Insider sock tips

I know, the gall of me--ME!--providing tips on knitting socks, but what is the point of doing the sock knit-along without sharing the knowledge we glean in the process? It's more valuable if we're all making the exact same thing, I suppose, but I've made a few observations that will be helpful if you're new to this as I am. So, three tips:

1. Make a baby-sized practice sock.

With it you can get all of your mistakes out of the way as you figure out what the devil you're supposed to do. My first wasn't fantastic, but it primed my skills for a better, albeit still flawed, second baby sock. Don't knit a second if you don't want to. It was necessary for me to do. That's when the techniques clicked in my brain.

2. Picking up stitches is easier with an empty needle than a working needle.

The instructions I've seen have recommended picking up the first set of the stitches from the heel flap with the working needle. I've found that to add an extra degree of difficulty. Instead I use a spare needle and then slide the stitches onto the other needle.

3. For ssk, slip stitches knitwise.

Perhaps you already know this. I didn't until I saw directions in a sock pattern that specified how to slip in ssk. (I'd been slipping purlwise, which left an unsightly little pattern.)

My sock is coming along nicely. Don't worry, I'm not that fast. I had a head start.