Knitting inside out

Do you struggle to keep your tension even when you knit stranded colourwork in the round over small circumferences? Lots of people do!

I’ve mentioned the trick of working inside out a few times in our books and here on the blog, but I’ve never shown in detail what I mean by this, so in today’s “not totally gratuitous excuse for more photos of my nearly-finished cowl”, I’m going to take you through it.

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Planning my Time for Socks

I’ve been thinking about what I’d like to knit in 2020, and one of the things that has been at the front of my mind is that I’d like to make more socks. I’ve always enjoyed sock knitting, but it has been a while since I made anything more complex than a plain vanilla sock, or a pair with a straightforward stitch pattern. I love how the small canvas that a sock gives can be used to put together complex patterns. I have a few patterns in my Ravelry queue that I’d like to work through: Bitter & Twisted by Jimenez Joseph and Delbert by Rachel Coopey are high on the list.

So I have set myself a challenge to make 12 pairs of socks in 2020. In normal life a pair of socks would take me around 10 days of knitting, so I think that this is a reasonable goal to set. I can knit some socks for smaller members of the family if I get behind!

I thought it might be interesting to show you how I’ve set up my Strickplaner for 2020, as I’m planning to use it to keep myself on track with my knitting goals for the year…

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A chat with Wendy D. Johnson

Today, we bring you an interview with Boost Your Knitting designer Wendy D. Johnson. Wendy is a prolific knitter and designer who has a penchant for toe up socks — she’s written two books on the subject, Socks From the Toe Up and Toe-Up Socks for Everybody. Her Boost Your Knitting design, the Alcedo Socks, are a highly wearable and quick to knit pair of toe-up socks that teach this month’s featured technique, toe up sock gussets! Wendy was kind enough to answer some questions a few months ago about her design and what she loves about sock knitting!

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How to Work a Toe-Up Gusset Heel

Sock construction is endlessly fascinating to me. That you can choose from which end of the sock you start at (or even somewhere in the middle!), as well as selecting from myriad heel options means that there should be a well-fitting sock for everyone.

I generally knit socks from the cuff down, simply because that’s how I learned to knit socks, and I can make that sock, to fit me well, without having to look up a pattern. However, there are times when working from the toe-up is preferable:

  • With a new to me yarn, I can guesstimate the needles to use and then increase until the sock fits me

  • When the yarn is special and I want to use as much as possible

  • Just for a change!

This month’s Boost Your Knitting technique is a toe-up heel with a gusset. A gusset is a series of increases that gives more space at the upper foot, and the construction used in Wendy D. Johnson’s cute Alcedo Socks is nifty, since it avoids any need to pick up stitches.

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The Alcedo Socks and Toe-Up Socks with a Gusset

It’s hard to believe, but it’s time to dive into the penultimate Boost Your Knitting project! Here are the Alcedo Socks, designed by sock knitter extraordinaire Wendy D. Johnson. These deliciously textured socks will be teaching us how to work a gusset when knitting a toe-up sock!

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