Tuesday, 16 September 2014

Knit two socks together on a single circular needle

So it's been a while since I've posted anything, for a couple of reasons, but mostly because I've just not had much time to do any projects. I thought I'd share my current one as I think it's a great idea to get a pair of socks walking off the needles quickly.

I saw a book on Amazon whilst shopping for some knitting needles that had me interested enough to look inside. It's called Knitting Circles around Socks: Knit Two at a Time on Circular Needles. However, having seen it, I thought to myself I don't have another set of the same size needle tips, as I usually knit with my favourite KnitPro - Deluxe - Interchangeable Needle Set - Cubics. That got me to wondering if I can still knit 2 socks at once with just one circular needle? The answer my friends, was a resounding yes!

How you ask? Let me tell you ... or better yet show you. In this case the socks are knitted top down, so I did my standard 'long tail' cast on, only I cast on half the stiches from the first sock, then with a separate ball of wool, all the stiches from the second sock. I then pulled the cable through the middle of the stiches of the second sock, so the stitches were facing each other, before casting on the remaining half of the first sock. This means you end up knitting the first half of the first sock's stitches, then knitting the first of of the second sock's stitches, before turning the work over and continuing with the remaining stitches of the second sock, and finally completing the rest of the row of the first sock.

The socks are being knitted inside out, so I thought I'd turn one right side out to show you the pattern. For those whose may like the pattern, I'm knitting from one of my favourite sites, and the pattern is aptly named September Socks. I'm using DROPS Cotton Light so that these socks can be worn for most of the year and not just for winter.

I have been so amazed by how quickly these have grown. I've decided that this is how I'll do all my socks in future. This means I won't grow bored of the project half way through and sit with one sock all lonely waiting for me to get enthused enough to finish it's pal. So far I've managed to knit 20 cm of sock times 2, all in roughly a weekend with some major interruptions. I may actually finish these in time for someone's Christmas pressie, with loads of time to spare!