I have updated it! YAYYY! For now this is as good as it gets.
If you would like to donate something to the cause… THANK YOU! It’s greatly appreciated and it will help keep me in stitches! darn wordpress won’t let me install a donate button.. 
well if you feel like it, just email me 
)
Knitting Free Range SOCKS!
How to knit socks without a pattern
Copyright Rambling Designs 2011
So you want to knit a sock. Or two? Even better!
I like to knit socks too. I LOVE to knit them without patterns. Just cast on and go.
Well, not quite…there are a few things that are good to know before you cast on. I
thought I would write some of them down and share them with you all! I hope you
enjoy it and I also hope to see some pictures of the socks you come up with!
Really!
This started out as a tip page and grew, and grew, and grew….For this
reason we have decided to publish it in instalments. Mark it on your
calendar, put a knot in your handkerchiefs, or tie a string to your finger!
Just don’t forget to come back!
Well, it’s now available as a PDF for you to print!
Let’s start by saying that I use double pointed knitting needles for my socks.
(hereafter referred to as DPNs)
I like them… no… I LOVE them. I like the way they feel and the way they work.
YOU on the other hand may decide you want to knit on two circular needles, or on
the magic loop and that is absolutely awesome! Knitting socks should be fun and
in order for it to be fun you should use the technique that suits you best.
That said I will add: everything here on this page is only a guide. NOT A RULE!
It’s how I do things. You may want to: try it and keep it, try it and toss it out again,
or try it and give it your own twist. Nothing is written in stone and you should
absolutely treat it that way!
All of this is written for socks from the cuff down. I had to start somewhere and I
chose the cuff. I might let myself get talked into doing one for toe up socks, but
not today.
Most of these tips can be used for both anyway. Just reverse the increases, or
decreases… If you are a seasoned knitter you know what I am talking about. If
you are new to socks, try a cuff down sock. Nothing wrong with that.
Let me tell you: Once you get the different parts of a sock and how they fit
together, then it really doesn’t matter which way you knit them. Cuff down, or toe
up.
I will cast on for a pair of socks and knit them throughout this article. I will post the
pictures of what I am doing to illustrate what I am writing. Why don’t you cast on
alongside? You can use your own numbers and pattern-stitches, or for this time
round, if it makes you feel a bit more comfortable just go along with what I do.
This is NOT a pattern! I will not give stitch counts or row/round counts. I give you
the formulas and I show you how I do the math with my numbers. You will have to
use yours. You will have to figure that out for yourself with your measurements!
No worries! It’s easier then it sounds!
Now on to what I was going to say way up there, but procrastinated on in a
masterly fashion:
Knitting Free Range SOCKS!
How to knit socks without a pattern
PART 1
1.)The Measurements!
Take the following measurements from your victims.. um recipients:
- for knee highs: measure just under the knee this space is usually a bit narrower then the calf and you need to compensate for that with your knitting. (measurement for my sock: 14.5 inches, 37cm)
- thickest part of the calf (measurement for my sock: 16.5 inches, 42 cm)
- ankle If you don’t decrease for it, the sock will just bunch there and it will not look good. Also some people have very delicate ankles and you may have a different stitch count around the ankle then you have for the foot… so really make sure to measure both (measurement for my sock: 8 3/4 inches, 21.5 cm)
- the length you want the sock to be (from the heel to where you want the sock to end) (measurement for my sock: 16.5 inches, 42 cm)
- from your toes to your heel, length of the foot (measurement for my sock: 9 inches, 23 cm, woman’s US size 7.5)
- measure around the wide part right before the toes start too. I have found that usually socks will fit just fine and stretch over that part, but safe is safe and some people have a wider foot and with hand knitted socks you can accommodate for that! Isn’t that neat?
Now do a gauge swatch! (I hear you groan! But it is really necessary to have the
sock fit in the end the way you want it to!) My gauge swatch came out to 1.5
inches wide. You really should go on for a bit more. Since I am doing this a lot I
sort of know my gauge for the different needle sizes I use most and can get away
with it. There has to be a perk to being addicted to knitting socks LOL
I pinned my swatch out so you can see it better and because I only have two
hands. Holding, measuring and taking pictures requires a few more! Make sure
you don’t overly stretch your swatch when you measure it, but that it lays flat.
wrong measurement of the gauge swatch will result in a sock that fits an elephant!
Unless you live near a zoo, I don’t know of anybody you could pawn it off to! Also
make sure you are swatching all the patterns you want to use in the sock! Kid you
not! Very important! (I know I did not do that in my swatch, but to quote millions of
parents across the globe: DO AS I SAY, NOT AS I DO!)
On to the MATH …(dun dun duuuuuuun)
Nobody likes it, but to be honest, a good sock starts with the right math.
