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.

adding a sleeve to a raglan sweater

 Here are my current thoughts on adding a sleeve to a raglan sweater.  Since I like to knit from the top down, at the time I'm ready to add a sleeve, the body is complete, most of the sleeve stitches are on a spare circular needle, and the rest of the sleeve stitches will be picked up from the stitches cast on at the bottom of the armhole.   The only difference between this and what I've done before is that I've now decided to start working the sleeve at the center of the underarm seam.

To start the sleeve: With the garment right side out, identify the stitches that were cast on at the bottom of the sleeve opening. (Using a crochet hook,) pull yarn from the nearest stitch (on a spare circular needle) through the top of the right-most of these stitches and then place the stitch back on the needle. Do the same for the left-most stitch. (Disregard these two cast on stitches for the following.)  Slide a double-pointed needle --or a 16" circular needle -- into the garment to the right of the sleeve opening (to keep the needle from slipping). Starting with the middle cast-on stitch (or the stitch just to the left of middle), (with a new ball of yarn) pick up and knit (or purl) this stitch and each of the remaining underarm stitches going to the left. (Knit the knit stitches, and purl the purl stitches.)   Work the pattern around the sleeve and then pick up and knit (or purl) the remaining cast on stitches at the bottom of the armhole.  --  finishing round 1 for the sleeve.

To convert to raglan

I'm starting to make a pattern from the newest issue of knitty.com.  I always like to know how a pattern is going to fit before making it -- and sometimes I redo patterns completely.  So I had to devise a way to redo patterns or, at least, compare them to my other patterns.  Here's my formula for converting a pattern to raglan.

First: Determine how many more garment stitches than sleeve stitches there are.
BB = number of garment stitches (from pattern) below the underarm divided by 2
SS = number of sleeve stitches (from pattern) near underarm seam (Include stitches belonging to underarm seam.)
Add 2 (or 4) to SS -- 2 if there are an odd number of stitches in the raglan seam, 4 if an even number.  (I arrange the raglan seam so that just over half of it belongs to the sleeve.)
D = BB – SS

Second: Measure your neck. Multiply by 120%. Multiply by the gauge. Call this number N.
OR: Second: Count the number of stitches at the neckline. Call this number N.

Third: Calculate the number of stitches at the neckline (so that B – S = D).
S = (N / 4) – (D / 2) -- number of sleeve stitches at neck
B = (N / 4) + (D / 2) -- number of garment-back stitches at neck
The type of neck chosen determines F, the number of garment-front stitches at the neck.
B and S should be made into whole numbers -- and possibly tweaked further to fit in with the ribbing and/or garment patterns.

Fourth: Determine U, the length of the underarm seam, and R2, the number of rows with raglan decreases/increases (decreases if knitting from the top down, increases if knitting from the bottom up). (One choice for U is BB/6. Another choice is the value of U from the pattern.)

After U is chosen, then R2 = (BB – B – U) / 2. U may have to be changed in order to make R2 a whole number.  Also check that 2 * R2 < R, the number of rows above the underarm seam. (Raglan decreases/increases are usually taken every other row – and sometimes every fourth row. For this reason, 2 * R2 needs to be less than R.)

casting on

I just realized that I've been recommending the wrong type of cast on for starting a sweater.  What I should have said was use a cable cast on (instead of a chain cast on).  Directions for the cable cast on can be found at : http://www.wonderful-things.com/newknit1.htm.  The cable cast on is easy to do, doesn't twist much, and is fairly substantial.  It's not too good, however, in places where one wants to pick up stitches -- such as at the underarm sleeve.

Easy-to-Make Textured Scarf

Since, I've almost finished the afghan I was making, my thoughts have turned to fall projects.
Here is an easy scarf to make in any width or length and with just about any type of yarn. Variegated yarn makes the scarf look too busy, though. For my first scarf, I used #6 needles with medium yarn and cast on 21 stitches. For my second scarf, I used #8 needles with bulky yarn and cast on 15 stitches. For my third scarf, I used #6 needles with medium yarn and cast on 27 stitches.
The pattern was inspired by Jacqueline Fee’s Beaded Rib Scarf, Sweater Workshop, p227. The main changes are the increase and decrease rows – to say exactly where and how many stitches to increase and decrease – and the pattern itself – to have more knitted stitches than purled ones. (I would much rather knit than purl. ) I didn’t put fringes on either scarf – although it’s OK to do so.

