stretchy cast on for ribbed edge

After watching Garnstudio's video, I thought to myself that there must be a way to work the cast on while holding the yarn in the left hand.  Here are written directions for doing so.  The cast on is very stretchy and works for both 1x1 and 2x2 ribbing.

Make slip knot on LHN. (The slip knot is not counted as a cast on stitch and will be slipped off needle later.) 
* With yib, place RHN under LHN. Wrap yarn under (from left to right) and over LHN and then under (from right to left) and over RHN.  (Loops made on both needles.)  Pull loop on RHN through. Yarn forward (under LHN). With yif, slip st from RHN to LHN purlwise. Two sts cast on.  Yarn back (under LHN). Repeat from * until desired number of sts are cast on.

Bamboo waves sock

This sock is worked from the toe up. It uses a variation of the September 2008 stitch pattern by Gail Dennis aka Sockamaniac and has a Widdershins heel.

edited: Whenever, I reknit something, I can't help but change it a little. A new version of the pattern is available for free on Ravelry. It is now sized in multiple sizes, has a different way of making the leg increases, and has an eyelet cuff. Here is a pic (in Knit Picks Stroll yarn):



The original (shown below) is knit from yarn courtesy of a lady from the knitting group I belong to and owner of My Small Wonders (which is where the yarn in the pic comes from). She wanted to see what her hand-painted yarn would look like knitted up into sock. The yarn was a pleasure to work with. Here's the pattern that resulted:

Materials:
1 skein (100g) sock yarn
two size 1 circular needles

Gauge: 8 sts and 12 rows per inch (Row gauge is not important.)

Pattern (5 sts by 12 rows):
All even rows: Knit across
Rows 1, 3, 5: yo, k1, yo, ssk, k2tog
Rows 7, 9, 11: ssk, k2tog, yo, k1, yo
Reverse Pattern (5 sts by 12 rows):
All even rows: Knit across
Rows 1, 3, 5: ssk, k2tog, yo, k1, yo
Rows 7, 9, 11: yo, k1, yo, ssk, k2tog
The pattern is abbreviated "patt". The reverse pattern is abbreviated "rev patt".

Toe:
Cast on 7 st on each needle using Turkish cast on.
Knit around.
Increase every round to 13 sts per needle.
Increase every other round to 31 sts per needle.
Knit even to about a 3" length (about 14 rounds)

Foot:
On needle 1: k2, patt, k2, patt, k3, rev patt, k2, rev patt, k2 (31 sts). On needle 2: k across.
Continue until the length is about 2 1/2 " (30 rounds) shy of the total desired foot length. For where the 30 rounds comes from, look at my post on the Widdershins heel.

Gusset:
Make gusset increases every other row to 53 sts on Needle 2. Meanwhile, keep following the pattern on Needle 1. The last pattern row on Needle 1, before turning the heel, should be an even row. Do not knit across on Needle 2. Instead .....

Turn heel:
Place markers 15 sts in from either side of Needle 2, leaving 23 sts between markers. The stitches between markers are the heel sts. The sts outside the markers are the gusset sts. Then, working only on the heel sts:

Row 1: k to 4 sts before marker, kfb, k1, turn
Row 2: s1, p to 4 sts before marker, pfb, p1, turn
Row 3: s1, k to 4 sts before gap, kfb, k1, turn
Row 4: s1, p to 4 sts before gap, pfb, p1, turn

Repeat Rows 3 – 4 until there are 31 sts between markers.
(On purl rows, s1 – slip 1 purlwise with yarn in front. On knit rows, s1 - slip 1 knitwise with yarn in back.)

Heel flap:
Row 1: s1, k to last heel st, ssk last heel st and 1 st from left gusset, turn
Row 2: * s1, p1 * to last heel st, p2tog last heel st and 1 st from right gusset, turn

Repeat Rows 1 – 2 until there is only 1 st to be picked up, a right gusset st. (You'll be ending with Row 1.) Do not turn. Work the next pattern row on Needle 1. When you reach Needle 2 again:

k2tog (to get rid of the last gusset st), * k1, s1 * across.

The heel is now finished.

