Sidewinders: The Grand Finale

Today I bring you The Grand Finale -- the 6th and final installment -- of Sidewinders: A PerpenSOCKular Pattern.  If you need to get caught up, you can find the previous installments here: The Prologue, Act I, Act II, Act III and Act IV.

The Grand Finale requires you to close you eyes, take a cleansing breath, and conjure up all the bad feelings and emotions you have about grafting.  Imagine how hard grafting is and how confusing the front needle, back needle, knit-wise, purl-wise instructions are.  Got it?  Good.  Now open the door and sweep all those nasty images away.  Because today you're going to graft, and today you're going to realize it's not so hard, and today you're going to say to yourself, "I like grafting".   

Although grafting is not the least bit hard, it does take time, and it does take good light.  You'll probably need about an hour for the Grand Finale, so put the tea pot on, get the good chocolate out, and shoo the kids away.

It's now or never -- cleansing breath, positive thoughts, tea, and click... 

Sidewinders: The Grand Finale

The Long Vertical Graft

The stitches on the needle need to be grafted to the stitches left by the provisional cast on.  This long vertical graft will join your flat, crazy looking sock into a tube.

Prepare to Graft

• Remove the provisional cast on and place the resulting live loops on another circular needle of comparable size.  Even if this other needle is a little larger or a little smaller than the needle you knit with your grafting will turn out fine.

• Cut your working yarn leaving a 75 inch tail -- give or take -- and thread the tail on a blunt tapestry needle.

• Fold your sock in half, wrong sides together, and bring the needles parallel to one another.  Hold the needles in your left hand -- you'll be working right to left -- with the tail connected to the first stitch on the front needle.

Poised to begin grafting!

Just Once, To Get Started

	Front needle -- Go through the first stitch on the front needle -- from the center, out -- and leave the stitch on the needle.
	Back needle -- Go through the first stitch on the back needle -- from the center, out -- and leave the stitch on the needle.

Repeat Over, and Over, and Over, and Over

	Front Needle -- Go in toward the center & drop the stitch off the needle.
	Front Needle -- Come out from the center & leave the stitch on the needle.
	Back Needle -- Go in toward the center & drop the stitch off the needle.
	Back Needle -- Come out from the center & leave the stitch on the needle.

Keep repeating these 4 steps over and over and over until you have only 1 stitch left on each needle:

1. Front needle -- in toward the center -- drop stitch off
2. Front needle -- out from the center -- leave stitch on
3. Back needle -- in toward the center -- drop stitch off
4. Back needle -- out from the center -- leave stitch on

Always keep the yarn under the knitting needles and try to keep an even tension -- pulling tight enough to close but not so tight that it puckers.  Don't worry, you'll find your rhythm.  In a nutshell, you're alternating needles and repeating, "In, Drop Off, Out, Leave On"

Just Once, To End

Once you're down to a single stitch on each needle, you simply need to "go in toward the middle & drop off the stitch" on each of the needles.  Weave your ends in and you are done!

The Short Horizontal Graft

Hopefully by now you and grafting are fast friends.  You have one more short horizontal graft to join the toe to the bottom of the foot.  If you were careful to work the slip stitch edge and place your pins as instructed, this horizontal graft should be a breeze!

Prepare to Graft

• Turn the sock inside out and locate the edge stitches that run along the sides of the foot and toe.  These edge stitches look like interlocking "V"s.  You should have (18, 20, 23), [(18, 21, 23), (19, 22, 24), (20, 22, 25)] edge stitches on the foot between -- but not including -- the pins and the same number on the toe between -- and including -- the pins.

• Start with the foot's edge stitches -- the stitches between, but not including, the pins. 

  • With one of your circular needles and the wrong side facing out, pick up the outer leg of the "V" -- the leg closest to you and farthest away from the opening -- of each edge stitch and place it on your needle.

  • When you pick up this leg and place it on your needle, the right half of the leg should be in the front of the needle and the left half of the leg should be in the back -- it should remind you of a typical stitch mount.

  

  • I found it easier to grab the leg first with my tapestry needle and then to transfer it onto the knitting needle.

• Next, the toe's edge stitches -- the stitches between, and including, the pins. 

  • With your other circular needle and the wrong side facing out, pick up the outer leg of each edge stitch and place it on your needle.  Just like you did with the foot's edge stitches.

  • Remove the pins.

• When finished you should have (18, 20, 23), [(18, 21, 23), (19, 22, 24), (20, 22, 25)] stitches on each of 2 circular needles.

Graft

Cut a piece of yarn about 30 inches long and thread it in your tapestry needle.  With wrongs sides facing out, graft these stitches together.  Weave in ends.

The End

And they all lived happily ever after -- Curtain Down -- The End.