I have knit about ten pairs of socks, always doing a kitchener stitch to close the toes. Every sock has a toe with “ears.” On August 8, 2018, MDK posted an article by Kate Atherley under techniques: “Socks without ears.” She offers several solutions, and for my current pair of socks I chose to do her non-kitchener closure, the last solution in her article. Does anyone do this closure on her socks? My question is about her statement, “Work only decrease rounds until 8-10 stitches remain.” I don’t know if she means 8-10 stitches total or 8-10 stitches on each needle. I don’t know how to contact her directly. Can anyone answer this question or tell me how to contact Kate? Thanks so much in advance.
I just went back and looked and it is definitely 8 to 10 total stitches. Any other combo would be way too many stitches to cinch up like that. You would have wrinkles and puckers. Let us know how it works out.
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Thank you.
I’m trying to reply again to kjt1211. I finished the toe at a total of 8 stitches. Wow! It was challenging to wrestle the needles around so few stitches. I’m going to review Kate’s article and choose something else for my next pair of socks. I love the way this one looks, but I’m not looking forward to doing this again on Sock #2.
What’s your favorite toe method?
Patty Lyons has a great tutorial on knitting Kitchner without ears.
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Thank you Lisa. I always read the daily MDK post and didn’t remember the one from Patty Lyons. Thanks for your help.
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Would you consider making socks from the toe up? No kitchner or cinching needed! I just decided one day to try toe-up using Judy’s Magic Cast On. The cast on and increases are SO much easier for me and I can try on the sock as I go to double check the fit. I found Jenny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off to be equally helpful for good cuff fit and relatively easy to learn/do. Best of luck! Cheryl
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I have not tried the toe-up sock but it’s worth a try. Thank you for your suggestion.