GENERAL NOTES ON CIRCULAR SOCK METHOD

 SOME PEOPLE PREFER 2 – 16” CIRCULAR NEEDLES AND SOME PEOPLE PREFER 24”. THE  16” ONES ARE GREAT BECAUSE THE WORKING NEEDLE TIPS ARE CLOSER TO YOUR HANDS AND EASIER TO GRAB, HOWEVER, THE 24” NEEDLES HANG DOWN LOWER IF YOU WANT THEM OUT OF YOUR WAY! (see article on knitting with 2 circular needles!)

CAST THE NUMBER OF STITCHES IN THE DESIRED COLUMN OF THE SOCK CHART ONTO ONE CIRCULAR NEEDLE, THEN SLIP HALF OF THEM ONTO THE OTHER CIRCULAR NEEDLE   - OR – CAST HALF ON THE FIRST NEEDLE THEN CONTINUE CASTING ON THE REMAINDER OF THE STITCHES ONTO THE SECOND NEEDLE.

YOU WILL KNIT IN ROUNDS KNITTING ACROSS EACH CIRCULAR NEEDLE USING ITS OWN TAIL.  (NEVER KNIT FROM ONE NEEDLE TO THE OTHER). YOU CAN USE CIRCULAR NEEDLES THAT ARE DIFFERENT COLORS SO THAT YOU GET USED TO USING BOTH TIPS OF THE SAME NEEDLE. IF ONE SET IS BLUE AND ONE IS GREEN, ALWAYS KNIT THE BLUE TIP WITH THE BLUE TIP AND THE GREEN TIP WITH THE GREEN TIP!

ALWAYS KEEP YOUR INSTEP (FRONT OF SOCK) STITCHES ON ONE NEEDLE AND THE BACK STITCHES OF THE SOCK (HEEL SIDE) ON THE OTHER NEEDLE. YOU NEVER HAVE TO SHIFT STITCHES FROM ONE NEEDLE TO ANOTHER (unless you made a mistake or you need to for the sake of your fancy pattern).

YOUR BEGINNING POINT OF REFERENCE (WHERE YOUR MARKER IS) IS AT THE SIDE OF THE SOCK, NOT AT THE CENTER BACK OF THE HEEL, AS WHEN YOU KNIT SOCKS ON DOUBLE POINT NEEDLES!!

WORK AND TURN YOUR HEEL FLAP BACK AND FORTH ON ONE CIRCULAR NEEDLE. TO GO FROM TURNING THE HEEL TO KNITTING THE GUSSET, SEE THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CIRCULAR SOCK KNITTING CHART.

WHEN YOU ARE FINISHED WITH THE BODY OF THE SOCK YOU CAN WORK YOUR TOE DECREASES ON EACH SIDE OF EACH NEEDLE UNTIL YOU HAVE REACHED THE FINAL NUMBER OF STITCHES FOR WEAVING THE TOE. AGAIN, NO SHIFTING YOUR STITCHES, THEY WILL BE IN POSITION  -- READY TO WEAVE!