There are lots of ways to cast-on stitches for toe-up socks. You can do a conventional twin-tail or long tail cast-on and then graft them together, or a figure 8 cast-on, or even a provisional cast-on. Sometime ago, an ingenious knitter developed the technique I like to use the most when casting on for toe-up socks (and other things as well). It’s called Judy’s Magic Cast-on and it was developed by Judy Becker. Judy used to blog but hasn’t for awhile, but you can still find her on Ravelry (JudyBecker) and Twitter @JudyBecker. You can still check out her blog as it is still up and peruse through her posts … Judy’s Blog.
Now this cast-on isn’t really magic, you actually have to do it,but it’s as close to magic as you’re going to get without a trip to Neverland. I could describe it with diagrams and words as it’s really easy to learn, but instead I’ll show you a video by the inventor of the cast-on herself, Judy Becker. I recommend you watch the entire thing as Judy is very thorough and even shows some mistakes you may make and how to prevent them. Here we go …
You should practice this with a slightly thicker yarn so that you are comfortable with it. Knit a few rows after you’ve cast on and have a look at the outcome. Don’t worry about the tail, we’ll darn that in at the end. Now that’s a lot easier than the Kitchener stitch, huh?
So now that you’re comfortable with the cast-on, let’s actually do it. Oh, but wait … how many stitches? I’m glad you asked. Take the swatch you made yesterday – you did make one, right? Now using that,find out your number of stitches per inch. Now measure your foot or paper trace of the foot you’re making the socks for. If you look at the diagram below of the foot I’m making the socks for, I’ll be measuring the red line. Depending on the foot you’re pleasing with these socks, you might want to adjust that line up or down.
For this measurement I like to use the distance from the edge of the big toe to the edge of the second or third toe. I also measure at about the middle of the nail on the big toe. This will give you the length you need for your cast on. Now because we’re working in the round, we’ll need to double that number, so multiply by 2. Now multiply that number again by the number of stitches per inch you got from your gauge. This is the number of stitches you need to cast on.
Once you have the stitches cast on, you need to knit a few rounds. Depending on your foot, you could start shaping right away (increasing stitches), but I usually like to do a few rounds before starting that. You’ll see a blue line in the drawing. I’m going to knit that much before I start any shaping. To find out how many rows that is, I’m going to get my row gauge from the swatch I did, measure the length of the blue line, and multiply these two numbers. So if that blue line was 1.25 inches and I got 10 rows to the inch, I would knit 13 rows before i start my shaping.
So that’s your homework (or transit work if you knit in public). Remember to make 2! Yes, 2! We’re making both socks at the same time, though not on the same needles. So you’ll need to place your stitches on a holder and start the second one once you finish the first. There are 2 reasons for this … so that you’ll remember the work and tachniques better, and so that at the end you have a full pair of socks – not the one sock syndrome! Good luck!
Hugzzz 
Ok, I have mine cast on
I used a similar cast on, but one I was familiar with, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PD8TPFyIjl8 Hopefully it will work! I am making the Beekeeper’s quilt (well, laughing as to how stupid I am for making the Beekeeper’s quilt) 
And this is the method they use. Looks the same, just a little different! But I am excited, my first pair of toe-up socks are STARTED….Now let’s just finish them. I love making socks, so this is great for me. Just challenging enough to make it interesting, but not too challenging that I quit! (And I like the fact we are doing both at the same time, 2 at a time patterns scare me, never thought about doing them this way.) So, in a nutshell, THANK YOU for this, kal, it is going to be fun!
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I don’t think I’ve ever seen any of her videos before, and I’ve seen a ton of Youtube crochet and knitting tutorials (mainly crochet since that’s the fiber art that’s new to me.) This will be a “first” for me, since I never knitted socks on circulars, always made them on DPNs. I recently started using circulars for a lot of my knitting projects (even straight) and like them a lot. I still swap to DPN’s, when my circs get to small for decreases in the round.
I most likely will start on my socks tomorrow. I guess I should swatch… I admit that’s something I don’t do that much.
I did receive a few sock books today Folk Socks. I love history, and it’s quite interesting to read the history of socks. I also received The Knitters Book of Socks, and The Joy of Socks
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Hi Angela, thanks for joining in. I watched the video link in your message and I don’t see anything wrong with this method. Please keep commenting on the posts to let me know how it’s working out for you. And if you get a chance, pictures would be great!
Hugzzz
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Opal, Judy hasn’t put up a ton of videos on YouTube, so that’s probably why you haven’t seen her videos before. Yes, you should swatch. Since there’s no pattern, you’ll have to know your gauge as we go along!
Hugzzz
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I’ll do a swatch this morning. Over the next few days I’ll catch up to where you and Angela are, I’ll post pictures either today or tomorrow, and link back to your KAL.
Last evening, I did start a pair of toeless socks last evening. The pattern is from the book; The Joy of Sox. In fact those socks are the cover photo of the book. I love the fact that the toes are open. It’s perfect for showcasing a lovely pedicure. They’ll also be perfect for yoga and dance exercise too. I dislike going barefoot in the gym.
So… while I’ll mainly be focusing on this KAL, I’ll be working two pairs of socks. Instead of circulars I’ll most likely use DPNs.
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I’ve seen the yoga socks and quite liked them.There’s also no heel! It would be very easy to customize those with a pattern on the top of the foot and the entire leg! Thanks for the pics and the link!
Hugzzz
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