Knitting Circles around Socks: Knit Two at a Time on Circular Needles [Paperback]

Antje Gillingham (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 27, 2007

Why knit one sock and then start all over again to make a match? Instead, knit two socks at the same time on two circular needles! With this creative approach, you can slip a sock on each foot as soon as you bind off.

* Get off to a great start with one basic sock pattern; then experiment with seven more designs

* Make cuffs, feet, and toes match exactly from sock to sock; no more measuring as you go

* Discover how easy it is to convert any sock pattern for double-pointed needles to this ingenious method

Editorial Reviews

Review

Some people like knitting socks on double-pointed needles, but for other knitters they are annoying, intimidating or just plain uncomfortable to use. The good news is there are plenty of other ways to get socks on your feet, and they might even be faster because you can knit two socks at a time if you like. Antje Gillingham shares one method for knitting two socks at a time in her book Knitting Circles around Socks: Knit Two at a Time on Circular Needles.

Two Needles, Two Socks
Gillingham's method involves using two circular needles to knit in the round, and it's a method that works just as well for knitting a single circular object without using double-pointed needles as it does for knitting two socks at once. If you've ever used two circulars instead of double-pointed needles for knititng in the round, then you know the basics of how this method works. For those who haven't used a similar technique before, there is a basic woman's stockinette sock pattern that walks readers through each step of working two socks on two circulars and includes tons of pictures and tips that will help you successfully complete the project.

The Patterns
The book includes eight additional patterns, all sized to fit women, beyond the instructional sock. The patterns include a chunky ribbed cotton sock, a Stockinette sock knit in self-striping yarn, short socks with beaded embellishments, a cabled sock, a pair with ruffled cuffs and two lace socks. Most of the patterns are easy enough for new sock knitters, and only the lace socks rank intermediate on the book's skill level scale. A knitter who is completely new to socks but who thinks this method might be easier than having to keep track of four or five needles at once would do fine with this book.
If you don't want to knit socks for a woman, there's a chart indicating different sizes for men and children, but you'll have to do the math to convert the patterns to different sizes.
The book also includes information on how to convert patterns written for double-pointed needles to work on circular needles, which basically involves understanding that one needle holds the top of the foot while the other needle holds the heel.

This book provides an easy way to learn a different method for knitting socks for those who don't like or don't want to use double-pointed needles. The patterns are pretty simple and don't provide a lot of variety, but you'll have the method down after knitting only a couple of projects from this book. --Sarah E. White, About.com Guide

Antje uses two circular needles to complete both socks at once. She walks you through with a basic stockinette sock pattern, including lots of pictures and tips. There are eight more patterns (all of the patterns in the book are women's sizes), including cabled, ruffled cuff, lace, ribbed, self-striping yarn and beaded embellishments. Her second book, new this year, adds to her methods and includes new patterns. --Peggy McMullen, The Oregonian

About the Author

Home: Maryville, Tennessee

Antje Gillingham is the owner of the Knitting Nest, a successful knitting shop in the heart of Maryville, Tennessee.

Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Martingale & Co Inc (August 27, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1564777391
• ISBN-13: 978-1564777393
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 8.5 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #121,451 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Antje Gillingham is the owner of the Knitting Nest, a successful knitting
shop in the heart of Maryville, Tennessee.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

208 of 222 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great for cuff-down on 2 circs., August 25, 2007

By 

N. Lepoutre-Baldocchi "nlbknitter" (Oakland, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Knitting Circles around Socks: Knit Two at a Time on Circular Needles (Paperback)

Ms. Gillingham does a great job describing how to knit two socks cuff down on two circular needles. Some of the best things are, finally, an illustraton of the anatomy of a sock. Finally, finally, finally, someone shows exactly what the gusset is on a sock. If you've never seen a hand-knit sock, only store-bought, you will be hard pressed to figure out what the gusset is. Here is a picture. Her other illustrations are also very good, particularly of the Kitchener graft.

Her instructions are very clearly written. It's obvious that English is her second language in the sense that she is very careful and precise in its use. Nothing is taken for granted. This is an excellent quality in a book of instructions on a process.

The reason I give this book only three stars is that I found the title misleading. If Ms. Gillingham (or her publisher) had specified that this was a book on knitting socks on TWO circular needles it would have been clear. As it is, I had the impression that it was a book about knitting socks on circular needles. This would normally have included knitting on one long circular needle, aka "Magic Loop." There is no mention of the magic loop method in the book.