When you have your gauge swatch, pull out the paper with your measurements. I
will make up a gauge swatch to demonstrate how to get the stitch-count for your
sock from the gauge swatch and your measurements!
So lets say you made a gauge swatch of 10 stitches and knitted merrily for about
20 rows in your stitch-pattern (you really should use 20 stitches or more, but I am
lazy and 10 make the math so much easier ). Lets also say this gauge swatch
measures 2 inches (~5cm) in width and your leg measures 14 inches (~35.5 cm)
around the part right under the knee.
The formula for this is always (and this is true for ANY type of garment you want
to knit!)
Measurement of body part ÷ width of gauge swatch x number of stitches in
gauge swatch = Initial stitch-count
In our example it would be: 14”÷ 2” x 10 = 70 (35cm÷ 5cm x 10 = 70)
So we would have an initial stitch-count of 70 stitches for this particular sock. But
wait! Don’t cast on yet! Read on. I will finish the math after the next few tips:
- Negative ease: When you have the stitches figured out, take off anywhere between 10%-25% for negative ease. It will help the sock stay up and show off your wonderful patterns a bit better. I would make it depending on the yarn and personal preference how much I take off to be honest. There is no rule to go by.(I like my socks snug, so I usually go for 25%. Just divide your stitch-count by 4 and subtract that number from your stitch-count. It also makes the math super easy LOL)
- Calf stitches: you also want to figure out the stitches you need to increase to make the calf fit in. Negative ease is something great, but too much stretch is no good (distorts the patterns and just generally makes it look like it’s too small for the wearer).
- Ankle stitches: you also want to find out now how many stitches you would need to decrease to for the ankle. That way you will end up with enough room to decrease without making it a balloon sock-shaft because all the decreases end up in one row LOL (no, you may not ask how I know this…)
- If you have a really wide foot, then figure out if you should increase stitches to accommodate that.
Throughout this entire math, don’t forget the negative ease and always keep it at
the same rate!
So let’s do the math for the negative ease!
The formula for this:
Initial Stitch-count ÷ rate for negative ease = number of stitches to be taken
off
Initial Stitch-count – number of stitches to be taken off = cast on number
So in our example it would look like this:
70÷ 25% = 17.5
70 – 17.5 = 52.5
Ergo we would have to cast on 52.5 stitches. Well, one can’t cast on half a stitch.
It’s a fact. So you can decide here if you want to cast on 53 stitches, or 52. I
would go for 52 if you want to make a ribbing on top as the cuff. If you want to go
for a channel for elastic you can go for 53 stitches, since it will be all stockinette
stitch anyway and you won’t divide it up into knit and purl stitches.
So basically you use these two formulas for the entire math for your sock. Once
you have all the numbers you will have a better idea of how many stitches you
need to increase/decrease for each section of the sock and at what rate you will
have to do that in order to fit them in the space you have available.
I cannot stress enough how important it is to have all your numbers up front,
especially when you are a beginner. Until you get a bit more comfortable with
“free range sock knitting” really, really do the math and make your gauge
swatches!
So for my sock the math looks like this:
Cuff:
14.5 ÷ 1.5 = 9.666666667 (you can round up if you like.I like to keep this number
as is, it does make a difference of -in this case- 3 stitches)
9.666666667 x 10 = 96.666666667 (my overall stitch count)
96÷ 4= 24 (negative ease rate of 25%)
96 – 24 = 72 (stitches I have to cast on for the cuff)
Calf:
16.5 ÷ 1.5 = 11 ; 11 x 10 = 110 ; 110 ÷ 4= 27.5 ; 110 – 28 (I rounded up for this
one, since I plan lacy socks) = 82 ; 82 – 72 = 10 (I have to increase 10 stitches to
make the calf fit. )
Ankle:
12 ÷ 1.5 = 8 ; 8 x 10 = 80 ; 80 ÷ 4 = 20 ; 80 – 20 = 60 (I have to decrease to 60
stitches to fit the ankle )
These numbers come in handy when looking for pattern-stitches. I know now how
much room I have to fit in the numbers for the individual patterns. I can adjust the
cast on numbers up or down if needed by a few stitches, but not by much (I try
not to go over 3 stitches either way).
These are my measurements and the math that goes with it. Now it’s your turn!
Go measure yourself and do the math! It’s really quite fun! If you need any help,
just leave me a comment, I will try and help out as many as I can next Friday!
(ok.. so five people!)
Ok, need a break from all this abstract thinking? Me too!
We will let all these new things slowly sink into our brains and get back to it
with fresh enthusiasm next Sunday. It’s going to be more fun I promise! We
will get to pick out our pattern stitches. Don’t miss it!! WOOT WOOT!
I hope this was helpful so far!
PART 2
It can be daunting to figure out what patterns to use on your sock. There are just so
many out there! If you really can’t make up your mind, remember that you can
always knit another pair and use the other pattern on that.
