I don’t think there’s any way to knit a tubular sock on straight needles; the geometry doesn’t allow it. You can knit a sock flat and then sew it up into a tube, but it would look different from the comic.
Edit: actually now that I’ve thought about it more, I think there is a way but it would be super annoying (slip every other stitch so you’re knitting the back and front of the tube at the same time, that might work…). Basically the equivalent of writing a letter by writing every other word and then going back to fill in the rest. Possible, but no reason to do it.
You can knit on multiple needles for a tube sock though? I mean. The lady in the comic sure isn’t doing that, but I always knit socks myself with five needles. Four holding, one knitting. Well, two knitting at any one time. Knitting in the round is what my mother called it.
Exactly. She’s using straight needles (with a knob on one end) instead of double-pointed needles. DPNs are also straight I guess! But “straight needles” specifically means the ones with one point and a knob.
There was a bizarre movement in the Victorian era to get people to knit with their needles held with tips pointed down because it’s “more ladylike” but it’s also very difficult and irritating to knit that way so it didn’t catch on.
Artists. I beg you. Do any research into what knitting looks like before drawing someone knitting.
She’s de-knitting to reuse the yarn. Duh…
That’s called ‘frogging’ (because you rip-it, rip-it), and you don’t use needles to do it.
Wow, I was way off.
I imagine she’s found a new technique, and that’s what’s truly letting her convince Death to let her keep on living
I don’t think there’s any way to knit a tubular sock on straight needles; the geometry doesn’t allow it. You can knit a sock flat and then sew it up into a tube, but it would look different from the comic.
Edit: actually now that I’ve thought about it more, I think there is a way but it would be super annoying (slip every other stitch so you’re knitting the back and front of the tube at the same time, that might work…). Basically the equivalent of writing a letter by writing every other word and then going back to fill in the rest. Possible, but no reason to do it.
You can knit on multiple needles for a tube sock though? I mean. The lady in the comic sure isn’t doing that, but I always knit socks myself with five needles. Four holding, one knitting. Well, two knitting at any one time. Knitting in the round is what my mother called it.
Exactly. She’s using straight needles (with a knob on one end) instead of double-pointed needles. DPNs are also straight I guess! But “straight needles” specifically means the ones with one point and a knob.
They’re both straights! But that is probably in my brain only.
Either way -
Lady in the comic is doing eldritch magic with them there needles.
I don’t know shit about knitting, and even I can tell the needles are upside-down just for starters.
There was a bizarre movement in the Victorian era to get people to knit with their needles held with tips pointed down because it’s “more ladylike” but it’s also very difficult and irritating to knit that way so it didn’t catch on.
More info: https://creatingruth.wordpress.com/2013/04/30/do-you-knit-like-miss-marple/
An “optics first” mindset. Sadly, it’s probably even worse in 2024.