Toe up or cuff down? Advantages and disadvantages
Yes, that's right. Another post on socks. It's funny because even though I do like to knit socks, I am not at all a big sock knitter. My knitting is actually quite eclectic and I knit clothes, accessories and home decoration in similar numbers. But when it comes to writing in this blog, socks seem to be my main obsession. But let's stop talking about me and get down to business.
Toe-up or cuff-down, what are the advantages and disadvantages of each method?
Their main difference is in the cast-on and bind-off methods.
The other important difference follows from the fact that the trickiest part of sock knitting is getting the sock size right. In particular getting the length of the foot right. Which means knowing when to start the heel (for toe-up socks) or the toe shaping (for cuff-down ones). In my opinion cuff-down socks offer an advantage over toe-up socks. There are two reasons for this. One, because the toe region is smaller and much simpler than the heel, it is easier to know exactly when to start toe-shaping than it is to know when to start working the heel. This is particularly true because the decision of when to start the heel depends a lot on the heel recipe you follow. Two, if you get it wrong and need to frog and redo to correct it, it is a lot less work to redo the toe than it is to redo the heel.
A lot of people associate toe-up socks with short-row heels and cuff-down socks with gusset+heel-flap heels. However, this is a mistake, both heels can be worked in either direction. The short-row heel is symmetric and therefore is worked in exactly the same way in both directions. The gusset+heel-flap heel is not symmetric and is worked differently depending on the direction of knitting. I would say it is slightly easier to execute it in the toe-up direction, but it is in this case that the decision on when to start working the heel is the trickiest and where the aforementioned advantage of the cuff-down method is most evident. However, if you learn a good recipe and stick to it, this is not a big deal and a lot of people favour this method.
To conclude, it is mostly a case of personal preference. Even if there is a small disadvantage of knitting toe-up socks over cuff-down ones, this disadvantage can be easily overcome by following a good recipe.
Toe-up or cuff-down, what are the advantages and disadvantages of each method?
Their main difference is in the cast-on and bind-off methods.
- For a toe-up sock you want to use a type of provisional cast-on (some people do not, but I really think this is the best). I recommend either the Turkish or Judy's Magic cast-on and personally use the latter.
- Cuff-down socks require an elastic cast-on and I very much recommend the German twisted (aka Old Norwegian) one.
- A toe-up sock requires a very elastic bind-off. My favourite by far is Jenny's Surprising bind-off. It is easy and fast to execute and it does not require cutting a tail of yarn. But I have also used the tubular bind-off, which is a sewn bind-off (similar to Kitchener stitch in one needle) suitable for 1x1 ribbing. I do not use the latter as much because I prefer a 2x2 rib for my socks. I also find it hard not to make mistakes in the tubular bind-off, and these are difficult to correct and ugly. However, tubular bind-off has the advantage that it is invisible, which can be considered more aesthetic than the edge created by other methods.
- Cuff-down socks absolutely require Kitchener stitch to bind-off. There is no other option really.
The other important difference follows from the fact that the trickiest part of sock knitting is getting the sock size right. In particular getting the length of the foot right. Which means knowing when to start the heel (for toe-up socks) or the toe shaping (for cuff-down ones). In my opinion cuff-down socks offer an advantage over toe-up socks. There are two reasons for this. One, because the toe region is smaller and much simpler than the heel, it is easier to know exactly when to start toe-shaping than it is to know when to start working the heel. This is particularly true because the decision of when to start the heel depends a lot on the heel recipe you follow. Two, if you get it wrong and need to frog and redo to correct it, it is a lot less work to redo the toe than it is to redo the heel.
A lot of people associate toe-up socks with short-row heels and cuff-down socks with gusset+heel-flap heels. However, this is a mistake, both heels can be worked in either direction. The short-row heel is symmetric and therefore is worked in exactly the same way in both directions. The gusset+heel-flap heel is not symmetric and is worked differently depending on the direction of knitting. I would say it is slightly easier to execute it in the toe-up direction, but it is in this case that the decision on when to start working the heel is the trickiest and where the aforementioned advantage of the cuff-down method is most evident. However, if you learn a good recipe and stick to it, this is not a big deal and a lot of people favour this method.
To conclude, it is mostly a case of personal preference. Even if there is a small disadvantage of knitting toe-up socks over cuff-down ones, this disadvantage can be easily overcome by following a good recipe.
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