You can have one over all pattern, or use as many as you like on your sock. Keep
in mind that too many cooks spoil the pudding; too many textures will make any
beholder of your sock seasick. I would not go over six different textures per sock.
It is, however, up to you. If you can figure out a way to make it all work, by all
means: GO FOR IT! and send me pictures!
With your numbers in mind go check some of your favorite knits, your favorite
patterns, your favorite knitting books. You can use anything on your socks you
like. Ok, so a gigantic cable may not be *such* a good idea, but you get what I
mean….
Pick patterns you like! Patterns that speak to you. Patterns that get you excited
when you think about knitting them. Don’t let anybody tell you it’s wrong! It’s
YOUR sock! Make it look the way you like it! I have heard someone just recently
say things about patterns on a sock and it should not look like you just slapped it
on a blank canvas….Well guess what? The sock IS a blank canvas and you are
the artist! What others think is not important! The only thing that counts is that you
like it!
I would suggest, however, that you make the patterns “relate”. I would choose
patterns that have similar lines. What that means for me is: I look for curves, or
zigzag, or straight lines and try to make all the patterns I choose for this particular
sock have the same lines. I give my socks a “theme”, if you will. I guess that is
the easiest way to put it.
Once you have found the pattern-stitches you like check the numbers. Gather all
the stitch-counts of those patterns and the numbers from your sock. Make sure
the patterns you use will fit onto the stitches you have available. (you can fudge a
stitch more or less into your stitch-count, but not many…)
Think about the placement of the pattern-stitches you pick out and write them
alongside the number of stitches they have onto a piece of paper. (E.g.
Lobsterclaw cable back center 8, jacard pattern sides of sock 25, etc…) I like to
write them down in a little O shape, so I can see where what goes on the finished
sock (like looking at the sock from the top, do I make sense?) sort of like this:
See what I mean?
Of course this is super simplified, but you get the picture.
With that done it’s time to Cast on.
You can use any cast on method you like. Long tail, knitted cast on, cabled cast
on, whatever suits your fancy, or what the pattern calls for (always a good tip…).
You can cast on all stitches on one needle and then divide them up onto the
different needles in the set, or you can be lazy like me and cast the stitches right
on to the needles you want them on.
Now, if you tend to cast on tight in the long tail cast on, then you can to hold two
needles together, since it gives a bit of room for that first row and gives the cast
on row a bit more stretch.
So you would cast on like so:
When you are done casting on your knitting should look a bit like this:
You can leave the second needle in until you are ready to knit that particular set
of stitches,then pull it out just prior to knitting that needle. That way your stitches
will not slip off.
Here I pulled out all the secondary needles. See how nice and loose the stitches
are, but still even? (In case you are wondering: My needles were hand forged by
my friend Molly from the Celtic swan forge (celticswan.com)
You also may pull the second needle out after every needle is finished cast on,
but it will make the stitches nice and loose, so the needle you actually want in
there might fall out! That is the reason I am telling you to leave them in until you
are done with casting on. Now if you cast on to a circular needle (for knitting on
two circs, or on the magic loop) then you don’t have to worry, just hold the second
needle until you are done casting one. Presto).
Make sure you don’t twist the needles around! You don’t want to make a tiny
moebius..
When closing the knitting to the round, I bring needle #4 around to needle #1,
take the last st cast on to needle #4 and slip it onto needle #1, then pull the first
stitch on needle #1 over the stitch from needle #4 and transfer it to needle #4.
This helps get rid of the little gap you get at the beginning when knitting anything
in the round. (Yes, I am that picky about my sock knitting).
If this sock is for you, or your recipient is within easy reach, then I recommend to
try it on frequently as you go about constructing it. If it is a secret knitting project,
or your recipient lives out of State/Country/Planet, then I recommend to go with
the “rules of thumb” or your gut and trust your measurements.
Always remember: Measure twice, knit once!
Phew! Good job guys! These socks are going to be nothing short of
gorgeous! Picking patterns and casting on is a big job. I think another break
will be in order just about now. Grab a cup of coffee and a cookie (you
deserve it), put up your feet and be proud of yourself! Tune in again next
week, when we get started on the cuff and calf.
PART 3
Now, lets move on to the cuff of the sock.
Pick your favourite ribbing. k1/p1, k2/p2, what have you. If you like the way it looks
it’s good enough to use!
There are a few rules of thumb when knitting the cuff.
- A knee-high sock should have a cuff measuring at least 1.5-2 inches. (between 4 and 6 cm). As you know, rules are there to be broken, so if you feel like a shorter cuff, then so be it! It’s your sock!
