not absolutely necessary. Many people think that sock yarn should contain nylon. That is OK, But if the fiber is right, the twist is tight, and the plies are 3 or more, just about any fiber will work. But I do love Ella Rae Lace Merino.

I have knit many socks and in my job, I wore them every day for 9 years. I never wore a pair out. I knit most of them with 100% merino.

It is dependent on the fiber, the tightness of the twist of the yarn, and the size of your stitches.

I wear hand knit socks daily.

Needs to be worsted style not woolen style. Woolen style (the Jamiesons’s style of wool is woolen spun) is good for loftier, warmer yarn for sweaters or for felting but not good for socks—socks need denser spun and tighter twist. Woolen vs worsted spun was discussed in 1/27 Video.

MCN and MCS stand for 80% merino, 10% cashmere, and 10% nylon or silk.

If sock is tight, better to add more stitches and not go up needle size to make bigger stitches than intended because bigger or stretched stitches cause sock to wear out faster.

Stranded knitting forms more of a square shaped stitch; regular stockinette produces a wider rectangle stitch. Gauge will be different so make a swatch in the round. For swatch follow the pattern w CastOn, correlated ribbing, and knit 2” of leg. Transfer stitches to holding thread and wet block swatch (Fill glass 3/4 full tepid water, one drop dish soap and gently stir to disperse—not making bubbles. Gentle push sock down and allow air bubbles to release—don’t agitate. Soak 20 minutes, squeeze water out and dry completely. Try sock on. If it fits w no stretching or looseness, use the swatch as the beginning of sock.

You will need to pull the stitches back on the needle, but still keep the needle tips close together. You can slide stitches away from the tip, rather than moving the tip away.

So when you are knitting, use the new technique, when you are going to swatch colors, slide the stitches back a little.

In corrugated ribbing, you do not need to slide the stitches back because the colors are changed at every stitch.

I see what is making the tension loose. when you finish creating a new stitch you pull the right needle away from the work to tighten it. That actually creates a space between the just worked stitch and the next stitch on the left needle. Try to not pull the right needle away after the stitch is created.

Actually, in corrugated ribbing it really doesn’t matter much.

One color is purls and the other knits. You can switch them up. But, because they are knits and purls, the dominance is not an issue.

When you are working with only knit stitches, the dominance is an issue. Either your main color or your contrast color can be dominant. The yarn held to the left, no matter how you manage your yarns, is the dominant color. That means, the color held to the left will be very slightly lower than the color held to the right. This causes it to look a little larger, - in microns.

The main thing is that you never want to change that orientation, unless your are trying for a purposeful effect.
If it takes that long to bleed it is not a problem.

Choosing contrast colors:I think that you can see in the black and white of these, that their value might be too close. Yes, they are different. Try a swatch first and take a black and white picture of the swatch.
Here’s one very very important tip from Suzanne: if you are using a variegated yarn of any type, make sure that none of the colors in it are the same color as your solid, otherwise your little stars may disappear into the background.

Checking color fastness: At this time, I would put two snippets of yarn (one of each color) in a cup of water together for about 20 minutes.

It there is no color transfer after 20 minutes, then you are just fine.

I love using dpn’s when knitting socks but I couldn’t wrap my head around knitting the sock wrong side out as many do when doing stranded knitting in the round.

To avoid making the stitches too tight, when switching to the next working needle, I lay the new needle under the needle just finished with the new needle’s tip advanced out a little from the above needle.
I knit until the next color change or after catching a float, advancing the lower needle with my thumb as I go.
I then swing the lower needle out and continue knitting.
Here are front and back pictures of a spot where I switch needles. It kinda looks like it’s too tight but there is no pucker and just as much stretch as the rest of the sock.
https://www.ravelry.com/projects/CrispyQuilts/starry-star...
https://www.ravelry.com/projects/CrispyQuilts/starry-star...

Lesson 2 Discussions:

Use your ball of foot measurement.

Yes, you need to pull the yarn back from the tips for stranded work, this allows the floats to be long enough to not constrict the stitches in between.

It is the opposite of doing standard non-stranded knitting.

Pattern correction:That sentence should be moved to the end of the previous paragraph. Updating now.

This is what is should say

column 27 that only the CC is worked through column 71, catch the MC every 5 or 6 sts as you go to carry it along the back of the work. At column 72 make an M1 with the MC yarn. Work in pattern across the front of the sock. You should now have 73 sts on the gusset needle and 39 stitches on the front leg/instep needle.

