Things have settled down and settled in at K2Tog and I am enjoying my first day off in 13 days. I finished the toe of my first Maid Marian Sock and am ready to catch anyone up who is following along with me.

I always try on the sock and I know it is time to start the toe shaping when the needle holding the instep stitches hits the cleft between my big and second toes. Bingo.

The toe cap, in progress

We left our sock with 15 sts on dpns 1 and 3 and 35 sts on dpn 2 – 65 sts – and we were working the lace pattern across dpn 2 only. Finish the foot of the sock on row 2 or 4 of the lace pattern – a row with no ssks, k2togs or yo’s.  To begin the toe, you need to rearrange the stitches a bit. You want to have about half the stitches on dpn 2 and the rest divided evenly over dpns 1 and 3. Take the time now to shuffle them so that there are 16 stitches on dpns 1 and 3, and 33 sts on dpn 3 – 65 sts.  At this point you drop the lace pattern and knit all the stitches.  Beginning at dpn 1 – still the beginning of the round – shape toe as follows:

Rnd 1  – On dpn 1, k to 3 sts before end of needle, k2tog, k1. On dpn 2, k1, ssk, k to 3 sts before end of needle, k2tog, k1. On dpn 3, k1, ssk, k to end of rnd.

Rnd 2 – K all sts.

Repeat these 2 rnds until there are 6 sts left on dpns 1 and 3 and 13 sts on dpn 2. You should end up with a nice, clean, bold line of decreases on each side – like here in my picture. On last repeat of rnd 2, k2tog in middle of row – 12 sts on needle. K to end of rnd and then k once more across dpn 1. Transfer sts on dpns 1 and 3 to a single dpn.

Now for the part everyone hates – Kitchener Stitch. There is no reason for me to repeat Kitchener Stitch here – you can find it in a million books and magazines, and I have linked to an online print source for it, and here’s one in video for good measure. Don’t panic. Just do it. I actually like it. It has a rhythm and a beauty all its own, and it makes a perfect, smooth grafted join that won’t irritate your toes when you where the sock. Just buck up and do it, dammit.

ONE sock down

And there’s your sock! But now you have to make the other one. So look back over my instructions and get going. If you finish one of these – even just one – send me a picture and I’ll post it here on the blog.

Okay, inventory and moving at K2Tog are done. I am exhausted. We are all exhausted. But the store looks fantastic and the whole enterprise has been very exciting. I just need to catch up on my sleep.

Turned heel

Throughout I have been working on the Maid Marian Socks and am now about to finish the toe. But we are still on the heel here at Craftini. To see what comes before the turning of the heel, please visit the last Maid Marian post, in which we made the heel flap. Here goes.

Turn Heel:

Turn work so right side (RS) is facing.

Row 1 (RS) : Slip 1 stitch purlwise (pwise) with yarn in back (wyib). K 16 sts, ssk, k1, turn.

Row 2 (WS): Sl 1 pwise wyib, p4, p2tog, p1, turn.

Row 3: Slip 1 pwise wyib, k til there is 1 st before the gap created by the turn in row 1, ssk, k1, turn.

Row 4: Slip 1 pwise wyib, p to 1 st before the gap, p2tog, p1, turn.

Repeat Rows 3 and 4 until there are no sts left on the needle, ending with Row 4.

Now, as you can see from the picture above, I also shaped the gussets. Let’s do it now because I am having trouble finding time to blog.

Establish Gussets:

1. Turn work so RS is facing you. Slip 1 st pwise wyib, k7. Place marker (pm) for beginning of round. With another dpn, k9. THIS DPN IS NOW DPN 1.

2. With dpn 1, pick up & knit (pu&k) 17 sts along left side of heel flap.

3. Continue in established lace pattern across instep of sock. If you followed my directions correctly, you should be working Round 1 of the lace pattern. The pattern should begin and end with p1. The dpn holding these sts is now called dpn 2.

4. With another dpn, pu&k 17 sts along right side of heel flap. This dpn is now called dpn 3. With dpn 3, k the remaining 8 sts before the marker.

If you look at your sock, you should have a kind of triangle formed by the dpns. Your marker should be at the top of the triangle, with dpn 1 coming down the right side and holding 26 sts. Dpn 2 should form the base of the triangle and hold 35 sts. Dpn 3 should form the left side of the triangle and hold 25 sts.  If you want, at ths point you may transfer half the sts on dpn2 to another needle to form a square. I will continue with 3 dpns.

Shape Gussets:

Rnd 1 – k to 3 sts bfore end of dpn 1, k2tog, k1. Continue in lace pattern across dpn 3. On dpn 3, k1, ssk, k to end of rnd.

Rnd 2 – Work in established pattern across all dpns (no decreases).

Repeat these 2 rnds, decreasing 1 st on dpns 1 and 3 every other row (EOR) until 65 sts remain – 15 sts on dpn1; 35 sts on dpn2; 15 sts on dpn 3.

Work foot:

Continue working established pattern – k all sts on dpns 1 and 3 and work lace pattern on dpn 2 – until sock hits the cleft between your big and second toes.

Okay, that’s it for today. I have to go get ready for work. Yesterday, I indulged in some yarn shopping, buying myself some of our new Classic Elite Yarns “Firefly” in a gorgeous light green. I think I am going to make a lace tank. Stay tuned.