knitting socks
Can any of my knitting friends please explain, in plain English, the rationale behind sock construction?
What I need to read, without any knitting abbreviations, is the purpose of each portion of the sock. For instance: the toe is so many stitches to cast on, and then after 1/2 inch you want to increase by a certain percent to make room for the ball of the foot, and then the heel (which I can grok the idea of the heel flap, it's just the picking up of stitches that freak me out) Then, if you could, explain what picking up the stitches is supposed to look like, feel like, and the logical way to know if I've picked up all the stitches I need to pick up.
I learned how to do the Magic Cast-on in about 2 tries the other day. The video by Cat Bordhi is fantastic, really helpful. What I want to do is 2 socks, toe up on 2 circs with 2 skeins. Is this possible? Do I have too high expectations for myself?
And another thing, when doing a heel flap on circular needles, do I need to use DPN's for the heel flap?
I'm posting this here in hope I'll get the help I need from friends who are more tolerant of me, rather than trying to post to the sock knitting mailing group. I don't think I'd get blasted for asking these questions to the sock group, but I want to ask here first to figure out what exactly I'm asking.
I can't read a pattern to understand what it is that I'm doing. My eyes cross and I am lost after the first P1. Once I understand what I'm doing and why I'm doing it, I'll be able to read the pattern. Is there a website that explains it in plain language I haven't found? Help!
What I need to read, without any knitting abbreviations, is the purpose of each portion of the sock. For instance: the toe is so many stitches to cast on, and then after 1/2 inch you want to increase by a certain percent to make room for the ball of the foot, and then the heel (which I can grok the idea of the heel flap, it's just the picking up of stitches that freak me out) Then, if you could, explain what picking up the stitches is supposed to look like, feel like, and the logical way to know if I've picked up all the stitches I need to pick up.
I learned how to do the Magic Cast-on in about 2 tries the other day. The video by Cat Bordhi is fantastic, really helpful. What I want to do is 2 socks, toe up on 2 circs with 2 skeins. Is this possible? Do I have too high expectations for myself?
And another thing, when doing a heel flap on circular needles, do I need to use DPN's for the heel flap?
I'm posting this here in hope I'll get the help I need from friends who are more tolerant of me, rather than trying to post to the sock knitting mailing group. I don't think I'd get blasted for asking these questions to the sock group, but I want to ask here first to figure out what exactly I'm asking.
I can't read a pattern to understand what it is that I'm doing. My eyes cross and I am lost after the first P1. Once I understand what I'm doing and why I'm doing it, I'll be able to read the pattern. Is there a website that explains it in plain language I haven't found? Help!