Socks from the Toe Up: Essential Techniques and Patterns from Wendy Knits

Knitting socks from the toe up has a few advantages: you can try on the sock as you knit, and you can adjust the height of the cuff to the amount of yarn you have. Johnson provides five different techniques for starting a sock with the toe; three different heel techniques; several cast-off options; as well as instruction on knitting using double-pointed needles, two circular needles, or one long circular needle. The ballerina photos show off each sock pattern from multiple angles. The three basic sock patterns allow knitters to experiment with their own creations. Solid or heather-colored yarns are recommended to best display the lacework or textured design (no color-work patterns are included). Half of the socks are lace patterns, and all but three use fingerling weight yarn. Socks are a popular knitting project because of their size, portability, and variety; they can be as simple or as complex as you like. This attractive collection of 23 sock patterns ranges from very basic to more challenging designs; both first time and advanced knitters will find projects here.