Standard
Sock Pattern
Knitting 1
Sock at a Time on 1 Long Circular Needle
Size:
These socks will fit a Ladies size medium.
Yarn:
100 grams sock
yarn of your choice
Gauge: 8 sts in stockinette = 1 inch
Needles:
1 Size Two or Three (US) 40” or 47” Circular (I prefer Addi Turbo
needles), or size needed to knit to gauge.
Instructions:
Cast
on 56 stitches.
Slide all
stitches to center of cable. Count half your stitches (28 sts.) and
pull center of cable out. Pull
both sets of stitches to their respective needle points, making sure
stitches are not twisted and yarn is coming from back needle.
Holding needles in your left hand pointing to the right, pull
back needle to the right, pushing its stitches back onto the cable.
Pull that needle around and begin your choice of ribbing by
knitting/purling stitches on front needle.
I personally prefer a knit 2 purl 2 ribbing.
I find it helps to remember to place the yarn (coming from
the ball which you are knitting from) above the needles to keep it
from twisting when you switch from needle to needle as you knit
around.
Ribbing:
Rib
in Knit 2, Purl 2 (or your favorite ribbing) for 2 inches. . I find it
helpful to avoid “ladders” (or gaps between stitches along edges)
by knitting the first stitch, putting your needle into the second
stitch and giving it a small tug to tighten up the yarn between the
back needle and the first stitch on the front needle.
As you finish knitting all the stitches from one needle, return
the stitches to the needle points with yarn coming from back needle,
then pull that needle forward and around to continue second half of
that row and the same thing again as you begin each following row.
Leg/Cuff:
Continue
in stockinette stitch (just continue knitting around on your circular
needle) until your sock measures 7” or desired leg/cuff length or
if you want a ribbed cuff that you can turn town, just continue with
the ribbing to the length you desire.
Heel:
Since you already have one-half (28) of your stitches on each side of
the cable, you do not need to reposition any stitches before knitting
your heel. You will be
working back and forth on just half the stitches.
The other half of the stitches will become the instep. For now, they will rest on the cable ~ just ignore them.
You will NOT pull the back needle forward to begin the first row
of the heel. Instead, you
will keep the back stitches on the needle point and use the other
needle point to purl the first row across, etc.
Work
the heel flap back and forth over the 28 stitches as follows:
Row
1: Slip first stitch purl wise then purl across the back of the heel
flap to the last stitch – knit
Row 2: Slip first stitch purl wise, knit 1, slip 1 across, ending with
a knit stitch. Turn.
Row
3: Slip first stitch purl wise then purl across the back of the heel
flap to the last stitch – knit
the last stitch. Turn. (Repeat of row 1)
Row
4: Slip first two
stitches, knit 1 slip 1 across ending with Knit last 2
stitches. Turn.
(This
heel is called “Eye of Partridge” stitch and makes a cushiony,
longer lasting heel. Knitting
the last stitch both directions will give you a better edge to pick up
the gusset stitches from both sides of heel.)
Repeat
these 4 rows until your heel is approximately 2 ½ inches long.
End with a purl row.
Turning
The Heel:
You will be making short rows to shape a little "cup" for
the heel.
Row
1: K 17, ssk, k 1, turn. (See instructions for SSK below.)
(If
you began with more than 56 stitches: instead of 17 stitches, knit
half of the stitches on
the
needle
plus 3, then ssk, k1, turn. the follow the instructions below.)
Row
2: Slip 1, p 7, p2tog, p 1, turn.
Row
3: Slip 1, k 8, ssk, k 1, turn.
Row
4: Slip 1, p 9, p2tog, p 1, turn.
Row
5: Slip 1, k 10, ssk, k 1, turn.
Row
6: Slip 1, p 11, p2tog, p 1, turn.
Row
7: Slip 1, k 12, ssk, k 1, turn.
Row
8: Slip 1, p 13, p2tog, p 1, turn.
Row
9: Slip 1, k 14, ssk, k 1, turn.
Row
10: Slip 1, p 15, p2tog, p 1, turn.
Turn
sock and knit across these 18 stitches.
| SSK:
Slip, slip, knit works two stitches together into one, resulting in
a left-slanting decrease. It is useful for shaping or may be
combined with corresponding increases to form patterns. The SSK is
the mirror of the k2together. Slip first stitch on left needle as if to knit. Slip next stitch on left needle as if to knit. Insert tip of left needle in the front through both slipped stitches. Wrap yarn around tip of right needle and then knit these two stitches together. |
Next
you will be picking up the stitches on the sides of the heel flap and
knitting around the sock again.
