Loom Knit Slipper Socks

In one of my loom knitting booklets, there are instructions for making a Christmas stocking using a knifty knitter loom. Unfortunately, I misplaced that booklet. :-( Ever since I saw that tho, I've wanted to make some slipper socks for walking around the house in the winter time. I had wanted to make these since I made the scarves, but thanks to California weather just getting cold now (entirely grateful for that... really) I wasn't quite ready to put on such warm socks. Now that the weather is 65 Hi/46 Lo, it's about time to get ready with the socks. (Did I mention that I love California weather?)

Anyway, I went in search for the pattern by of course googling it. :-) That lead me to this really awesome website that had a list of lots of free loom knitting patterns,

http://www.knittingpatterncentral.com/directory/loom_knitting.php

and amongst them I found the pattern for these socks.

http://yarngear.com/looms/socks.htm

I followed the steps on this site and figured out a few tips along the way. I chose to hold 2 yarns at the same time for the thickness and to add a bit of tightness to the socks. (The website says that you can try using a garter stitch, but I haven't tried that yet).

So, here's how I made them...

1. Start with just casting onto the small blue knifty knitter. Then knit on 10 rows. These 10 rows are going to be to form the cuff. If you were making a beanie it would be the brim. :-). To make the brim, reach into the loom, grab the first of the 10 rows, and place them onto the pegs. Now that you have two loops on the peg, knit off. (note: you didn't cast on)
   
   


2. Once you have a cuff, knit another 5 rows (or more if you want a longer sock.. or if you want to make a stocking :-))
   
3. These next parts are the trickiest parts of the whole thing. (Don't worry, it's actually not too bad). In the next steps you'll only be working with pegs 1-12 where peg 1 is the first peg you'd cast on. In the next 4 rows, you're going to go back and forth from pegs 1 thru 12. On the turning peg you'll only have one loop. If you look at the picture, you'll see that peg 12 has only one yarn loop on it, and how you'd do a reverse e to loop on peg 11. (BTW, sorry about the picture quality... my camera doesn't like me sometimes). At the end of the 4 rows you should be at peg 1.
   





4. Tricky part is almost over – hang in there. This next part is needed so you don't have gaping holes on the sides of the ankles of your socks. We need to decrease the knitting on pegs 1 thru 12 to fill only pegs 4 thru 9. The next 6 rows will take care of this. On the first row, before you cast on, we're going to get rid of the loop on peg 12 by putting that loop on peg 11. Important: The two loops now on peg 11 will act as one loop. Cast on to knit onto pegs 1-11, and knit off. You should now have a free/empty peg 12. Now we'll do the same thing with peg 1, by moving the loop on peg 1 to peg 2, then knitting from peg 11 – 2, leaving a free/empty peg 1. Get the idea? So, we'll do the same thing back and forth til you have 3 free/empty pegs on both sides of the pegs we are working with (1-3 and 10-12 should be free).
   












5. Once you have those empty pegs we need to fill them. To correspond with those pegs, there are some loops that look like they need a home. Let's take them home. Find the loops and place them on the pegs. Once all the pegs are filled, cast on and knit off, remember that you're starting from peg 4 now. I went ahead and casted on til I reached the original peg 1. Knitted off all the cast ons.
   
   
   
6. So, we will now once again be on the original peg 1. Phew, the hard part is over. Congrats for that. Quick tip here: Put a safety pin or in my case a paperclip on the line that connects the last peg knit to the peg just before that. (See picture). This will give us an idea of how many rows we did so we can make the second sock the same length (I know, I'm brilliant ;-) ). Knit the rows til you reach the desired length. I grabbed my sock and put it next to the knitting ankle to ankle and went from there.
   
   

In counting the rows, you'll notice something that looks like a ladder above the paperclip. Basically, you'll count the rungs to the top including the one that the paperclip is on. So, this one has 5 rows on it.

7. Once you've reached the desired length, finish off via the gather method (just like the beanie – which will be my next knifty knitter project posted). Before you finish off tho, count all of the knits from the paperclip to the finish and record, so you know how many rows to do for the second sock. To finish off using the gather method, you'll need the needle that came with the knifty knitter (or in my case a bobby pin – I can't find my needle). Cut the yarn about 5 inches or so from the last peg knitted. Then cut a piece of yarn (or two if you were holding two yarns) to the length of about 1 1/2 times around the loom. Thread the yarn onto your needle or bobby pin and place the loops of the peg from the peg thru the needle. I think it's neater to go the same direction on each peg (coming from the left on the bottom of the peg to the top). Once all of these loops are off the pegs (yay!), carefully invert the sock, inside out. Of the loose yarns, you'll have the following: 1 that ended the from the loom (let's call it line 1), and the 2 ends of the yarn that were threaded onto the needle (let's call these line 2 and 3). Tie knots with line 1 and the second closest yarn (2 or 3). Then pull the other yarn so that the end gathers together (Gather method), and tie more knots (2 with 3 and 1 with 3). On the last, double tie then cut yarn about a half inch from the knots. (It shouldn't come off, and no need to hide it, it's in the sock). Revert the sock back so that out is out and in is in. Don't forget to remove the paperclip.

8. You're done! Try on your sock if you'd like. As a bit of warning, it's a slipper sock, so it will feel really loose. I wear them with regular socks inside... it keeps my socks cleaner. If that doesn't satisfy you, you thread in an elastic garter into the cuff and tie it off. Enjoy your slipper socks.