Toe-up sock info roundup
I need to finish a pair of toe-up socks (everything's done but the bind off, on both socks) and I'm tired of just trying to bind off loosely and deal with the non-stretchiness at the top of the cuff. I'm in search of a stretchy bind off that will be ideal for toe-up socks.
Most of these links were gotten from a Ravelry discussion in the Up With Toes group.
- ChicKnits' favorite stretchy bind off. This looks easy. I'm tempted to try it.
- Elizabeth Zimmerman's sewn cast-off. This is supposed to be very stretchy, and supposed to not stretch out. It looks like a sort of tubular cast-off. Very tidy. It also looks sort of fidgety (I'm a fan of never needing to trade my knitting needles for a tapestry needle). But the results seem to be worth it.
- Giant list of stretchy bind offs. This definitely looks worthy of some detailed exploration.
Also noteworthy are some new methods of casting on for toe-up socks, which I haven't tried yet. I always just use a crochet provisional cast-on, which yields good results but is a pain in the butt. Next time I make socks, I'll be trying these:
- The Turkish Cast On looks like a fantastic alternative to a provisional cast-on.
- Also the Magic Cast On.
Update:
Another resource chock full of interesting bind-offs: this Techniques with Theresa article in the Summer 2006 Knitty. There's a whole section of "particularly flexible bind-offs". The suspended bind-off looks interesting.
