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Introduction to The CSM Cookbook

Introduction to The CSM Cookbook

You can purchase The CSM Cookbook through Ravelry. The following is the introduction to the book.

This project started out as a way to keep myself organized.  I noticed that as I learned more and more ways to make socks on my CSM that I would get confused or over confident and start skipping steps.  I made myself some checklists so that I wouldn’t forget all the important steps to making a given type of sock but I kept them open ended so that I could use them over and over again.  From those lists came this “cookbook” of recipes that you can use on your sock machine. Think of this as a basic first cookbook – it contains twelve recipes for all of the most common circular sock machine styles with six socks that are “top down” and start with the cuff or hem, and six socks that are “toe up” and start with an extended toe that can be stretched across the cylinder for a seamless design.

There are some things I’m expecting you to know before using these patterns:

  • I’m assuming that you know how to set up your machine, adjust the tension, and get started on some waste yarn.  I refer to hanging a bonnet, but however you start a sock is fine.
  • I’m assuming that your cylinder is marked with half marks to divide the front and the back of the cylinder evenly and that both the front and the back half have target needles marked for making heels and toes.  
  • I’m assuming that you know how to do things like engage your heel spring and crank in both directions for heels and toes.
  • Since rehanging heel forks or v-hooks while making a heel or toe depends on your particular set up, there aren’t directions for when to do this.  Just move your weights when needed.
  • Finally, I’m assuming that you have learned how to clean your machine, time your ribber, and adjust your yarn carriage.

If you need help with any of those things, I’ve included some of the best online instructions and videos in the back of this book in the Resources section.  Once you have those basic skills, these checklists will help you put them together to make beautiful socks.

Once I started working on these patterns, I realized that there were other things a new cranker (that’s a person who uses a hand crank sock machine) might like to have, like directions for making gauge swatches or a worksheet to easily determine the rounds needed for a given person’s foot or illustrations for techniques I mentioned in the patterns.  Suddenly, I had a whole book, not just patterns!

I was introduced to circular sock machines as a hand knitter and knitwear designer, so you will see that I use hand knitting terms within this book.  Many of my hand knitting skills transferred easily to working with the sock machine, so I used those conventions as I wrote. The patterns are written in an open ended format so that you can customize the pattern to make the type of sock you want in that style.  Every pattern can be used to make anything from an ankle sock to a knee sock and from the most petite foot length to an extra long foot, just fill in the blanks to adjust the leg and foot as needed.

As in hand knitting, there are many ways to accomplish a particular result on a sock machine.  I’ve illustrated the methods that work well for me, but please explore other methods and find the ones that are right for you.

One final comment:  Part of the process of learning to use a sock machine is making mistakes.  These checklist style patterns will help keep you from making mistakes in completing all the steps of the process, but you’ll still have plenty of dropped stitches and other mistakes.  The video channels listed in the Resource section show many examples of how to recover from mistakes. When something goes wrong, I usually try to estimate how long it will take me to repair the mistake compared to just scrapping the sock and starting over.  My advice is to take on a learner’s mindset. Go slow at first, try new methods now and then, and enjoy the process of figuring things out!

Anatomy of a Sock

Included in this book you will find six different socks that start at the cuff or top hem and six that start at the toe.  Each recipe takes you through all the steps of making a particular type of sock. Below is a diagram of the basic parts of a sock, whether you work the sock from the top down to the toe or from the toe up to the top.  

There are a few distinctions between parts depending on the type of sock.  The very top of the sock is referred to as the cuff when it is ribbed and as a Hung Hem if the edge is folded over and secured on the inside of the sock.  A pre-heel is a part of the sock that is worked in smooth stockinette for the back of the heel so that the sock fits better and is more comfortable inside a shoe.  If the sock doesn’t have ribbing or mock ribbing on the leg, there will not be a pre-heel.

Purchase the complete 72 page ebook today!

The CSM Cookbook

The CSM Cookbook

I’m so excited to announce a new ebook I’ve published called The CSM Cookbook! I’ve been working on this ebook for many months now and I consider it a basic first cookbook of checklist style patterns for the circular sock machine. The ebook contains twelve patterns for all of the most common circular sock machine styles with six socks that are “top down” and start with the cuff or hem, and six socks that are “toe up” and start with an extended toe that can be stretched across the cylinder for a seamless design.

You will also find chapters on making gauge swatches, sizing socks to fit your feet, an illustrated glossary of techniques, information on finishing socks, and a list of additional resources.

The twelve patterns included are:

Chapter 1 of the ebook is called Swatching for Gauge. I discuss all the things that can affect gauge, give directions for making a gauge swatch, explain how to do the math, and give you a worksheet for recording gauge information.

Chapter 2 is called sock sizing. I discuss the measurements you need to make great fitting socks, explain how to calculate how many rounds you need for each part of your sock, and provide a sock sizing worksheet you can use for each pair of socks you make.

Chapter 3 describes how to work the Quick and Easy Heels and Toes.

Chapter 4 is a ten page illustrated guide to common techniques and terms used in the patterns. If you are still learning about making socks, this chapter along with the resources in Chapter 7 will help you know what to do!

