UPDATED 6/25 a few hours after the KAL. An astute participant spotted that I had mixed up "Outside" and "Inside" in the instructions below. Gaah! Sorry about that. It's now fixed. Hopefully this wasn't up long enough to mess anybody up. Please feel free to email me (sockselkie@gmail.com) with any questions.
Hello Tachyon knitters!
I've received a few questions from folks who have reached the round in the left sock where the clocks patterns start, and are unsure how to proceed (this is round 15[18, 21, 24] for sizes XS[S, M, L] respectively).
First of all, please bear in mind that it's hard to write a pattern that is intuitive for all learning styles. That's precisely why I'm available for questions. I'm glad that some of you are reaching out. Please do continue to do so. :)
Context: each ROUND of the sock includes a ROW of each of the clock patterns. Knowing this terminology may help you follow this post, and the pattern.
The idea I'm trying to express with the table format in the pattern is that when you get to round 15[18, 21, 24], of the LEFT sock, you'll begin a rhythm in which you will always k13[15,
17, 19], then work a row of the the Inside clock, then k15[19, 23, 27], then work a row of the Outside clock, then k to end.
LEFT SOCK
Round 15[18, 21, 24]:
K13[15, 17, 19], {Row 1 Outside: M1R, k1, p1, k1, p1, ssk,
k3},
k15[19, 23, 27], {Row 1 Inside: K1, k2tog, p1, k1,
M1L},
k14[16, 18, 20]
Round 16[19, 22, 25]:
K13[15, 17, 19], {Row 2 Outside: K2, p1, k1, p1, k4},
k15[19, 23, 27], {Row 2 Inside: K2, p1, k2},
k14[16, 18,
20]
Round 17[20, 23, 26]:
K13[15, 17, 19], {Row 3 Outside: K1, M1R, k1, p1, k1, p1, ssk,
k2},
k15[19, 23, 27], {Row 3 Inside: K2tog, p1, k1, M1L,
k1},
k14[16, 18, 20]
Round 18[21, 24, 27]:
K[15, 17, 19], {Row 4 Outside: K3, p1, k1, p1, k3},
k15[19, 23, 27], {Row 4 Inside: K1, p1, k3},
k14[16, 18,
20]
From here, hopefully it makes sense that on the next round of the sock you will work the next row of the Inside and Outside clocks (in this case Row 5 of both), then the next, etc. until you reach the end of the Inside clock (because that's only 16 rows high as opposed to 24 rows for the Outside clock). After you finish Row 16 of the Inside clock, begin again on Row 1. The two clock hands are not synchronized so the Outside clock will not restart on Row 1 when you restart the Inside clock. It's important to find a way to keep track of where you are, and to be able to read your knitting so you can see how many rows down your last increases and decreases were. (Or, go offroad and synchronize the clocks. Whatever works! Remember, this is supposed to be fun for you.)
JFYI: How I do it:
As a magic loop knitter, I'm accustomed to dividing whatever I'm working on into 2 parts. I personally find it easier to keep track of the asynchronous shaping if I shift over the start of my round so that the instep sts are one one needle and the sole sts are on the other. If you're wondering why the round didn't start this way in the first place: It's because the toe shaping is a little tricky as the clocks nudge upwards from the midline into the instep, and I think it's easier to keep track if I center the round in the middle of the sole. On round 13[16, 19, 22] the shaping has finished moving onto the instep, so after that is when I shift around my sts.
After shifting over the start of my round, this is how I would work Round 15[18, 21, 24]:
Needle 1: {Row 1 Outside: M1R, k1, p1, k1, p1, ssk, k3}, k15[19, 23, 27] {Row 1 Inside: K1, k2tog, p1, k1, M1L};
Needle 2: K to end.
Hopefully you get the idea. I can talk more about this in the KAL.
