No German title today either.
Yes, you read right. If you don’t like to kitchener your sock toes, or you don’t mind it, but don’t like how it turns out, or you think you cannot finish a square toe without it - stick around.
Personally, I think my method is genius, but I’m thinking you might burst out laughing and call it nonsense. It’s not necessarily an improvement on Kitchener, it just avoids it. It’s a bit fussy, but I don’t mind. I might be onto somethingm though, as sweet Cassie thinks it’s brilliant, too.
This is going to either make me world famous (though that was neither the intent nor the goal), or it will subject me to the ridicule of the world’s knitting population. I hear knitting (technique) purists are a vicious bunch.
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1) Knit your sock until you get to where you would normally graft the toe stitches with Kitchener stitch.
Distribute the stitches on two needles - instep stitches and heel stiches on their own respective needle.
2) Move the stitches to the far left end of both needles. Leaving only a couple of millimeters to the end, but careful not to lose any stiches.
3) Put your non-dominant hand into the sock and spread the opening with your fingers. Carefully “swing” the tip of a needle over the “edge” into the opening and into the sock. Move the needle to your fingers inside the sock, preventing the stitches to slip off the tip of the needle. It is helpful to hold on to the stiches with your dominant hand’s index, as you navigate the needle and then push the needle into the sock, thereby moving the stitches towards the middle of the needle (unlike I’m doing in the pic, sorry). Repeat with other needle. This may take a few attempts.
4) At this point, the hand in the sock is holding one end of each needle inside the sock and all stitches are still on the needles. Guess what’s next?
5) Turn the sock inside out.
6) Re-insert your non-dominant hand into the sock. Carefully guide the needles outside the sock, reversing the previous manoeuvre. Remember not to drop any stitches. Though they are easily picked up if you do.
7) Blurry picture, but it’s clear where you are now - you’re in Bizzaro World of 1) above. In other words, you just turned your sock inside out with the needles attached.
8) Now cast off your stitches with three-needle-bind-off. Surprised?
9) All cast off. Turn sock out.
10) Ta-Da!
Whaddaya think?
Oh, you want to see the socks? Here ya go.
Well I think it’s brilliant and I’m totally going to have to try this.
And wo, thems some BEAUTIFUL socks.
Well, you know what *I* think of the no-kitchener-toe….so I’ll just mention that I heart the new layout and little sketch…
Very pretty! Glad to see that the socks are all done and you’ve “unvented” (Elizabeth Zimmerman’s term) a new way to finish off socks. How fun! :)
uhm ok, I’ve done this but I still find kitchener to be faster, and turning it inside out is a real pain in the rear end usually resulting in a few dropped stitches. Have you considered star toe or inverting the socks and finishing off the last 10 rounds or so in rev stst decreases so that the sock is already inside out and you don’t have to fiddle to do the three needle bind off? Just a thought.. someone also suggested safety pins to me once, but I lose those more frequently than my tape measure.
this is a most brilliant toe-closing method! i actually used it for my cascading leaves socks. i managed to turn the socks inside out by pushing the sock through the toe hole - that way i didn’t have to push the needles through.
i love that pink yarn! gorgeous! and the ta-da pictures (step 10) are hilarious - it looks like kermit came out of the closet.
That is a great kitchener alternative. I actually think that I like it better than kitchener, but part of me insists on mastering grafting. Stubborn? Me? Yeah!
Love it! I don’t much mind the kitchner, but since I’m and idiot and always have to pull the book out each time I do it, this will be much, much easier. I’m totally trying this tonight since I’m just at the end of the last very-long-sock. Clever, clever girl.
Those are lovley socks.
I will try this method when I do the next pair of socks. It looks very neat. I think I will try the turing with saftey pins.
It is always good to learn something new.
Thank you.
it sounds a bit confusing but on the other hand this way could solve my problem with the cast off. I think next time I#ll try it your way and report afterwards …
Sibille … from “good old” Germany
Great minds think alike! I do the same thing when making baby booties. I usually knit with two circulars and it’s much easier to tuck everything inside when the stitches are on something flexible. I’ll admit that I still Kitchener socks, as I can feel the three needle bind off and it bugs me. Sensitive toes I have ;-)
tee-hee –
every pair of socks (ok, all two of them. three if you count a christmas stocking) have used this approach! we ev-les-bklyn ladies clearly share a corner of the brain!
(ps. they look bee-YEW-ti-ful!)
fantastic! i can’t wait to try these on the toes of my next pair! also - great new look! i moved as well… blogger is my enemy.
Ooh, that’s heaps cooool! I know I’d have a major problem trying to get the needles through, adn I hate having to pick up stitches on SOCKS…I reckon you could just shove all the stitches ontoa bit of leftover yarn lying around? then pick em up off it once you turned the sock inside out? Maybe that’d just be more effort…I dunno, I’ll try your way though, it’s great!!
I vote genius :P
The socks are lovely though, very cute!
This really isn’t a new technique :)
When I do it, I transfer my stitches to two coil-less safety pins or two of the Clover locking stitch markers to turn the sock inside out then place the stitches right back on the needles for a 3 needle bind off.
I prefer the *safety* of the stitchmarker or safety pin to avoid dropping stitches.
HTH!!
I do the 3-needle bind off on the right side so the wearer doesn’t have a seam on the toes.
Now I have to start a pair of socks so I can finish them with this brilliant method! Do you have a fun, interesting pattern for a non boring sock made in sport weight yarn? Please share if you do.
What I like best is that YOU DISREGARDED “THE RULES.”
Whoo hoo. I’m thinking that 3 needle bind off right side out will do fine for my sock recipients.
Hmm… I did it like that when I kitchener my very long socks! Turned it inside out and knitted it togheter! Isn’t that how it is supposed to be done? Hmm… Have to read the Stitch and bitch-book again. Thought they said the sock needed to be turned…
Sock Heel Bindoff Alternative
MeMoiJa has a really neat trick to use the 3 needle bindoff for the sock heel, instead of kitchener stitch (which drives me slightly up the wall)…. I tried adapting this technique with the 2 circs that I use and ended up having the stitches slip of…