Chapter 5 includes all twelve checklists. These checklists are written in a step by step style so that you’ll never forgot to release your heel spring or stop in the front! You provide your own numbers based on swatching to make the socks the length and height you want. An example is shown below.

Chapter 6 provides links and tips for finishing both toe up and top down socks.

Chapter 7 is a list of additional resources, including video channels, links to manuals, and more!

All in all you’ll get 72 pages of information to make you successful in making socks on your CSM! Purchase and download it today!

Reading Japanese Knitting Patterns

Reading Japanese Knitting Patterns

After getting the really great Japanese Knitting Patterns book, I’ve decided I wanted to explore some other Japanese pattern books.  I signed up for a class at Stitches West in February but that’s a long way off!

So first I visited Kinokuniya, the Japanese bookstore in San Jose.  I’ve browsed Japanese knitting books there in the past, but perhaps because it is summer, they didn’t have much of a selection this time.  Then I remembered that I had heard about an Etsy shop that carries all kinds of Japanese craft books and magazines.  I searched through literally hundreds of books and magazines and narrowed it down to six that I ordered.

The books and magazines have arrived and now I’m puzzling through the construction details for a few favorite patterns.  I thought I’d share the resources that I’ve been using to help me.

In addition to the front material in Japanese Knitting Patterns, Twig and Horn have a great post on how to read Japanese knitting patterns.  One of the most important things it explains is how to read the decrease information for armholes and necklines.

I also found a Japanese/English dictionary full of knit specific terms that has been useful.

Ravelry has a Japanese Knitting and Crochet group that is also very helpful.

If you have used Japanese knitting patterns, I’d love to hear your favorite resources!

New Japanese Knitting Book

New Japanese Knitting Book

 I recently purchased the book Japanese Knitting: Patterns for Sweaters, Scarves and More that has been translated into English and published by Tuttle Publishing.  They also recently published the Japanese Knitting Stitch Bible, also a translation.

I have a number of Japanese stitch dictionaries but have shied away from the pattern books in Japanese, feeling concerned that there is too much I’d have to puzzle out.  This book is translated to English from the original Japanese but it keeps the format and style of the original patterns, which are much more brief than modern American patterns.  It also includes a special five page introduction to Japanese knitting patterns for English readers that explains how the patterns are traditionally laid out.  I think those five pages were worth the cost of the book because they have given me more confidence to look at the Japanese language pattern books again next time I am at a Japanese bookstore.

My favorite pattern in the whole book is F Poncho and Cardigan, a garment that can be worn both as a poncho style garment with sleeves or as a circle style cardigan.  It’s one of several two way garments that caught my imagination both as a knitter and as a designer.  I have yarn on the way and hope to start working on this one soon!

Despite being called Japanese Knitting, there are several crochet patterns included that have a very fresh look and interesting surface texture.  I particularly like P Vest and Stole, another two way garment that can be worn both as a long vest or as a wrap.

Many of the garments use simple shapes to make elegant silhouettes and would not be difficult to knit.  The English version helpfully includes cm to inch conversions on each pattern page for the measurements listed for that pattern.  It also includes a chart that gives you more details about the yarns used in the patterns, which are difficult to find outside of Japan, so that you can make effective substitutions.

Overall, I’m happy to be able to add this book to my collection and I hope Tuttle puts out more of these gems!

Favorite Sock Knitting Books

Favorite Sock Knitting Books

Last weekend I taught a class on learning to knit socks. One of the things I love about socks is how they are so easy to customize and that even a plain sock can be interesting to knit. I gave my students a list of favorite sock knitting books, so I thought I would share them here as will with some additional annotations.

(Note: all links are affiliate links and if you purchase the book through that link, I’ll get a few cents at no extra cost to you!)

Knitting Rules! by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

This is not strictly a sock book but rather a book of  humor and recipes for knitting a variety of items including a great chapter on knitting basic top down socks.  What I love about it is the conversational style that Stephanie uses to describe the process of making a sock and how she shows that you can’t really do it too wrong.  I’ve tried to model my class a bit after her style– that socks are something that can make sense and everyone can do it!

Custom Socks: Knit to Fit Your Feet by Kate Atherley

This book is sort of the opposite in some ways to the previous book.  It’s a very detailed and precise explanation of exactly how to make a perfect fitting sock with tables and charts for knitting both top down and bottom up socks with measurements and stitch counts ready for you to plug into a master pattern based on your gauge. It includes some variations on heels, toes, and leg styles and has extensive information about how to make a sock for all kinds of special fitting situations.  Kate has a very scientific approach to sock making.

The Sock Knitter’s Workshop by Ewa Jostes and Stephanie van der Linden

This book is a compendium of a wide variety of heels and toes and construction methods.  It contains a collection of charts with numbers for different sock sizes from children to adults in a standard sock gauge.  You can mix and match your favorite heels and toes with the standardized numbers included.  It also information to help you decide which methods to use based on the shape of your foot.

Sock Architecture by Lara Neel

Similar to The Sock Knitter’s Workshop, Lara’s book describes a wide variety of toe and heel variations, including some that are not part of the book above.  Lara’s book does not give as much information about sizing and construction, but is a great resource for exploring new methods.