To Pick up Gusset Stitches:
To
pick up the stitches, just reach under each sideways “V” of the slipped stitches (so you are going under 2 the strands of
yarn that lay on the edge) and pull your yarn through to make a new
stitch on your needle. If
it is difficult for you to pull the yarn through, consider using a
crochet hook to “catch” the yarn and then place it on your
needlepoint.
After you have
picked up the gusset stitches on the first side of the heel,
place a marker here (to help with
gusset decrease positioning) and continue knitting HALF
(14) of the instep stitches and then pull your needle and cable
through. This will be the
new “splitting point” while you knit the gusset of your sock.
Then knit the other HALF of the instep stitches, place a marker, and pick up the same number of gusset stitches on the other side of the heel. Knit half of the heel stitches and pull the needle through. This will be the other “splitting point” now, so your sock position should look like this:
Knit one round
and pull stitches back to home.
Place a marker
(or just tie a bit of yarn through
one of the stitches) on this first side (with socks
positioned as in photo above) to indicate that this side is the
beginning side for knitting the gusset. Continue with instructions for
the gusset below.
Gusset
You need to
make a row of decreases on each side of the heel flap to get back to
the same number of stitches you began with (56) for each sock. These increases and decreases will be made in
relationship to the markers.
Decrease
Round: Knit to
3 sts before the end of heel stitches (indicated by the marker), K2tog, K1. Knit
across the instep sts. Turn
to other side. Knit instep stitches to next marker.
Following
the marker,
knit 1 SSK, knit remaining heel stitches.
Turn to other side.
Knit
next round plain.
Repeat Decease
Round every
other round until you have 56 sts left for each sock (or the same
number of stitches you began with, so you have an equal number of
stitches on both sides). The
number of rounds to this point will depend on how many gusset stitches
you picked up along the side of each heel.
As you make more pairs of socks, you will get a better idea of
how long you should knit your heel flaps and how many stitches you
should pick up to get the perfect fit for you.
Foot
Continue
with stockinette stitch until the foot measures 2½" to 3” less
than your foot length. Measure
from the heel where it will begin fitting the bottom of your foot. You
may readjust your stitches so the sole is on one side and the instep
on the other side. You
can then remove the markers and shaping the toe will be easier.
It isn’t necessary to do this, just an option.
If you don’t
do this, keep your markers
in so you will know where to decrease while shaping the toe.
Shape
Toe
At the beginning of each side, K1, SSK.
Knit to 3 sts from end of side and K2tog, K1. Repeat for each side of both socks.
Knit one round
plain.
Continue
alternating plain and decrease rounds until you have
18 stitches on each side of your
circular. Then decrease on every round for 3 rounds
until you have 12 sts left for each on each side. (If
you want a more rounded toe, stop after 2 extra rounds or when you have
14
sts left on each side.)
Cut off the yarn ends for both socks leaving 24" tails. Thread a blunt tapestry needle with yarn tail for first sock and graft these sts together using the Kitchener stitch (see instructions on following page) or just thread the end through all the sts and draw them up tightly. The Kitchener stitch weaves the stitches together so you will see no seam at all! I encourage you to try this – just follow each step of the instructions very carefully! Repeat for second sock. Weave the ends of the yarn at both cuff and toe carefully into the back of the stitches (turn the sock inside out). Make sure your yarn doesn’t show through to the front. You will have to be even more careful if you may fold the ribbing down like a cuff. Enjoy!
Grafting Toes with Kitchener Stitch
Holding the 2 knitting needles parallel with wrong sides of sock together, thread a blunt tapestry needle with the yarn end and work as follows: 1) Insert tapestry needle as if to purl into the first stitch on front
side (this will be on the right hand side of the front) and pull the
yarn through, leaving the stitch on the knitting needle and the yarn
very loose. You will
tighten the stitches up later to control the tension.
(Make sure the yarn stays under the
needles and doesn’t go over the top which would add a stitch
around the knitting needle.) Insert tapestry needle as if to
knit into the first stitch on the back piece and pull the yarn
through. Then follow steps 2-5 as outlined below.
4) Insert the tapestry needle into the first stitch on the back
knitting needle as if to purl, pull the yarn through and let the
stitch then drop from the knitting needle,.
5) insert tapestry needle as if to knit through the second stitch on
the back knitting needle and pull the yarn through, leaving the
stitch on the knitting needle. Repeat 1-4 until all sts are gone.
When finished, adjust tension as necessary. Weave in ends. In other words, after step 1: knit 1st on front and pull off |