For this pattern, I have you cast on with long tail cast on, then work 1 row of purls, and then join in the round. That gives an edge that has a natural reverse curl to the ribbing. And it looks great.

You can do the German Twisted CO also, but still need to work the first row as purls and then join in the round.

You need to get at least 2” of the chart done before you can tell. It will seem REALLY big at first. Then block and try it on, do not break the yarn.

If it still seems too big, keep that one on the needles and just go down one needle size and continue the chart for a couple more inches - reblock and try it on again.

The first time around, it is your swatch. If you are lucky and it fits right off, then the swatch becomes your sock.

Quick question: My ankle is 2 1/5 inches smaller than my calf. I want to make the leg 6 inches. Do I need to decrease the 2 1/5 inches before the gusset? If I don’t decrease will my sock be baggy at the ankle?
Answer: It will not be baggy, you will be fine. Continue on.

Stranded socks always have a lot more stitches than standard socks. That is because stranded work has very little stretch compared to non-stranded work. I usually use 60 stitches on a US 1 for my socks, and they fit perfect.

These also fit me perfect. my foot is 8.5”

Lesson 3 Gusset & Heel Discussions

I had cast on more because I was using the Wide Leg Charts. Secondly, I didn’t know if I had centred the heel turn properly (I hadn’t, but I have left it as is), and thirdly, I had realised that the Sole Chart was aimed at the normal foot, not the wide one, and that I had to allow for that. And, the sole of the foot was designed to look amazing IF, and only if, it was centred properly.
Well, I have spent the day on this, and now I think I have it sorted out. On the Sole Chart, the cells surrounded by a red border are, I think, where I can widen the chart to allow for a wider foot. I have inserted two more columns and now the stitch number equals the 43 on my needles. I know the heel turn isn’t centred properly, but I’m not going to change it now. The ssk and k2tog cells are not affected, nor are the M1 cells, so the pattern that emerges is unaltered.
Answer: Whether the heel is centered or not does not matter. What matters is that the sole is centered. Great work!

It is very interesting. Be sure to do all of the decreases with the same color or yarn. You alternated. With the increases, you need to alternate them to stay in pattern.

On the chart, the decreases that have the dark background should be worked in the same color as your dots. On the increases, the dark increases should be worked with the dot color and the light increases should be worked with your background color.

Well, this is a predicament. You can correct it by adding a blue stitch (m1) between the whites on each side. That will give you two more stitches, but will work. You will then have the same number of stitches on each needle. I think that is a better solution than knitting the two whites together as that would give you 4 fewer stitches on that needle than the instep needle.

Someone please tell me the Heel Turn will make sense when I get there: Right now I’m looking at the Heel Turn chart that has decrease stitches but the chart rows are getting wider…
Answer: It will. Those are all “rows”, whereas all of the other charts are “rounds”. so you will be knitting back and forth. short rows.

Until there are three stitches left.

When working w 88 stitches instead of the 80 sts in the original pattern, just move the center 2 stitches to the left so the center would now be column 39 rather than column 37.

That sentence has since been moved to the end of the prior paragraph. You are fine.
Page 4 gusset correction on MC and CC to work K2tog.

I have a question about the Gusset Chart. If I have a different number of stitches and a different design in my sock, on Row 31 of the Gusset Chart how do I determine where to start working all of the stitches in the contrasting color on that row?

I’ve enclosed my chart, should I start the CC stitches sooner, and if so, how do I compute where they should start for socks with different stitch counts?
https://www.ravelry.com/projects/owlsea/starry-starry-nig...

Lesson 4 Toe and Finishing Discussions

I’m starting the sole and have a question. There’s only 1 st (#18) between the first decrease and increase but 2 sts (24 & 25) between the second decrease and increase. Is this correct? It looks a bit odd to me (after only one row, at any rate) to have adjacent pairs of like-colored stitches on one side but to have them separated by 2 single sts on the other side. Have I done something wrong?

reply
After row 2 you should be even again. Just keep going. You are doing it correctly.

Could someone please provide a photo of the sole of their SSNS sock? I’m not understanding where the k2tog and ssk should be. On row 2, is the k2tog happening on stitch 15 and 16 and the ssk is on stitch 26 and 27? For some reason I’m just fighting this because I’m not seeing what the results will be.