- Shorter socks don’t necessarily need wide cuffs like that, but I like the look of it, so I usually don’t go below that number unless for little anklets/no- show socks. (unless I just make a channel where I thread elastic through, I don’t make those bigger than approx. an inch)
Now remember: the cuff is what keeps the sock up! I like the k1, p1 ribbing, since
that cinches it nicely. Wider patterns (k2,p2) tend to be a bit “looser”. Check your
yarn for stretch. To do that, take your gauge swatch and stretch it horizontally. If it
snaps back together by itself, you might get away with a wider ribbing. If it takes a
while and snaps back that’s good too. If it just sits there and looks sad and
saggy… well, there is nothing for it. No amount of knit/purl/negative ease action
will keep the sock in such yarn up your leg. We will need reinforcements! TO THE
BATMOBILE! Or you could use elastic….
Either way….You need a way to get the elastic in the sock. This can be achieved
by either knitting a tunnel for it (like you would when sewing a skirt or something
like that). This channel should not exceed above 1 1⁄4 inch, OR you can go ahead
with your k/p ribbing and thread thin elastic thread through the inside later! You
can’t tell from the outside, but the sock stays up nice and neat! AHA! I’m a
sneaky little bugger, aren’t I? (I usually mention it, when I end up doing that in my
blog posts. If you don’t read it, the sock stays up without any help!)
I am knitting a “Sample pair” for these pages as you know. My husband talked me
into making this pair for him, so I opted for a regular ribbed cuff, since that just
fits with the sock I am making!
If you plan on making this sock alongside me and want to use the channel kind of
cuff, you will need to use a provisional cast on! There are several ways to do this
out there. One implements a crochet chain, a few stitches longer then the number
of stitches you need. You then pick up your stitches out of that chain. When you
are ready to use the stitches again you remove the crochet chain, that leaves you
with live stitches to be put back on a needle. Try a google search, there are tons
of tutorials. Find a method that suits you.
Here is a different kind of temp cast on. If you want to try this one, you will need a
bit of waste yarn (make it a contrasting colour to what you are using for the sock,
so it’s easier to see what you are doing) and a spare needle.
Hold two needles together, now make a slip knot and put the first stitch on your
needle. I suggest for this particular project you cast on about 4 or 5 stitches as
you usually would, then start with the temporary cast on, since you will need a
little opening to thread in the elastic!
Pick up the waste yarn and hold one end underneath the needles in your right
hand. With your left hand pick up the working yarn (the yarn that comes from the
ball of yarn) and bring it down in front of the waste yarn, pull it around the waste
yarn
Pick up the waste yarn and hold one end underneath the needles in your right
hand. With your left hand pick up the working yarn (the yarn that comes from the
ball of yarn) and *bring it down in front of the waste yarn, pull it around the waste
yarn
Back up again in front of the needles and around your needles and back down
again in front of the waste yarn.
Repeat this motion from * until you have the right amount of stitches on your
needle. Now, bring the yarn once more around the front of the waste yarn (you
need to have the same amount of loops around the waste yarn, as you have
stitches on your needles).
End with one more loop around the waste yarn, so you have the same amount of
loops around the waste yarn as there are around the needles.
I usually cast all necessary stitches onto one pair of needles when using this cast
on method and distribute them onto the needles when I am done. It seems to me
it’s easier that way, but that is up to you.
Now, knit the required rounds to fit your elastic, then purl one round. This will be
the “folding line”.
You have to knit the exact amount of rounds again as before, so if you knitted 8
rounds then one purl, you will knit 8 rounds again.
See how I have the first few rounds after the cast on with the blue waste yarn, then
the purl round, and then another few rounds plain? That’s what yours should look
like now.
1. Fold first 8 rounds on “folding line” towards the inside of the knitting (so the
flat knit rows are showing, not the purl bumps, you will fold wrong sides
together!)
2. Knit the first 4 or 5 live stitches (depending on how many you cast on
normally).
3. Take out the temporary cast on and put the stitches back on a spare needle.
I suggest you only “free” one needle’s worth of stitches from the temp. cast
on. It is much easier to work those off that way, then to have all of a sudden
8 needles to contend with!
4. Then start to knit one stitch off your live stitches together with one stitch off
your spare needle.
Since I made a ribbed cuff, mine looks like this right now:
With the cuff done it’s time to get cracking on the patterns. BUT WAIT! We need
to do the calf-increase!
There are a few ways to go about that. You can do a “built in” increase. Where
you increase the stitches slowly as you go about knitting the pattern until you hit
the right amount. You would do this to the right and left of the back centre pattern
within the first third of the sock. (If you don’t have a back centre pattern, then
maybe you picked a pattern where you can put the increases in). You can
intersect the calf into three sections: the increase section, the “straight” section
and the decrease section. The first section is the shortest one. It should not be
longer then two inches (the sections grow or shrink proportionally with the size of
the overall sock of course!) Lets look at the sample sock I am knitting. The first
half of the shaft will be 9 inches in these 9 inches I will have to fit the cuff, the calf
increases, the “Straight calf” and the calf decreases! I will have the first 1.5 inches
after the cuff to spread the increases out in, then I will knit straight until the piece
measures approximately 7 inches then the calf decreases will have to be made!
