Yarn-over short-row toe-up toe

Alrighty, here it goes.  This is going to be a long post, filled with lots of pictures, as I am a visual person and like pictures to guide me through a new technique.  And, just a reminder, this is not something I came up with myself, but taught myself by using various sources.  Since I've not been able to find a tutorial on this particular method, I thought it would be helpful to many of you who have asked me how I knit my toes.  I have tried to be as clear as possible, hopefully not to the point of patronizing.

The  yarn-over (YO) short-row toe is my preferred toe method, as there is no kitchenering, the YOs look nice and neat on both sides, and I find it easy to knit.  The wrap short-row method gets very tight and I struggle to knit it. 

I always use two circular needles to knit this, so that is what is demonstrated.  You could easily knit it on 2 DPNs, and then pick up the stitches at the provisional cast on with a 3rd and 4th DPN.  I'm not sure how you'd work it on the magic loop, but I'm positive you'll figure it out if this is your preferrred needle set-up for socks.

Update as of 01/September/2005: Mari tested out this tutorial and found a point where I screwed up.  Whoops.  I fixed my screw up and the updated version below should work.  Thank you, Mari!  (The screw up was I said there would be 2 YOs and YO pair after the first short row set-up row.  In reality there should only be 1 YO and a YO pair.  My bad)  Mari also  tested out this method with a toe-down YO short-row and compared the two here.  Aren't they cute?

Using waste yarn, cast on half the number of the total number of stitches needed.  In this example, I need 60 stitches, so I cast on 30+1=31.  If you need an odd number of stitches, go one up and decrease on the bottom of the foot after you've finished the toe.  I use the knit or the cable cast on.

Switch to your preferred yarn and knit 1 row.

You now are at a purl row.  YO and purl to end.  To YO over at the beginning of a purl row, hold the yarn in the back, insert the needle as if to purl, wrap the yarn around both needles, and purl the stitch, catching the yarn in two places.

Next row: YO and knit to the last stitch before the YO pair.  (I will refer to a YO pair numerous times.  What you see in the above picture is the YO pair. )  To knit a YO at the beginning of a knit row, hold the yarn in the front, insert the needle into the stitch as if to knit, wrap the yarn around the right needle, and knit the stitch.

This should create a YO pair as above.  Continue on in this manner (always ending and turning the work at the last stitch before the YO pair) until you have 2 more stitches than desired between the YO pairs on each end, ending with a purl row.  In this example, I wanted the end of my toe to be 10 stitches.  I knit until there were 9 YO pairs on the knit side and 12 stitches between the YO pairs.  When you knit a sock top down, the instructions will tell you to decrease the toe until you have X number of stitches remaining, so most people tend to think of the end of a toe as X number of stitches.  With this method, it is easier to think of short-rowing until you have X number of YOs on the knit side.  Then for the second sock, I knit until I have X number of YOs, and then knit the purl row.  Either way you want to think about it, it will look something like this.

Before we go any further, take a moment and check out your YO pairs.  Often, the YO will wrap itself over the stitch, like this first YO pair.

As you start to work these pairs, make sure you know the difference between the YO and the stitch and are working the correct one.

You now need to knit the first set-up row, which is: YO, knit to first YO pair, knit the stitch of this first YO pair, turn.

Here is knitting the first stitch of the YO pair. 

Which will leave one YO and a YO pair.

Next, the second set-up row:  YO, purl to first YO pair, purl the stitch of the YO pair, turn work.

Now you will start working your short-rows in earnest.  The pattern is:

1. YO, knit to first YO, slip the 2 YOs and the next stitch of the YO pair KNITWISE to the right needle.  Slip them back to the left needle and Knit these 3 together (K3tog).  Turn work.
2. YO, purl to first YO, purl the 2 YOs and the next stitch of the YO pair together (P3tog).  Turn work.  Some directions will tell you to slip these stitches purlwise.  I have found no difference in slipping them and not slipping them, so I don't do it, as who wants an extra step?  I recommend trying both ways and seeing if you find a difference before deciding which way you prefer.