Leg:
Continue working in the round. Work same pattern row on Needle 2 as was worked on Needle 1. To increase, change an ssk or k2tog to a k2.
1st pattern repeat, increase on row 11 between side zig-zags.
2nd pattern repeat, increase on row 11 on outsides.
3rd pattern repeat, no increase
4th pattern repeat, increase on row 1 in the middle and then on row 11 between side zig-zags
5th pattern repeat, increase on row 11 on outsides.
6th pattern repeat, no increase
There are now 41 sts on each needle.

Cuff:
The cuff has k1, p1 ribbing. But, to get the purl stitches over the yo's, there are three p2tog's.
Next round:
k1, p2tog, (k1, p1) twice, k1, p2tog, (k1, p1) 8 times, k1, p2tog, (k1, p1) 5 times -- on each needle
Next 9 rounds: (k1, p1) around
Bind off.

sock toes and heels

Here are some general ideas on toes and heels. I've found that I like them curved instead of straight. In general, for a toe, my current favorite is to cast on about an inch of sts using the Turkish cast on, then determine the number of increase rounds needed. Do increase rounds every round for the first half of the increase rounds needed. Increase every other round for the rest less two. Then increase every third round twice. Finally, if needed for the top, make increases on top For example:

Wrap yarn around 2 circ needles 9 times. k9 off of top needle. k9 off of bottom needle.
R1: k1, m1, k..., m1, k1 on top needle, k1, m1, k...., m1, k1 on bottom needle.
Repeat R1 to 19 sts on each needle
Alternate R2 (k across) with R1 to a total of 25 sts per needle
Do R2, R2, R1 to a total of 29 sts per needle
Do R2 on top needle and k across on lower needle. (31 sts on top, 29 on bottom)

My favorite heel is the Widdershins heel. It's a toe-up heel-flap heel with no sts to pick up. To make calculations for the heel, determine the number of rows desired for the heel flap (in the example below, 28 rows). Then determine how wide you want the bottom of the heel (in the example below, 23 sts). Finally, decided how wide you want the heel flap (in the example below, 31 sts).

Approximately 4" (for me) before the end of the foot, start making gusset increases as in the Widdershins pattern. For a heel flap of 28 rows and 31 sts wide and a bottom heel 23 sts wide, increase to 51 (= 28 + 23) sts then work this variation of the Widdershins heel on the middle 23 sts. (The middle 23 sts become the heel flap. The 14 sts on either side are the left and right gussets.)
Row 1: k to 2 sts before end of heel sts, inc1, k1, turn
Row 2: s1, p to 2 sts before end of heel sts, inc1, p1, turn
Row 3: s1, k to 3 sts before gap, inc1, k1, turn
Row 4: s1, p to 3 sts before gap, inc1, p1, turn
Rep rows 3 and 4 until there are 29 heel sts (2 fewer than final heel flap size). Then
s1, k to 4 (or 5) sts before gap, inc1, k1, turn
s1, p to 4 (or 5) sts before gap, inc1, p1, turn

(The numbers in red are a change from the original.) Then to make the heel flap:
Row 1: s1, k to last heel st, ssk last heel st and 1 st from left gusset
Row 2: s 1, p to last heel st, p2tog last heel st and 1 st from right gusset

Note: The chart is an old one -- made before I switched from numbering from the top down to from the bottom up.

Wyvern sock

My most recent sock is a toe-up Wyvern sock (http://marniemaclean.com/patterns/Wyvern/) with mix and match toe and heel. It has a closed toe from http://knottygnome.blogspot.com/2005/11/free-pattern-sporty and http://secure.elann.com/ShowFreePattern.asp?Id=5024 and a toe-up heel-flap heel from http://www.socknitters.com/toe-up/index.htm. It's in 100% acrylic Moda Dea yarn and knit with size 3 needles ....and more importantly, I finished off the yarn. By the way, Ididn't work ribbing on the bottom of the sock, but I did work ribbing on the back of the sock from the end of the heel upward. I really like the wider version of the toe-up heel-flap heel.

