2-at-a-Time Socks: Revealed Inside. . . The Secret of Knitting Two at Once on One Circular Needle; Works for any Sock Pattern!

by Melissa Morgan-Oakes

Knitting one sock is fun and rewarding, but finishing its partner can become a chore that leaves well-intentioned knitters suffering from “second sock syndrome.” With this two-at-a-time technique you can easily finish a full pair of socks on the same day. Step-by-step photographs illustrate how to cast on and knit two socks together on one long circular needle, whatever the pattern or shape. Lonely, abandoned single socks are now a thing of the past!

Genres: Knitting, Crafts, Nonfiction, Reference, How To

143 pages, Spiral-bound

First published December 12, 2006

Reviews

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! The directions are clearer than most, and include a guide to picking up stitches that's the best I've ever read. I love the patterns and how versatile they are, and the sizing directions. Already 75% done with Pitter Patter, next up Frolic, and then something sweet for myself :) The only thing I would recommend to readers is if you've never tried one sock on one needle, DON'T start with two. It gets really confusing if you don't already understand how to knit a single sock on a single circular needle.

[Jennifer Defoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the technique that is presented. However I am having some trouble figuring it out. I think that with a little bit of free time and minimal distractions that I will be able to figure it out.

One thing that I do like about this book is that all the patterns can be adapted to allow for DPN knitting. Which, for someone that is having trouble getting the 2 at a time on one circular thing down I think it is a good idea.

There are quite a few sock patterns in this book that I do want to try. The patterns seem to be somewhat simple, and the socks are very nice. While I may need some help learning how to use this technique I will use some of the patterns even if I have to use a different technique.

[BookMouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently learned using circular needles to knit one sock at a time (Cat Borhdi's book Socks Soar), so I was intrigued when I saw this. It seems to be straight forward instructions. As soon as I finish the 2nd socks I'm working on, I want to try this method out. I think it would be especially useful when making small modifications to a pattern, but forget to write it down, and invariably forget about it when knitting the 2nd sock of the pair.

[Nicole Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Learn Melissa Morgan-Oaks method for using 1 long circular needle to make two socks at a time.

This book contains a step-by-step photo guide to using this technique with a toddler sock sample. Learn the secrets behind her approach and how you can apply them to any sock pattern.

NOTE: You can also use DNPs to knit all the patterns in the book.

Outline of what this book covers:
o The Secret Revealed
o 2-at-a-time Technique
- Sock Anatomy
- Toddler Sock Example
- Picking Up Gusset Stitches
- Kitchener without fear! (Plus Mantra)
o 2-at-a-time Patterns
o Appendix
- Glossary
- Pattern Stitch Key
- Abbreviations
- Standard Sock Sizes

If you want to know more about my favorite tips and quotes, check out my YouTube video review of this book: https://youtu.be/E9I2CuX-hYo

[Shana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clear step by step instructions and photos made it easy for me to pick up the technique, with only one foray to YouTube for assistance with picking up stitches for the gusset. I’d never made socks with a heel turn before this book, and now I feel very confident in doing that.

However, the ebook version still has typos, even with the errata listed online. For example, the toe length in some patterns says it’s 3.75 cm or 16 1/2 inches. Um....no. I also found the sock patterns to fit more loosely than what I’d found with other patterns, so I wish she would’ve included what negative ease she’s using.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although none of the sock patterns are particularly unique or exciting the technique is one that makes me excited. Also the way the patterns are written seem so much clearer than many - I like how she separated out each size instructions very clearly (as opposed to the usual method of bracketed numbers which can be easy to loose track of)

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! I taught myself to knit two socks at once from this book. I now knit all my socks this way. The instructions are clear and easy to follow, especially if you already know how to knit socks. Pictures help as well. There are several sock patterns included; some easy for beginners and others for experienced sock knitters.

[Dawn Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Guaranteed 2 matching socks when done!!

Great tutorial on socks. Step by step directions to knit both socks at the same time. Gets tricky part-way through, but if you follow her precise directions, it works!

[Natalie K · Rating 4 out of 5]

The patterns in here are beautiful—but I still don't understand the whole doing the socks two-at-a-time thing! It's the kind of thing that someone needs to show you because it just hasn't clicked with me yet.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

https://youtu.be/oT3svC7Rn1U

[Janice V. Best · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

This book is exactly what I have been looking for. The directions are for slow learners like my self. Thank You

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book for a knitter with some experience. There are good instructions at the beginning and there are basic sock patterns at the end.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent instructions

[Dee · Rating 3 out of 5]

If knitting socks is your jam it’s worth a read.

[Meghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been knitting the sample socks and the instructions are wonderfully clear! A great book that has helped me level up my knitting!

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ingenious way to knit socks! And lovely patterns! I enjoy the way she broke up her patterns so things are easily interchangeable.