So let's break this down.  Here is what it will look like after you've knit the first stitch of the YO pair.

Here is slipping the first YO knitwise.

Knitting the 2 YOs and the stitch together.

On the purl side, here are the 2 YOs and the first YO pair.

Purling the 2YOs and the stitch together.

And what it looks like after you've P3tog.

I'm sure I don't need to remind you to avoid splitting your yarn while working these.  The surest way to a neat toe is to not split your yarn during this part.

Continue in this manner until you have 1 YO and 1 YO pair on each end.  They will look like this.

You should be on a knit row after you have gotten to this point.  I usually knit to mid-row and secure my stitches on the needle in preparation for the next step, picking up the stitches at the provisional cast on.

With the second circular, or a 3rd DPN, you should be able to pick up half the total number of stitches needed, in this example, 30 stitches.  And, just as a reminder, pick up the stitch on the right side of the V in order to not twist the stitches.  Also, make sure you are getting the stitch right after the provisional cast on.  Sometimes they get small and tight and hard to find.

I then snip the provisional cast on with scissors.  Make sure you don't cut your actual stitches.

And then gently pull out the provisional cast on, leaving your stitches.

When you've finished this step, it should look something like this.

Continue knitting until you get to the YO pair and the YO.  Knit the stitch of the YO pair, slip the 2 YOs to the second needle, and Knit the 2 YOs and the first stitch on the second needle together.  In this photo, I am knitting the first stitch of the YO pair.

And here are the 2 YOs, after being slipped, being knit together with the first stitch.

Continue knitting to the last stitch.  Note, you are knitting the stitches from the provisional cast on.  If they got twisted, make sure you untwist them.  Slip this stitch to the other needle, the one with the 2 remaining YOs, and knit this slipped stitch together with the 2 YOs, leaving the final stitch from the last YO pair.  Continue knitting this stitch and knit on your merry way, following whatever pattern you desire.

But do pause for a minute, because you've finished your toe!  If all went well, it should look like this.

Congratulations!

A couple of notes:

1. The first few times I tried the YO short-row method, I got holes.  I sewed them up nicely, but it did take a few times before I was able to knit it without holes.  And of course, I don't really know what I did to eliminate them, so if you get holes, don't despair, just try again.  Practice makes perfect.
2. Originally when I started using this method, I would cast on exactly half the number of stitches, but I never had enough stitches to pick-up at the provisional cast on.  I tried adding the 1 extra stitch to the provisional cast on, and it worked nicely.  Of course, when I finished this particular toe, I ended up with 61 stitches rather than 60.  I have no idea why.  So if you end up with the wrong number of stitches, decrease or increase on the bottom of the foot to get to the correct stitch count.  Unless you end up with like 5 more or less stitches than you need, then you are doing something wrong.

I hope this is helpful, and please, if you notice any errors, or find anything confusing, leave me a comment and I'll correct it or try to help.

Also, if you use this and are successful, PLEASE let me know, I'd love to see your work.

Comments

[Kristina]

Thanks! This is great. I've been using the YO short row technique for heels, but not the toe. Also, I've been getting holes in my heels, and I cannot figure out why. Makes me feel a bit better that you too used to get holes and they have since gone away. I suppose if I keep using the technique that one day I will be hole free.

[adele]

I used the short row tecnique for my heel recently. Just from the way your wraps look, it seems I did do it right. Phew. I was wondering.

Thanks for the AWESOME tutorial. The best I've ever seen. So clear! Great photos!

[Stephanie]

Wonderful tutorial. I've never tried the YO short row technique, just the wrap technique. I'm printing this out and will use it for my next pair of socks. Thanks for taking the time to make such a wonderful tutorial.

[Jennifer]

Wow, what an amazing tutorial. I had been considering trying toe-up socks and if I do try them, I know that I'll use this to start! Thanks for all the hard work you put in. This is the reason I love knit blogs -- you learn so much reading from them and there is so much information being shared.