To make the scarf:
Cast on a multiple of 3 stitches.
Knit across.

Then: s1pyif (slip 1as if to purl, yarn in front), *k1, kfb (knit in front and back of next stitch), kfb * (repeat * to *), end k2. (There are now 3 mod 5 stitches – three plus a multiple of five.)

Repeat pattern rows 1 and 2 below until the scarf is at least 47" long:
1: s1pyif, k2, * p2, k3 * (repeat * to *), end p2, k3.
2: s1pyif, k2, * k2, p1, k1, p1* (repeat * to *), end k5.
End with pattern row 1.

Then: s1pyif, *k1, k2tog, k2tog* (repeat * to *), end k2. (There are now the same number of stitches that were cast on.)
Finally: s1pyif, then cast off, treating the last 2 stitches as one (to square the corner).

edited 12/21/06: Instead of the last decrease row and the cast off row, cast off and decrease at the same time (pso is pass stitch over, loosely, as in the ordinary single bind off):

s1pyif, *k1, pso, k2tog, pso, ssk, pso* (repeat * to *), end k2tog, pso. Then pull yarn through and weave in loose end.

Raglan seam thoughts

Here are some thoughts about the shape and structure of a raglan seam.

The raglan seam itself can be as simple or as complicated as one likes. It can be as simple as a single knit stitch or as elaborate as a cable pattern (p2cable4p2) -- as I saw on an episode of Buffy, the Vampire Slayer -- or a k1p2k1 pattern as in some of the sweaters I've posted directions for.

I like to be able to easily match up patterns on the sleeve with patterns on the front of a sweater, and I've also discovered a way to keep there from being holes near the bottom of the armhole -- which involves hiding 1 or 2 stitches from the raglan seam. For a raglan seam with an odd number of stitches (as in the boat-neck sweater pattern in this blog), allocate the central stitch to the sleeves. For a raglan seam with an even number of stitches(as in the ribbed sweater with turtleneck option pattern in this blog), allocate the central two stitches to the sleeves, and then just before the underarm seam k or p tog to give a single central stitch. The central stitch will disappear when the sleeve is added.

Increases are made on both sides of the seam (paired increases). In general, increase on every odd row until 3 rounds of increases are left. Increase every fourth row after that. Finally, knit without increasing until reaching desired number of "rows above underarm seam".

To match designs on the sleeve and garment body, keep this in mind. With S the number of sleeve stitches at the neck and B the back and x the extra raglan stitches belonging to the sleeve (2 or 4), if two sleeve stitches have z stitches between them, the corresponding front (or back) stitches have z + B – S + x stitches between them.

ripple afghan

I'm taking a little time off from knitting now. The garden needs work. The only project I'm working on now is a ripple afghan which I inherited from my mother-in-law about 10 years ago. I finished a granny square afghan that my grandmother had started. (That was in the 70's.) Now I'm finishing one that my mother-in-law only bought the kit for. It's really simple to make -- perfect for something to do while watching TV. (I changed the pattern a little from the directions. I'm incapable of following directions exactly. I always think that this, that, or the other would be a little better if I did this instead of that.)

Chain a multiple of 25 plus 4 (304 for the one I'm making).
Then for each row after that:
chain 1, single crochet 1 (in last stitch of previous row), single crochet in back loop of next st, * skip 1, sc 11 (in back loops), in next back loop sc 3, sc 11 (in back loops), skip 1 *. End with sc 1 (in back loop), sc 1.

Note: The part between *'s is repeated until the end of the row. Between sets of sc 11, there will either be skip 2 stitches or sc 3 in same stitch. Change colors after every 8th row.