Of course there are exceptions to every rule and you can spread the increases
out over a longer length down the cuff if necessary. If you don’t have your
recipient present to try on the sock and absolutely custom make it for him/her,
then the rule of thumb given above is a good one to stick to.
Here is a picture of a pair of socks where I increased within the pattern. You can
see that the little diamonds in the centre back of the sock are getting bigger, then
smaller again.
I personally like the “make one” increase, where you use the horizontal bar of the
row below to make a new stitch. Some people like the k1/p1 in one stitch, but that
will give you a pearl ridge, don’t forget that!
OR
You can knit 3 rounds in stockinette stitch and use that to increase the stitches
necessary. (I like to do it this way if it’s not too many stitches. I would not
recommend to go over 10 increase stitches spread out over these three rows.
Again, the make one is preferable here if you ask me). This white pair of socks in
the picture below was made increasing all the calf stitches in the three stockinette
stitch rows before starting the pattern.
All increases for calf were made in the three first rows before the pattern starts.
If you are knitting a sock with an overall pattern you can absolutely spread the
increases out over the entire sock. You are not limited to just the centre back!
Check out this example of one of my socks with an overall pattern-stitch. See how
the little O’s get smaller towards the heel? (actually this sock was knitted toe up,
so I increased the little O’s. But you get what I mean. In a cuff down sock you
decrease them…) Here the increases were done because the pattern did not look
good too stretched. The knitting will stretch around your calf and gain in width, but
it will loose in length. Now it is easy to make that up by just knitting more rounds,
but some patterns, such as the one used below, loose in attractiveness if
stretched too far in the horizontal!
Now, if you just make a plain, straight stockinette stitch sock, then you don’t have
to do any calf increases at all, Just start with your routine math and use a bit
smaller negative ease percentage and presto! But patterned socks don’t have
quite as much stretch as stockinette ones and will need help with the fitting as
well as with the look of the pattern as I explained above.
So with all this in mind go ahead and do the calf increases! I have done mine and
kept them purposely in knit stitches only, so you could see how it would work left
and right of the centre pattern:
I know it doesn’t look like a lot, but believe me, this is a giant part of the
sock and needs your full attention! So, I will let you go for now!
PART 4
When you finish this part today, you will be more than half way through knitting
your sock!!!
We stopped with all the calf increases done. No matter if you chose to do the
increases in the pattern, or if you did them in the first few rounds before starting
the pattern. Right now you have a few rounds to just relax and enjoy knitting the
pattern.
Phew! But don’t go too far!
When the shaft measures about one time the number of the foot measurement
minus 2 inches we begin the calf-decreases! (That means for a 9 inch foot at
about 7 inches we start with the calf-decreases.)
These decreases should be done fairly rapid, to follow the curve of the calf. Try to
work them into the pattern as you go, or do them left and right of the centre back
pattern as you did the increases.
For the decreases as for the increases there are a lot of options. You can knit two
together, ssk, or slip one, knit one and pass the slipped stitch over the knitted
one, etc. Use the one that fits you best. One that either will blend in with the
pattern. If you don’t have a pattern you can choose a decrease that either is close
to invisible, or make it a design feature. Remember that some of the decreases
are directional! SSk will have the stitches look as if they travel to the left,
k2together will look like they travel to the right.
You have about 2 inches to get all the cuff decreases in (remember: 1x Foot
measurement-2 inches = start of calf decreases!). This puts the decreases in
the last third of the calf. These rules of thumb work great for the average leg, but
are super easy customised for someone with special needs. Just remember to
take the appropriate measurements.
After the calf decreases are done your work should measure approximately 9
inches from start to finish.
Here is a picture of my sample sock after all the calf decreases are done. I
decreased one stitch left and right of the centre back pattern every other round. It
is not exactly 9 inches long, but close enough for comfort. I could have probably
spaced my decreases a bit wider, but it’s good the way it is.
I highly recommend you do – if possible – try the socks on as you go from section
to section at the beginning, until you get comfortable with what you are doing. If
you can’t try the sock on the recipient for whatever reason, don’t panic if the shaft
is not exactly one foot measurement at this point. If you are within half an
inch/three quarters of and inch of it you are more then likely just fine.
Here is a picture of my sample sock tried on so you can see what I mean:
See? It’s only 8.5 inches, but it fits just fine on my husbands calf, so don’t worry
On to the ANKLE!