[blossom]

thank you, purly! that's so nice of you to put together a tutorial! i'm definitely trying this for my next pair of socks!

[grumperina]

Endlessly fascinating! I thought toe-up socks started with a figure-8 cast-on! I'll have to give this a try - any ideas how the P3tog and K3tog look in heavier yarn, something approx. sportweight knit on US 3s? I've had trouble with that before, had to make a flap heel instead of a SR heel as a result.

[Karma]

Hey, smart girl, that looks fantastic! :) I can't wait to try your technique and use your especially helpful photos. Thank you so much! :)

[marichan]

This is great! All the photos look very clear and I can't wait to try out your tutorial. I have one koigu footie left to do - I'm going to try the techniques in the next couple of days. Thank you so much for doing this!!!

[lcord]

Thank you for this tutorial! I'm definately using this for my next pair of socks.

[joy]

Thanks for a great tutorial! Love that you've got lots of clear photos.

[anna]

this is a fantastic tutorial - can't wait to try this out

[Tracy]

Well done, very well explained. Thanks!

[Diana]

Thanks for this tutorial!! You're awesome for posting this. I recently tried to figure out the yarn-over short row heel in Alison's (the blue blog) anklet pattern, and got confused. Now I know where to go when I am ready to try it again :-)

[yahaira]

Can I tell you that I love you for posting this!? I'll have to sit with yarn and needles in hand to understand it fully, but it's so great to finally see it.

[Colleen]

This is rather exciting. No pesky kitchener-ing and no wonky shortrows. It almost makes me want to start some socks.

[li]

dang yo. i have NO IDEA what you're talking about (haven't knitted socks before), but i definitely appreciate the time and detail you put into the tutorial. one day i will refer to it.

[Dana]

Wow! You've made this technique look so doable, even I might be able to tackle it! I'm bookmarking this page for future reference.

[Zarah]

Lovely toes. I hope you'll be showing us heels, too. Maybe if I keep soaking in all this good advice I'll actually learn how to do short rows someday (sigh....)!

[winnie]

that is awesome. i've been doing the figure-8 cast-on for my toe ups and after seeing this tute, i'm down for learning a new technique!

[Michele]

Thanks, that was wonderful...great pictures, much easier way to learn...thanks for taking the time :)

[Juls]

This is wonderful! Thank you so much for posting all the photos. I am learning socks (cuff down) and had fun with the short row heel. This tutorial for toe up is so helpful as I am about ready to tackle toe up now.

[Jen]

Thank you so much for the pictures! i've actually made two pairs of socks (top down, using PGR's dream sock pattern) using this method and both times I felt like I had NO idea if I was doing it right. This helped me so much, I'm ready to tackle it again!

Thanks dearie!

[Marnie]

Thanks for the tutorial. I will have to try it.
For the record, the reason you are short a stitch at the end is when you do a provisional cast on, you get "x" number of stitches on the needle. What you get when you rip out the provisional cast on is the stitches "between" those original "x" stitches. So if you think about how many fingers you have (presumably 5) and how many spaces you have between your fingers (4) you see how it works. You can mimic the effect by snaking a piece of yarn up and down on the table. Presuming you start with a loop up and end with a loop up,you are doing the same thing as creating a knit row. The loops on top are your live stitches, the loops on the bottom on your held stitches. It would look something like this:
^u^u^u^
Where ^= upward facing loops and u=downward facing loops

I hope that made sense.
Thanks again.

[beverly]

Thanks so much for this tutorial...I'm making great progress so far!

[Margie]

Thanks so much. I found this after I tried doing the YO technique I had just learned on a short row toe pattern and came up with double the number of stitches that I needed. After frogging, I made the toe using wraps like the patterns said (it was garter stitch so it looks fine). For the second sock I will come back to use your tutorial. I like the toe up version a lot. Have only made one toe up sock using a little square at the toe. I usually knit top down and do a three needle bind off in lieu of kitchener.