Fall Colours socks I: Pinhole cast-on
Only started and I am already late with this series! You know me.
I will start with some considerations on yarn, needles and gauge. The pinhole cast-on will be explained at the end of the post.
Like for any other project, before you start, you need to choose your yarn and needles. Once you have done that, you need to know your gauge in order to decide the total number of stitches you will use for each round. Note that, except for the toe region, this pattern consists of a straight cylinder with no shaping, that is, no increases or decreases. The total number of stitches is the number that corresponds to the circumference of the foot. If you have already knitted socks with this yarn and needles, which is my case, you already know this number. If you have not and are feeling brave, I have got good news for you, because we are working toe-up socks, you do not need to knit a gauge swatch. You can just cast on straight away and work the toe increases until you are happy with the width. But I am getting ahead of myself, the toe will be worked on the next post. This post is only about the cast-on. But before I talk about that, let me just tell you what I am going to be working with. I am working with left-over yarn from this project (see the Fall Colours!) and using 3.5mm needles. My total number of stitches is going to be 44 (a multiple of 4).
The pinhole cast-on can be worked in two ways. The easy way, using a crochet hook, or, if you do not have a crochet hook with the right size, the hard way, using your knitting needles. Do not worry, it is not too hard even in this last case.
Using a crochet hook:
Using knitting needles to the sound of great music:
As a plus, the second half of this video gives instructions on working the star toe, but that will be the subject of the next post of this series.
I will start with some considerations on yarn, needles and gauge. The pinhole cast-on will be explained at the end of the post.
Like for any other project, before you start, you need to choose your yarn and needles. Once you have done that, you need to know your gauge in order to decide the total number of stitches you will use for each round. Note that, except for the toe region, this pattern consists of a straight cylinder with no shaping, that is, no increases or decreases. The total number of stitches is the number that corresponds to the circumference of the foot. If you have already knitted socks with this yarn and needles, which is my case, you already know this number. If you have not and are feeling brave, I have got good news for you, because we are working toe-up socks, you do not need to knit a gauge swatch. You can just cast on straight away and work the toe increases until you are happy with the width. But I am getting ahead of myself, the toe will be worked on the next post. This post is only about the cast-on. But before I talk about that, let me just tell you what I am going to be working with. I am working with left-over yarn from this project (see the Fall Colours!) and using 3.5mm needles. My total number of stitches is going to be 44 (a multiple of 4).
The pinhole (aka Emily Ocker's) cast-on
The pinhole cast-on is (probably) the best cast-on to use when working from a central point. In previous projects I have used a technique that I invented myself in order to use what I knew and avoid having to learn a new technique. This method worked surprisingly well, but I hope the pinhole cast-on will look better. In case you are curious, here is my central point cast-on: (1) cast-on 4 stitches using Judy's Magic cast-on (2 in each needle); in the next round increase evenly to the desired number of stitches (usually 6 or 8).The pinhole cast-on can be worked in two ways. The easy way, using a crochet hook, or, if you do not have a crochet hook with the right size, the hard way, using your knitting needles. Do not worry, it is not too hard even in this last case.
Using a crochet hook:
Using knitting needles to the sound of great music:
As a plus, the second half of this video gives instructions on working the star toe, but that will be the subject of the next post of this series.
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