Hedera

I actually finished this Hedera sock a couple of weeks ago. It was supposed to be my April socks for the sock-a-month KAL, but now it's my May one. I thought I'd better post this before it became my June socks.Surprisingly, for me, I followed the pattern almost exactly.
The first difference is that I made it knee high. I was hoping that it would stay up, but the yarn isn't springy enough for it to stay up. I didn't do anything special to make it knee high except for repeating the main pattern more times than called for.
When I got past the heel, I was worried about not having enough yarn (and didn't especiallycare for the cushiness of the heel). So I redid it as a plain heel.
Finally,I wanted the main part of the sock to be tighter, and so I did thegusset decreases until there were 21 instead of 29 sts on the sole. (25would have been ok, too.) For the toe, I transferred sts from the topto the sole so that there were the same number of sts on both.
Thesocks are done in Fortissima Colori Disco Socka Color, which is 71%superwash, 26% polyamide, and 3% metalized polyester. It's the firstexpensive sock yarn I've ever used. At least, I consider it expensive.For me, with short legs and narrow feet, it took 2 - 50g balls to makethe socks. To get the colors to match, I did one sock by taking yarnfrom the outside of the ball. I did the other sock on the other ball bytaking yarn from the inside.
If I had it to do over, I would have used smaller needles. (I used size 3 since I hadn't yet bought any size1.) I would have also done the second yo differently. I did both yo's in the pattern by yarning over front to back. If I had it to do over, Iwould have done the second one back to front -- hopefully, to keep the holes approximately the same size.
My other project, other than unpacking boxes and working in the garden, is Tempting II.

Short row socks

I decided to try my hand at short-row toe-up socks. Since I have high arches, a narrow heel, and a flat front to my foot, I made a few changes to the generic pattern for toe-up socks. (The toe and heel are a Sherman sock toe and heel.) The socks are 100% acrylic Moda Dea yarn. Here (edited September 2009) are my alterations to the general directions:

(s1 = slip 1 purlwise unless otherwise noted)

co 22 (using Turkish co -- 22 sts per needle)
Then using only one needle,
turn, p22, turn
Work Sherman sock toe:
s1, k20, turn
s1, p19, turn
s1, k18, turn
...... , end with:
s1, k10, turn -- for a flattish toe (approximately half of 22, the number of sts co)
s1, p8, p enc (s1, pick up st below next st, return both sts to LH needle, p2tog), turn
Then:
s1, k8, k enc (s1 knitwise, pick up st below next st, return both sts to LH needle, k2tog tbl), turn
s1, p9, p enc, turn
s1, k10, k enc, turn
....., end with
s1, k18, k enc, s1 (22 sts on needle), do not turn

Start working in the round (using both needles).
Work k44 around (or in pattern) to 3" shy of total foot length. One circ has the 22 sole sts, the other has the 22 top/insole sts.
Work 6 more rounds.
On odd rounds on circ w sole sts, k1, m1, knit to last st, m1, k1 -- for a total increase of 6 sts to sole.
Then work short-row heel on these 28 sts:
s1, k26, turn
s1, p25, turn
...., end with
s1, k6, turn (approximately a third of 22, the number of sts co)
s1, p4, p enc, turn
Then:
s1, k4, k enc, turn
s1, p5, p enc, turn
s1. k6, k enc, turn
s1, p8, ptog next st w wraps, wrap and turn
...., end with
s1, k24, k enc, turn
s1, p25, p enc, turn
s1, k26, k enc, do not turn
(The last two enc's involve picking up sts from the insole circ.)

Work 10 rounds by knitting around. (Now: 28 sts on sole, 22 sts on top.)
Work 10 round of k2, p2 (or else, k1, p1)
Then: k2, slip 2 with yarn in front for next round (or else, k1, s 1 wyf)
Then: slip 2 with yarn in back, p2 for next round (or else, k1 wyb, p1)
Finally, BO w loose bind off such as crochet bind off.

Jaywalker socks

These are my second pair of socks -- Jaywalkers for my DH. I used Magic Stripes yarn and 2size 3 circular needles. Here's what I did -- again more for my benefit -- than anyone else's:

CO 68 st -- when I cast on 60 sts, itfit my foot well
Ankle: work k2p2 ribbing 14rounds, then:
round 1: k68
round 2: *kfb, k5, k3tog tbl, k5,kfb* 4 times
for 13 repeats of pattern (26 completerounds). Wrap and turn.
Heel: sl, p33, wrap and turn,then
1: *s1, k1* 17 times, turn (34 totalstitches, 34 = 68 / 2)
2: s1, p33, turn
for 16 repeats of pattern (32 completerounds).
Turn heel: s1, k18, (1 + 18 = 68/ 4 + 2), k2tog tbl, k1, turn
s1, p5 (5 = 2*2 + 1), p2tog, p1, turn
s1, k6, k2tog tbl, k1, turn
s1, p7, p2tog, p1, turn
.... end w
s1, p16, p2tog, turn
Gusset:
s1, k8, (place marker), k9 , pick up 17sts along slip st edge, pick up 1 st at corner, k 34 for top, pick up1 st at corner, pick up 17 sts along slip st edge, k9, (marker -- endof round -- at center of sole)
Then:
1: k to 3 sts from corner, k2tog tbl,k1, *kfb, k5, k3tog tbl, k5, kfb* 2 times for top, k1, k2tog, k__
2: k to corner, k34 for top, k__
end when 68 sts total.
Sock body:
1. k17 , (corner), *kfb, k5, k3tog tbl,k5, kfb* 2 times for top, (corner), k17
2. k68
for 48 total (24 pairs of) rounds (to2" from final length), end w round 2.
Shape toe:
k14, k2tog tbl, k1, (corner), k7, k3togtbl, k5, kfb, kfb, k5, k3tog tbl, k7, (corner), k1, k2tog, k14
k around (64sts)
k12, k2tog tbl, k1, (corner), k6, k3togtbl, k5, kfb, kfb, k5, k3tog tbl, k6, (corner), k1, k2tog, k12
k around (60sts)
k10, k2tog tbl, k1, (corner), k5, k3togtbl, k5, kfb, kfb, k5, k3tog tbl, k5, (corner), k1, k2tog, k10
k around (56sts)
Then alternate:
k to last 3 sts, k2tog tbl, k1,(corner), k1, k2tog, k__, k2tog tbl, k1, (corner), k1, k2tog, k__
k around
to 40 sts total, then, for every round,do
k to last 3 sts, k2tog tbl, k1,(corner), k1, k2tog, k__, k2tog tbl, k1, (corner), k1, k2tog, k__
to 16 sts total
work to corner in knit, then bind off

my first pair of socks

This is the first pair of socks I've knitted. People at knittyboard.com were talking about how nice hand-knitted socks are, and so I decided to give it a go. I used Magic Stripes yarn and 2size 3 circular needles and a generic sock pattern. Here's what I did -- more for my benefit -- than anyone else's:

CO 52 sts onto one circular needle (what I'll be calling the second needle). Pull a loop (a la magic loop method) between the 26th and 27th sts. Taking another circular (what I'll be calling the first needle), join and work (k2,p2) on this needle, ending w k2 for a total of 26 sts on this needle. Using the"second" needle, work the rest of the round, starting and ending w p2 for a total of 26 sts on the needle. Work (k2p2) pattern for 26 rounds -- knitting the first half of the round with the"first" needle and the second on the other. At the end ofthis round, wrap and turn. The next part (heel) is worked using the "second" needle only.
slip 1, p25, wrap and turn
*slip 1, k25, turn, slip 1, p25, turn* -- repeat for a total of 27 rows, then still using the same needle
slip 1, k13, k2tog tbl, k1, turn -- slip 1, p2, p2tog p1, turn -- slip1, k3, k2tog tbl, k1, turn -- slip 1, p4, p2tog, p1, turn -- etc ending w slip 1, p12, p2tog, (no p1), turn
(Then to shape the gusset): slip 1, k13, (place marker), pick up and knit front loops produced by the slipped stitches (about 14 sts), pick up and knit one stitch from the corner. Using needle 1, work k2p2 pattern across,place marker, pick up and knit one stitch from the corner, pick p and knit front loops produced by the slipped stitches (about 14 sts). -- first round of gusset shaping
next round: needle 2 -- k to 3 sts from end, k2tog tbl, k1. needle 1 -- k2p2 pattern to marker, k1, k2tog, k to end
alternate this round with a round worked according to pattern until there are 20 sts on needle 2 and 32 sts on needle 1. Transfer last 6 sts from needle 1 to needle 2. (Needle 1 has 26 sts ink2p2 pattern. Needle has 26 k sts.)
Work patt until sock is 2" shy of finished length. On odd rounds, k around. On even rounds, end work on needle w k2tog tbl, k1 and start w k1, k2tog (for 4 dec's per round). Continue to 6 sts on each needle. Turn work inside out and bind off sts together.