The Knitting Fiend

I’m chugging away on my purple toe up sock using “The Magic Loop Method” of knitting. I’m kinda sort of liking it.

Here’s what I’ve done so far. I worked my toe with a 29″ circular needle following the short row method. (My method is similar to Wendy’s toe up sock, but I eliminated a two unnecessary set up rounds. I think this minimizes the potential for small holes on either side of the toe.)

When I finished the short row toes, I had a little toe cup; see above left. I had cast on with white yarn followed by red scrap yarn using a “cheater’s provisional cast on”. I insert a sock (aka double pointed) needle into the red yarn, cut off the white yarn and then unraveled the red to give me live stitches. I placed these on another sock needle¹, which happened to be red; see above right.

To start knitting rounds, I held the work so the DPN was in the front; the yarn tail was on the right. I pulled tip of the circular needle roughly 8″-12″ to the right; bent it into a “Magic Loop” and began knitting stitches from the DPN.

Inserting to knit the first stitch is illustrated in the image to the left; I outlined the nearly invisible cable on the circular needle with a blue curve. I will volunteer one warning: Don’t pull the yarn tight around the cable when knitting the first stitch. The cable diameter is finer than the tips; if you pull too tight, it will be difficult to turn later. It takes some practice to figure out exactly how to tension the first stitch, but it’s better to have the stitch be too loose the first time you do this because otherwise learning the procedure if frustrating.

I continued knitting across until I’d emptied the red DPN.

After knitting all stitches off the double pointed needle I was ready for my first ever “Magic Turn!”¹

I laid the work on the floor ( so I could take photos; see left.) The two needle tips pointed left; “The Magic Loop” was on the right. The “front” of the work is toward the bottom of your terminal screen.

I slid “front” stitches to the left, as indicated with the purple arrow; the needle cable traveled to the right as illustrated by the blue arrows. At the same time, I pulled on the “Magic Loop” to enlarge it. I continued to pull until the “front” stitches reached the tip of the circular needle.

When I finished this, the loop was really large, and the stitches were near the needle tips.

Next, I pulled the back needle tip to the left (as indicated by the green arrow) until it extended 8″-12″ to the left of the stitches on the “back”; this shortened “The Magic Loop” on the right hand side.

Next, I picked up the work so the needle tips pointed to the right and the toe hung down.

That was a snap, but I needed to work the second half of the round.

I found everything just waiting for me to “do the right thing”. The circular needle tip extended 8-12″ to the right. I took it in my right hand, flexed the needle, inserted into a stitch on the left, (front) needle tip, and began to knit stitches off the left tip. This was very, very similar to knitting off the DPN. However, now I could see loops on both the right and left side of the work. (See left.)

I worked until I reached “the loop” then did a second “Magic Turn”. I’d finished the round! Whoo hoo!

So, that’s it. That’s “The Magic Loop” method! You distribute the stitches on an extra long circular needle that has been pinched to create “loops” on either side. Then, youknit arround by doing this twice: knit across a bunch of stitches, do a “Magic Turn”.

At first, I found it a bit clumsy, but I eventually got comfortable. Is it better or easier than DPNS? I don’t know. On the one hand, it is nice not to have to keep track of the extra needle I always seem to misplace when knitting with 4 or 5 DPNs. On the other hand, it took me a little while to figure out just how to knit the first stitch on the needle so that it didn’t bind when I did the Magic Turn, but also didn’t create a gap.

I did manage to master that first stitch and now it’s going quickly. See how far I got while eating chips, drinking wine and cheering on “Dah Bears”?
 
 

1. I pick up stitches using a DPN (aka double pointed or sock needle) because it’s mindless; I could pick up stitches with the other tip of the circular needle, but then I need to be careful to pick up so I can later knit off the tip. (Not actually difficult, but you need to activate 10% or your brain. With the sock needle you only activate 2% of your brain.) I used a 29″ long circular needle because that was what I found on sale at Joanne’s; my LYS didn’t have long circular needles in size 0. Is 29″ a good length? Beats me. Some references recommend 40″ long needles; some 20″ needles; I’m managing with 29″.

2. Yes, I made up the term “Magic Turn”; I need a word so I can refer to the procedure later.

This is filed in How To Knit Socks.