Useful Goodies for your All Seasons Sleep Sack O' Baby

All Seasons Sleep Sack O' Baby uses some fun techniques that are handy to have in your knitting bag of tricks. Here are some linkies:

Magic Loop

I am pretty biased when it comes to knitting in the round. It is all about magic loop for this knitter. And for Sack O', I'm not even sure you could find double pointed needles big enough. Even if you could, I recommend using magic loop (or two circular needles). Because, unlike a sock or a sleeve that is perfectly cylindrical, the Sack O' “tube” is flat, with a front and a back, with half the stitches in front and half in back. It is very challenging to try to divide those cast-on stitches by 3 or 4 – it is almost physically impossible! Don’t do it!

For both the written and video links that follow, you want to ignore the instructions for casting on and dividing up stitches and the like. You won’t be casting on to knit an open “tube”. Instead, you will be casting on using Judy’s Magic Cast-On (see below) which starts you off with a “seam” at the “toe”. Your “tube” will be sealed at the bottom!

Knit Picks Magic Loop Written Tutorial

Judy’s Magic Cast-On

Truth be told, I hardly ever use video tutorials. When it comes to Judy’s Magic Cast-On, however, I was about to give up on toe-up socks for good after several attempts to use a written tutorial, when I was miraculously rescued by Cat Bordhi and her video tutorial. (I’ve included the link to Judy Becker’s article in Knitty.com in case you are smarter than I.)

Judy's Magic Cast-On Written Tutorial

Kitchener Stitch

The seamless seam! It's really not that hard, and a favorite of mine for baby garb - no irritating ridges and bumps.

Kitchener Stitch Written Instructions

Crab Stitch

This is just like single crochet, just in the wrong direction. It's not too hard, I promise. I know, some knitters run scared of the hook. If you really, really can't imagine picking up a crochet hook, you can pick up and knit one round and then cast it off. (Personally, that seems like a big hassle.)

Carrying Yarn Along the Edge While Knitting Stripes

I hate weaving in ends. This is a nifty trick to have vibrant color work without all the ends. It is a perfect technique for this project because you will be picking up stitches along the edges, hiding any mess left from twisting your colors.

Anything else I should include? Leave me a comment and let me know!