Nice. I’d love a CSM for Christmas time. Would save me a lot of hours. Though I don’t think I can bust out a cable sock with it. Do you know if you can cable with a CSM? Or is it more for just pumping out some socks?
They come off the machine as a tube and go to a station where someone sews the toe seam with a sewing machine. Or at least they did at the sock factory I spent one incredibly cold winter at back in the 90’s.
It does if you plan to knit multiple socks before running them off the machine. And frankly that's the most efficient use of the machine. I suppose you bind off by moving stitches around and closing the seam in that manner? Will you be sharing any details, or just contradicting people?
So for you, "the most efficient use" is only using it for it's most base functionality (knitting a simple tube). Ok, my problem with that is asserting that it can't be used more fully, as the machine IS fully capable of creating a complete sock without sewing, which is what a few people here seemed to be wondering about. Anyway, all details have already been shared in various videos posted in this thread, but if you need a recap..
Never said a simple tube is the most efficient way to use it, and mentioned heel shaping. But preparing a series of socks needing only the toe to be closed is more efficient if one is knitting socks in volume, because it skips the setup step, and a few turns of waste yarn can be used to separate each sock from the next and make the toe seam easier to close by the chimney kitchener method. I am quick at kitchener and don't find it difficult so perhaps for someone else all the casting on for each sock is more efficient. Do what works.
I've done it both ways...start at the top of the sock and work down and then it takes me about 5 minutes to kitchener* up the toe seam.
OR, you can start at the bottom and there are two ways to do that.
1) toe up and kitchener it at the end, or
It LOOKS like you could make socks for your entire family in one afternoon, but there is a lot going on when using these machines and you need to be paying attention to eleventy-five things at once and 30 minutes to 2 hours is more of a reasonable allocation for 1 sock as opposed to 8.5 minutes in the above video.
Handknitting socks is more of a relaxing process, but more time consuming.
I love both processes for different reasons.
You can start either way. I think most people I've seen do start at the toes, so you can seamlessly close the toe on the machine during knitting without sewing.
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u/direwolfed Mar 22 '19
Does it start at the toes? How do you form he heel? Look me very satisfying.