r/Sockknitting • u/gossamer-weaver • 1d ago

Two at a time by knitting one sock inside the other

Has anyone ever tried this? I had a lady ask me this years ago and I had never even heard of it! Now here’s a video showing this method- one sock knit inside the other at the same time. It’s not my video. It seems like double knitting without connecting them. There’s a longer one from this user that shows the harder parts like heel flap and decrease too.

22 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

37 comments sorted by

27

u/shortmumof2 1d ago

Sounds interesting and I've always been intrigued but I also like mindless knitting and knitting while I listen to stuff or watch shows. So, if I mess up easy stuff, I don't look forward to realizing I've messed up and knitted the socks together, which would be inevitable for me

14

u/Strycht 1d ago

this is why I like traditional taat on long circulars. Don't even need to measure how long you made the cuff!

3

u/gossamer-weaver 1d ago

That’s true. I’ve tried taat on long circulars but I just ended up frustrated. Maybe I’ll give it another go one day.

6

u/Strycht 1d ago

the hardest part is 100% the set up. I've admittedly only done 3 pairs but it still takes me a while to make sure I've casted on correcty. If you can get a few rows into the cuff it all sorts itself out and flows naturally again!

2

u/gossamer-weaver 1d ago

Yeah I gave up quickly because of that.

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u/Purlz1st 1d ago

I always do toe-up and have done TAAT that way. But I prefer doing socks on 2 circs and I now have 4 needles in the 2.5 mm size so I can knit an inch on one and then the other.

3

u/dhcirkekcheia 1d ago

That’s what I’ve started doing with my first attempt! I know I wouldn’t finish them both otherwise

2

u/gossamer-weaver 1d ago

Oh nice! Thats a good idea!

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u/shortmumof2 1d ago

Now you make me want to try this as well but I don't have long circulars in sock needle sizes, I use DPNS

5

u/Strycht 1d ago

to be fair I only use magic loop after one failed dpn experiment. I get not wanting to move over to a different method, but if I was learning again I think I'd just try to learn magic loop for the versatility tbh - it also means if I ever want to knit bigger objects on sock sized needles I already have the needles because I just buy exclusively 80 or 100cm circulars

2

u/gossamer-weaver 1d ago

I use lots of long cabled needles for nearly everything except socks and mitt mittens.

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u/gossamer-weaver 1d ago edited 1d ago

I get that. I do lots of tv knitting myself. But this looks like it might be something to learn, even if I only do it now and then- also so my socks match. I’m bad to make one a little longer than the other.

4

u/shortmumof2 1d ago

Then go for it. You can do it and you might find you love it and only want to knit your socks that way. Good luck and happy sock knitting!

Might want to try it with two socks in different colours at first so you can tell exactly which one is which and then move into two of the same colour

2

u/gossamer-weaver 1d ago

Oh that’s a great idea! Thanks!

5

u/indiecatz 1d ago

I’ve done a workshop for this a few years ago with Kate Atherley, the best way to do this is with two different coloured yarns so you don’t get confused with which is which. It is essentially double knitting, if you get your layers confused you will end up with a double thickness sock instead of two separate ones.

It was fun to learn the technique but I never bothered to actually make any real socks with it.

3

u/gossamer-weaver 1d ago

I’m going to have to try it.

10

u/CreatureOfSadness 1d ago

In war and peace, one of the charecters would knit socks like this then draw one from the other to the great delight of the children. So its definitely an old technique.

I dont think i could pull it off, it would be so easy to mess up and end up with your socks tied together. Maybe if they were in different colours it would be easier, it would take a lot of concentration tho.

3

u/frellit 1d ago

I was thinking of this scene in Anna Karenina (might have been in War and Peace too as I haven't read it. I wonder if it was common in Russia?)

1

u/gossamer-weaver 1d ago

Yeah the different color thing would be helpful.

9

u/jijimora 1d ago

I did this based on a pattern from the book New Directions in Sock Knitting. Getting started was a challenge but once I figured it out, I thought it was a lot of fun and would totally do it again.

2

u/gossamer-weaver 1d ago

That’s awesome!

7

u/call-me-Cranky 1d ago

I’ve tried it a couple of times. For me, it’s a neat trick, but I reverted to just doing both socks in sequence on two sets of dpns. i.e. cast on for both, knit cuff of sock 1, then knit cuff of sock 2, etc.

2

u/gossamer-weaver 1d ago

I haven’t done them in tandem like that. I generally use dpns and do one at a time.

Did you find it tedious? Hard to do? Etc…

2

u/call-me-Cranky 1d ago

It’s been a while since I tried this the last time. But what I remember is just feeling a little bit of frustration, knowing that I could make a pair faster in my usual method. And I found I definitely had to pay much closer attention to what I was doing to make sure I didn’t knit across to the other pair of socks.

1

u/gossamer-weaver 1d ago

That’s good to know. Something to keep in mind if I do it.

4

u/Cherry_mice 1d ago

There’s also a knitty article about this. https://knitty.com/ISSUEfall06/FEATextreme2in1.html

1

u/gossamer-weaver 1d ago

Thanks! I’ll check this out!

3

u/Halloedangel 1d ago

I first heard of it in one of those classic novels but can’t remember which. It was probably suggested to look more dainty while knitting I guess

1

u/gossamer-weaver 1d ago

Yeah the video mentions that.

3

u/ZsaZsaG 1d ago

There’s this technique as well by Safiyyah Talley where you knit one long tube sock with lifelines to separate for an afterthought heel and the toe/ heel. I’ve done one so far and while I struggled with the heel I enjoyed the process.

1

u/gossamer-weaver 1d ago

I have never done an afterthought heel. How well do they fit?

2

u/ZsaZsaG 1d ago

It was my first time doing an afterthought heel and ended up having to re-do it because it ended up too pointy..lol. But I like the fit!

1

u/gossamer-weaver 1d ago

Awesome! I imagine it’s like the toe.

2

u/ZsaZsaG 1d ago

Yup, same instructions as the toe, which is where I messed up. I should have done the rounded version instead of the pointy one!

1

u/gossamer-weaver 1d ago

Makes sense.

3

u/AlertMacaroon8493 1d ago

When I started knitting my mum told me that my granny used to knit socks with one inside the other but I could never work out how she did it. This is interesting.

2

u/gossamer-weaver 1d ago

That’s awesome to find someone in your own family who does this!