Robbin2: I found it easiest to just use 2 markers to mark the center stitches
https://www.ravelry.com/projects/Robbin2/starry-starry-ni...

https://youtu.be/OoQT5F4lmJc
Even Tension--work on tips

https://youtu.be/jBdK6JNcJSo
Small diameter knitting with 2 circular needles

https://youtu.be/NSzvGSlMU94
Holding yarns

https://youtu.be/ksBur4BFlxM
Corregated ribbing

https://youtu.be/9k-0LduIU-M
M1 Increases in Stranded Knitting

https://youtu.be/b2A-aZWpArY
Catching Floats at Edges working Flat Heel & Gusset

https://youtu.be/0AEfAlLPx4U
Catching Floats in Stranded Knitting

https://youtu.be/rnytANRixKo
Catching floats

https://youtu.be/bHwnS8FsODo
Catching floats working flat piece

https://youtu.be/eFHXnvfmoBE
Kitchener Toe without Pointed Ends

https://youtu.be/RJQswKVPF5k
Mitten Thumbs

https://youtu.be/eFT9oiLizHI (1/20/2019)
(~8min &39 min) Stranded knitting watch even tension between the two strands and stretch stitches out along needle, knitting away from tips. Normal knitting, knit on the tips of needles.

https://youtu.be/US2D8ClkBP8 (1/23/2019)
CastOn (9min) Long Tail CastOn Purlwise, connect in Round, and purl one row. Or Regular LongTail CastOn, turn and purl one row, then connect in round.
https://youtu.be/z1iHlK_RfOg Long Tail Purl CastOn
Go outside and under 4 and between 3&2 to go under and pick up 2, then through 3 &4.

https://youtu.be/VlxuNp6aFj8 (1/27/2019)
Fingering weight yarn knit on US 1.5 needles for socks and same weight yarn knit on US 4 needles for sweater.

If sock is too snug, try going up no more than one needle size or increase stitch count by multiple of 8 to work w this pattern’s structure of stripe column, heel, and sole. May increase 2 background stitches on both sides of vertical stripes to get 8 more stitches.

Stranded socks CastOn 80 sts for 8-8.5” foot circumference
Stranded mitts CastOn 72 sts.

https://youtu.be/bkKJJql_zkw (1/30/2019)
Can use either LongTail CastOn or Twisted German CastOn
When casting on, the yarn around index finger forms the loops. The yarn around thumb, that runs along bottom of CastOn loops, determines gauge. Place pad of right index finger between loops to maintain spacing that’s appropriate for gauge and check w gauge ruler.

Argyle
https://tkga.org/wp-content/uploads/issue_archives/2012/F...

TKGA article https://tkga.org/wp-content/uploads/issue_archives/2011/C...
Convert sock pattern to fingerless mitts in Lesson 4

Tutorial on Fingerless Mitts: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fingerless-mitt-...

§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§

Actual foot circumference: 7”, 8.5”, 9.5”
Sock circumference: 6”, 7.5”, 8.5”
Gauge with fingering wt stst (US1) 36x44 rnd in sts st.
Gauge w fingering colorwork (US1.5) 34x38 rnds
St st stitch number: 56 sts, 64 sts, 72 sts
Colorwork: Increase after cuff to 60, 72, 84 sts
Toes decrease to 20 sts total (10 sts each needle)

Sizes for dk socks actual foot 8.25-9”, 9.25-10.25”
Sock circumference 7.25-8”, 8.25-9.25”
Gauge dk wt stst (US2.5) 24x34rnds per 4”
Gauge dk wt colorwork (US3) 24x32 rnds
Stitch numbers stst: 48, 56 sts
Stitch numbers colorwork 50, 60 sts
Toe decrease to 20 sts total (same as fingering)

Picot Cuff
Knit 10 rows
Row 11: (K2tog, yo) rep to end.
Rows12-22: Knit.

Icord followed by Latvian Braid:
CO 3 sts w smaller needle used for stst body.
Slip them pw to LN. (Working yarn is on the left)
(Bring yarn across back of all sts to the first st on LN.
With RN, K1fb, k2. 1 st incr. 4 sts total.
Slip last 3 sts pw to LN, leaving rem st on RN) repeat u til you have created the total st number for the sock leg.
Purl 1 round.
Knit 1 round.
Start the 3 rows of Latvian Braid:
Row1: alt k mc and cc
Row2: P1 MC, p1 CC, bring new strand under the other so they twist clockwise.
Row3: P1 MC, p1 CC, bring new strand over the other so yarns twist counterclockwise. Then knit 3 rnds in MC before leg design.