The other star was lost in the lack of any toe-up sock patterns. Toe-up is my preferred way of knitting socks because I have a number of relatives with very long feet. When you knit toe-up you can be sure to have the foot (at least!!!) completed before running out of yarn, then you use up the rest of the yarn to knit the leg and cuff. I know that most people are accustomed to knitting socks cuff down, but those of us who knit toe-up shouldn't be denied out of hand.

This said, it is a good beginner book and knitting two socks at a time is truly a no brainer. Even if you've never knit socks before in your life, it will not be a problem to start two at a time with this book.

57 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beginning Knitters Can Knit Socks With This Book, March 9, 2008

By 

BeckyG81 (Knoxville, Tennessee, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Knitting Circles around Socks: Knit Two at a Time on Circular Needles (Paperback)

I am a beginning knitter. I HAD NEVER MADE A PAIR OF SOCKS UNTIL I RECEIVED THIS BOOK! When I first flipped through the pictures and patterns, I thought, "Maybe this is beyond my knitting ability level." However, as I followed the author's meticulous, step-by-step instructions, each subsequent portion of the directions made sense as I continued knitting along. The directions are very detailed, and the pictures are clear and helpful. I am pleased to report that my first pair of knitted socks turned out incredibly well, thanks to this book!

The author provides "The Basic Sock Pattern," on pages 20-33, to show exactly how to make a pair of plain, worsted-weight socks on two size 5 circular needles (one 16" circular needle and one 24" circular needle). There are 19 individual photographs (Figures 1-19) in The Basic Sock section that aid the reader in understanding the well-written directions.

Since the 16 inch and 24 inch needles are different lengths, you will not get confused regarding which row/round you are knitting. I followed the author's suggestion of using point protectors to differentiate between needles for the first few rounds. Bryson knitting point protectors can be cut in half with a sharp craft knife (these point protectors have holes for two needle tips). After cutting one point protector in half, I put halves on two of the four needle tips to differentiate between the 16 and 24 inch needles.

In addition, illustrated diagrams and written instructions are provided in the "Knitting Basics" section of the book. Instructions are included for the Long-Tail Cast On, Knit Two Together, Purl Two Together, Slip Slip Knit, Slip Slip Purl, Make One Stitch, the Kitchener Stitch Bind Off (Grafting), and other stitches mentioned throughout the patterns in this book. As a beginning knitter, I did not previously know how to "Slip Slip Purl" or how to do the Kitchener Bind Off (to graft the final toe stitches together). Since the author provided these instructions in this book, I did not have to search the internet to find directions elsewhere.

In addition to The Basic Sock Pattern, there are 8 more sock patterns in this book. You can make bulky-weight socks (1 pattern), socks with beads (1), socks with stripes (2 patterns), socks with cables (1), anklet ruffle socks (1), and socks with knitted lace (2). Besides the patterns in the book, the author gives instructions for "Converting Patterns From Double-Pointed to Circular Needles." With the conversion instructions, you can convert any double-pointed needle sock pattern to the two-at-a-time circular needles method.

This book is a wonderful resource if you want to make two socks at once (from the cuff down) on two circular needles!

45 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You can do it! Excellent instructions, October 29, 2007

By 

Donna Heron (Philadelphia, Pa. USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Knitting Circles around Socks: Knit Two at a Time on Circular Needles (Paperback)

For years I have been envious of knitters who could knit two socks at the same time. It seemed difficult and complicated and was sure this was a skill that I could never master. But then a knitting buddy told me about "Knitting Circles Around Socks." I am now one of those skilled knitters who can do two at once! If you've been knitting for a while and you've made socks on dp needles, then you will be able to follow the written instructions. The easy-to-understand photos complement the writing. The whole idea is that when you're finished knitting, you've got both socks done and they are both exactly the same size. I really like that part. But I have to confess that I didn't particularly enjoy this "twofer" process. In practice, figuring out which needles you're using at any given moment can be exasperating, especially if you're like me and didn't use point protectors. And my yarn kept getting tangled up. Even though the author tried to explain how to hold the yarn so that didn't happen, her technique didn't work for me. But the most important thing for me is that I did it. I taught myself how to make two socks at once on circular needles. I figure knitting one sock on two circular needles is going to be a piece of cake!