I am back to 72 stitches at this point. My math showed that I need to decrease to 60 stitches. I will be able to try my sock on as I go along, so I can make that decision in the spur of the moment, but if you are knitting as a surprise, or for someone out that doesn’t live close to you, then you should go with your measurements! Once you get a bit more practice under your belt, you will get a feel for the numbers you “should” have in a sock for any given size. ;D
I would also like to mention at this point that you can re-distribute your stitches over your needles as you like. What I want to say is: You don’t have to keep them exactly as you cast them on. If a pattern repeat goes two stitches over the end of a needle, I like to just put those two stitches on the needle the rest of the repeat is on. That way everything is a bit easier to memorize if you ask me. But that is just a tip on the edge. You can absolutely ignore me here if you like.
Keep decreasing evenly until you have the number of stitches needed for your ankle. This decrease should be made more slowly then the calf decreases (if it is at all necessary).
As a rule of thumb: your sock-leg (all the way down, including the heel) should be twice the length of your foot measurement! (for a knee-length sock) This is necessary to compensate for the stretching around the leg. The stitches will be pulled horizontally, due to the negative ease. Which means the knitted fabric will shrink vertically. So your 18 inches overall (including heel), un-stretched will come out to about 16 inches tall when worn.
If you have a 9 inch foot, you have 7 inches of shaft knitted then start the calf decreases. You should have all the stitches you increased for the calf decreased by the time your sock-shaft measures 9 inches from the top.
After that keep going with the decreasing until you have the number of stitches you need for your ankle. You should have all the decreasing done about an inch before you hit the ankle bone. (so with a 9 inch foot measurement you should have all the decreasing done when your sock shaft measures around 16 inches un-stretched)
If you have a pattern at the sides of the sock, keeping the ankle decreases also in the back will pull the side pattern backwards. This can be a nice little design element in itself if you like, but if you want to keep the pattern centred all the way down, then you should put the ankle decreases either in front, or spread evenly out around the whole work.
Once all the decreases are done, knit about 2 inches “straight” to complete the ankle. If you were to try on your sock right now (which I recommend you do frequently through out the proceedings, unless your recipient is not available or it is to be a surprise).
Now it IS important that you reach the entire 2-foot-measurements-minus-2-inches you need for the shaft. So if you, like me, had a bit less after the calf decreases, now is the time to adjust and knit until you really hit the 16 inch mark! Sadly I was a mad knitter the day I finished the ankle and knitted the heel straight away too, so there is no picture of just the ankle knitting at the moment for my sample sock 
Sorry… but I think you get the point.
If you are knitting a sock in stockinette stitch, you can snug the ankle up with a simple k1/p1 pattern on top of the decreases. It gives the whole thing a bit of a sporty look as well 
See:
“Roller-Derby” inspired sock made by me. I made the ankle fit snug by using k2/p2 ribbing.
You should have about two inches more to go before the knitting would “hit the floor” and reach the 2-times-the-foot-measurement. These two inches will be covered by the heel!
You all have been so good up until now! Way to hang in there! along with me! YOU ROCK!
Ok.. I say we take a break for now. I will finish writing the heel and foot before next Sunday. I have a ton of other things I need to do (like dishes) and there is sooooo much to come now with the heel! What kind of heel? How to avoid the dreaded gusset holes etc…. 
No worries! I will write it soon, but not today!
Now where were we?
Oh yes…
So you knitted to the end of the ankle and are about 2 inches short of hitting the floor with your sock. PERFECT! Next We are going ’round the bend! or: How to turn a heel.
Part I
Here is something to sink your teeth into! I love doing heels! My favorite is the short row heel (since I am a lazy person) but there is a myriad of variations out there worth exploring. I suggest you really go try them all out, then settle on one for your “go to” heel. One that you practice until you can do it in your sleep. It’s good to have a “fall back” heel.
Now that does not mean you only use that one….there is a heel for every occasion, so lets utilize them to our best abilities!
Lets look at the heel-flap heel for instance. Wonderful to use if you want a little picture in the heel as in these socks.
Skull anklets/no-show socks I made for my husband
Maybe you like to let the pattern run all the way down to the bottom. Both are great for socks worn with slip-in shoes. You know: the open back kind like Birkenstocks….
Hand-knitted socks look great in these shoes!I personally don’t like to let the pattern run all the way down the heel. Since I don’t discriminate around my footwear and use socks and shoes interchangeably, I found that some pattern-stitches could be rather uncomfortable stuck in a shoe… (Hence no picture of socks with patterned heels) But really it’s a total preference thing; so don’t let me influence you on that account.
Since I have the no-pattern-on-heels preference, I tend to use short row heels most of the time. I got really good at it, even if I say so myself. Love them and can turn a heel in about an hour! (See what practice will get ya?)