[Lydia Chiang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great concept. How many people knit only 1sock?

[Terrie White · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book gives fairly clear, detailed instructions. I would suggest that it is not for the very beginner, as does the author.

[Stacy Koster · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was pretty helpful. After some frogging, and rereading, I am on my way!

[Dora · Rating 3 out of 5]

Might be helpful for someone else, but didn’t really entice me to knit 2 at a time. Not quite clear enough for me.

[Therese · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book helped me realise where the flexibility lies in sock knitting.

[Kel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have the first edition of this book and my first complaint is that the pattern shown on the cover isn't included in the patterns in the book. WTH?! I see now that the book has a different cover so perhaps I wasn't the only person ticked off by this HUGE error.

That aside, however, this method intrigues me and after several failed attempts over the past three years I think I may have actually figured it out. Maybe. :) I'm still working on the legs of my first pair so we'll see as time goes by how successful this is. I also hear that those of us "lucky" enough to have the first edition have a great deal of erratta to deal with so I suppose before I get too far I should make sure that pattern I'm working on is written correctly. (I have already found one error in the very beginning where it's showing the reader how to do the technique!). I figure that even if I don't like the 2 at-a-time method i can always just use the patterns in the book and do them one at a time. :)

[Kari Trumbo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do like the patterns in this book and some of the helpful hints are great. I do wish that the pictures matched the actual pattern. In some cases the picture shows a crew sock and the pattern is for calf length sock. If I wasn't fairly new to sock knitting, I probably would have realized what was going on with the pattern before getting so far along, but I didn't. One thing I would like to say is that heals of these socks end up HUGE, if you do try her patterns, do it her way once and if you find the heal to be massive, you can help that by measuring your heal and reducing the number of rows on the heal flap to fit, then only pick up the number of stitches in the same number of actual rows that you added. In this way I got these socks to fit, instead of flip upside-down when I wore them. Beautiful patterns, I like the various sizes available. I will be keeping this one.

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I tried one pair of socks from this book, but read the 2-at-a-time instructions wrong when it came to starting the heel. I tried to rip back those rows, but couldn't figure out how to get the socks back on the needles. This was my first attempt at socks. Since then, I made baby socks on dpn's for an expecting friend. That helped me understand the construction of the heel of the sock. Today, after much procrastinating for fear of messing it up again, I cast on a new pair of socks from the 2-at-a-time book. There are alot of pictures, but I felt that a few steps were written vague and the pictures jumped too quick for learning this technique. My second attempt turned out much better, but I still had to watch online videos to help with some of the instructions. Overall, I'd recommend.

[Mary · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't think her method was worth the trouble but I did like some of the patterns.

I've now looked up the corrections for the book and see why I was having so much trouble with the technique. If I printed the corrections out there'd be seven pages. Seven. And a lot of them are on the technique itself's pages, not just patterns. I don't think I'll try to make anything from this book. I wouldn't trust that any of the patterns were right. Even the ones without corrections, I'd just figure they had uncaught mistakes in them. That's a shame because I had planned on making several of the socks in the book. Now it's just going straight back where it came from. I don't think I'll ever buy anything from Storey Publishing. They just can't be trusted to edit their books.

[Anne - Books of My Heart · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book. I have read many books on doing 2 at a time socks on circulars with one circular or two. By many I mean about 10. I own a few and I have knitted about 4-5 pairs of socks on circulars, two at the same time. This book wasn't as detailed or didn't offer as much additional information as some I have added to my collection.

I read this one from the library. I tend to do that with knitting books, then I buy the ones that have what I want. I have the most trouble with turning the heel without having a gap so I look for techniques and problem-solving in this type of book.

So for me it was worth a read, but not a reference that I would own or reread.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

So if you’ve shied away from socks because they just seemed too complicated (or because you hate working on double-pointed needles)—or if you’ve found yourself looking for one-legged friends to bestow your single socks upon—give 2-At-A-Time Socks a try.

See the full review at NightsAndWeekends.com: http://www.nightsandweekends.com/arti...

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bought it awhile ago, tried a pair, messed it up. I'm ready to try again, but now I'm curious about the top-down-2-at-a-time technique. And I have 3 projects on the sticks, one slightly missing that I really need to complete before the other 2. Gotta search for it and hope I didn't leave it somewhere. And am interested in a couple of other projects...sigh.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm loving this method for knitting socks. It's awesome to see the progress and when i'm done, i've actually got a pair of socks instead of having to start all over for sock #2. I'm working on the berry pattern, easy repeat, in a blue/white yarn.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

First edition of the book includes lots of errata. Took a lot of effort to get the corrections (repeated e-mails to the publisher) and then updating my copy of the book. After all that, it turns out I HATE, HATE, HATE this technique.