Tutorials, Tips, and Techniques

Favorite tips, techniques and design elements:

JMCO (Judy's Magic Cast On):  This is my go-to cast on for toe up socks. When done properly it looks like just another row of knitting, with no discernible start point. There are other techniques that probably work as well, but this is the one that consistently works best for me. The following video is Knit Purl Hunter's tutorial:

JSSBO (Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off):  Another go-to technique! For a toe-up sock, a stretchy bind off is essential. This is my favorite version. Cat Bordhi will show you how:

Improved SSK (Slip, Slip, Knit): A smoother lying left leaning decrease that is a close match to the K2tog right leaning decrease. Quick, simple, and sooooo much better:

LLI & RLI (Left and Right Lifted Increases):  Smoother and less obvious (at least to my eye) increases than the more common M1R, M1L, yo, or kfb. They may seem a little confusing at first, but they're actually very simple to work once you figure them out. 

First, let's name our stitches for clarification:

For a right lifted increase, pull up the loop of the mother stitch and knit it, then knit the daughter loop. This will create a second daughter loop to the right of the original daughter stitch:

For a left lifted increase knit the daughter loop, then pick up and knit the grandmother loop through the back loop to create a second daughter loop to the left of the last stitch worked:

GoodNightKisses has provided a video tutorial:

Magic Loop:  a way of knitting small diameter cylinders without using double pointed needles (DPNs). While I don't mind them, I do find DPN's awkward when traveling with my knitting.