Anyway, the reason I bring up all these different ways to make the heel is that there really is a heel for everybody. What kind you pick is ultimately up to you, the knitter, but do keep in mind that the heel you like best might not work for another person’s foot. Heels are as different and individual as fingerprints! So look at your recipient, try to determine what he/she will use the sock for and then try and find a heel that works with that use the best. Is it a hiking sock? Maybe you want a reinforced heel, so the boots won’t wear it out too quickly? Then I would say go for a heel-flap heel. Does the recipient have a rather wide/narrow base of the heel? There are different ways to accommodate that! Don’t want to do the heel right now? Do an “afterthought heel”! Yes! That really exists!
There are countless publications with rather great ways to demonstrate the different heels. There are also a bunch of great tutorials online for them. I will list some links at the end that you can go and check out and pick the heel that is right for you.
In this article I will examine two heels: The heel-flap heel and the short row heel for no other reason then I am the one writing this page and am therefore the boss of things. (Real reason: I could make this page into a novel and still not cover everything. Besides research is sometimes such fun, so don’t let me hog it all!)
Lets start with the short row heel, shall we?
Lots of people are afraid of short row heels. It pains me to see that! There is nothing to be afraid of! They are not complicated!!! Don’t let ANYBODY tell you that! If someone tries, refer him/her to me… I will handle them!
By doggedly always knitting the centre stitches and rhythmically omitting the same for the side stitches, to a point, then including them again you will force the fabric to do your bidding and make a curve. I think that is the single most important thing to know about a short row heel. Once you have grasped that concept, there is nothing to be afraid of any more!
I just gave you the key to the secret of short row heels! Please drop your offerings to the left of the door!
I do the wrap and turn, you can absolutely leave out the wrap. I like it, because it gives the whole turn a bit of stability. Meaning the stitches you leave un-worked for the first part of the heel will get a bit of reinforcement and hence look a bit better then the ones without the wrap. But that is only my opinion and is certainly up for a lively debate.
Now we need to determine how many stitches we need to short row. For a normal heel I usually divide the heel stitches (consisting of half of the overall stitches) by three. One third will be the right side (wrapped stitches) one third for the middle (heel, doggedly knitted stitches) and one third for the right side (wrapped stitches). As an example: Lets say you have 72 stitches overall now at the ankle. You would divide the 70 stitches into half. That equals 35. So you end up with 35 heel and 35 instep stitches. Now divide the 35 by three to find out how many stitches you need to wrap on each side. The correct answer is 11.666666! You can now decide to either wrap 12 stitches or 11. I would make it dependent on the heel of the recipient of the sock. If it is a wide heel wrap 11 if it is a narrow heel wrap 12. So you have to wrap 12 stitches on each side, before turning the heel! You can adjust that number so you will have more centre stitches and less wrapped stitches on the sides, leaving a bit more room on the middle for the wide heel, or if it is a very narrow heel, then just wrap more stitches! I like easily customisable!
Ready to do this now? Ok lets re-arrange our stitches on our 4 needles so there is an equal amount on each. (if you have an uneven number of stitches, just pick where you want that one “extra” stitch. Heel or not, does not matter, I usually let the math decide LOL). Let’s get back to our 70-stitch sock: you would have 17.5 stitches on each needle. For a set of 5 needles (4 with stitches and one working needle) that means you have 18 stitches on the first, 17 on the second, 18 on the third and again 17 on the fourth. If you work on 4 needles (3 needles with stitches and one working needle) then you would put your instep stitches (half the number of stitches of the entire sock) on two needles (18 on one and 17 on the other) the other half (35 stitches in total) on the “heel needle”.
There are different ways to treat the unused instep stitches. You can (and I would recommend this especially to beginning sock knitters!) put them all on a bit of salvage yarn. This will let you work on the heel stitches without stretching these stitches out, reducing the risk of … THE GUSSET HOLE! (insert dramatic music here)
Or you can be lazy like me and leave them on the needles they go on and figure out a way around the stretching another way. If you are a seasoned knitter you will have your own way figured out by now.
I made up a little tutorial for short row heels. There are a ton of those out there, so if I don’t make any sense for you, just google short row heel tutorials and you will get a bunch of links! I promise I won’t mind LOL
It’s heelin’ time! (please keep in mind this is only the second tutorial VIDEO I have ever made! Be kind in judging. Oh and … um…I have an accent.. just thought I ought to let you know.. My family has decided to find it charming LOL)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQiu946SiJs&feature=player_embedded
Here is the heel of my sample sock. See the little “seam” on the inside?
Inside the short row heel. See the little “seam” of wraps going from heel to gusset there?
And here is with the gusset. No holes
Look Mom! No holes!
I am going to write out my “Gusset hole prevention tip”. This is what I came up with for myself over the years of sock knitting. It has morphed to it’s last version, -which I am using now- through a few stages. I suggest you play around a bit for yourself and find a way that suits you. You can find tons of tips all over the internet as well. Try some, use what you like, drop what you don’t like. Smush them all together and make up your own!
