1) We had a GREAT time on Thursday learning how to make socks! BIG thanks to Ann for being such a wonderful teacher!!!! As promised, here are the instructions to help refresh your memory…have fun!!!
Items needed are:
~ small size loom
~ pick
~ needle
~ two skeins of worsted yarn
Let’s get started!
FIRST ~ wrap and knit about 10 rows, just like you would for a hat. Then fold over and make a “brim”. This will serve as your cuff. If you would like, purl the next row to help the ankle portion be a little more snug fitting.
~ wrap and knit 5-10 rows for the ankle portion. (totally up to your preference there).
~ for the heel portion, wrap pegs 1 through 12 only. Knit them over and repeat for a total of 4 times back and forth.
~ With the tail of your yarn at peg 1, move the loop on peg #12 over to peg #11…do not knit over.
~ Wrap from peg #1 to peg #11 and knit over. At peg #11, knit over all the “bottom” yarn as if it were one wrap.
~ With the tail of yarn @ peg #11, move the loop on peg #1 over to peg #2…do not knit over.
~ Wrap from peg #2 to peg #11 and knit over. At peg #2, knit over all the “bottom” yarn as if it were one wrap.
~ Repeat this until you have 3 empty pegs on each side.
~ Now reach inside loom and place loops on the three empty pegs AND one peg on each side of the three empty ones.
~ Wrap, as usual all the way around. Knit over all the wraps, including the ones that are doubled.
~ Continue to the desired length for the rest of the foot and take off just like a hat.
~ Tuck knotted ends in.
2) Even though I can knit comfortably with needles, I still like to knit loom projects. They are super-fast, sort of like a manual knitting machine. Knitting on looms preceeded needle knitting, and the result is essentially the same. Think of a knitting loom, or knitting frame, as a needle cut into pieces.
In a couple of hours, I whipped up these slipper socks. I designed the pattern myself, roughly adapting from traditional needle patterns. The result is more of a slipper than a sock, because with these looms, you must use bulky yarns. However, there are other looms out there that are capable of knitting sock weight yarns