Ok, so you are going along and doing your short row heel. You get to the last two rows of short row heel, the ones where you would use the last wrapped stitch on each side. Put all the stitches from the top of the sock back on needles, if you took them off. You knit to the left side of the heel as you normally would. You ONLY USE THE TOP WRAP with that stitch! Not the bottom one! Use the top wrap as you normally would use the wraps and knit the stitch off. Now, DO NOT TURN YOUR WORK. I know you would usually turn and purl back to work off the last wrapped stitch on the right side, but DON”T!
Instead pick up the second wrap with your right hand needle. Then slip the first stitch off the next needle onto the right hand needle as well. Pass the wrap over that stitch so it sits like a regular wrap around the neck of that stitch. Now slip the stitch back on your left hand needle. Now use the wrap around that stitches neck as you would use any wrap around a short row stitch. Ok! Knit around the top of the sock. When you get to the last stitch BEFORE the heel, pick up the BOTTOM wrap and slip it onto the heel needle, slip the last stitch of the top stitches on there too, pass the wrap over so it looks like a short row wrap on the neck of that stitch. Now work it like a wrapped short row stitch. There is now one wrap left on that first heel stitch. Work it off as you would a short row wrap stitch and it’s all done!
This helps to snug the stitches together a bit and will make the hole go away. Well… for me it does. Believe me, I have tried a bunch of things before I came up with this (and even this method went through a few morph-stages before I figured out this is the most efficient way for me) Play around a bit. Find what suits you. Try out different people’s recommendations. What works for me does not necessarily have to work for you. There are lots of factors to take into account. E.g. your tension, the way you hold your needles, how tightly you wrap the stitches when you short row…. it all can make or break this tip….If it doesn’t work for you, don’t be discouraged! It’s just one of many ways! There is one out there just right for you! Finding it, fiddling with the stitches on your own for a bit is half the fun of knitting!
If this does not make sense in written form, let me know and I will make a video for it!
Part II
The heel flap-heel is a different animal! I know lots of knitters that prefer it over short row. It’s a personal thing. It certainly has it’s uses! I like it if I want to put something “in” the heel. Like a picture of some sort. Or if I want to have the pattern run all the way down to the heel. (doesn’t happen often) OR for hiking socks, since it is a breeze to reinforce. Not that you can’t reinforce a short row heel, but somehow I prefer the heel flap-heel for that….again.. its a personal thing. See? Knitting socks is all about choices and preferences. Once you find yours, you won’t want store-bought socks again!
I have knitted a heel flap heel for you and taken pictures, so you get the idea of how it works. Not really a tutorial, but it shows how the heel is constructed. I am explaining the round heel here. There are a bunch of variations for the short row heel. Have a fun afternoon at the library some time and find out how many!
You are done with the sock shaft (I made this a tiny one for an anklet for my DH.. yes, he is greatly profiting from these pages!!!!), you will now work over half the overall stitches until the resulting “flap” measures approximately 2 inches. You can either knit in a pattern, or straight in stockinette stitch, meaning knitting the right side rows and purling the wrong side ones. Note that the heel flap is usually as long as it is wide! Easy way to find out if you are done: if you can fold the heel flap square in half diagonally and have the two points meet, then you are done knitting! Like I did here (this is showing the right side, later the outside of the sock):
See how I just knitted straight down? This is the “outside” of the sock.
and here is the other side, what will later be the inside of the sock:
Here is the other side of it. It’s basically just a square, see?
After you are done knitting the flap, you still have to “turn” the heel. That means the knitting has to go around a bend. Remember how we knitted the short rows, and by making more fabric in the middle, then on the sides we got the heel to turn and be round? Well we need to do the same thing here. So the next row you would knit to the middle of the heelflap.
Next knit 2 together, then knit 1 and turn. Ignore the unworked stitches! Turn your work, slip the first stitch then knit 5 stitches. Purl 2 together, then purl one. turn your work. Again ignoring the rest of the unworked stitches.
You would slip the first stitch again, now knit to the little gap that formed between the last knitted stitch and the first “Ignored one”. Knit the last stitch before the gap together with the first “ignored” one, knit one, turn and repeat – purling this time - on the back row.Purl all stitches again all the way to the little gap. Purl the last stitch before the gap together with the next “ignored” stitch. Purl one.
You would repeat these two rows until you only have one “ignored” stitch on either side left. On this last row, end with a knit two together (the last stitch before the gap and the last ignored stitch) then purl back and do the same for the other side (only purl the stitches together instead of knitting them)
Turn your work and slip the first stitch, then knit across to the middle of the needle (half the stitches on your needle) this is where the new round beginns! Move your marker if need be! Finish knitting the second half of the heel stitches including the last stitch on the needle.
The heel is turned!
Close up of the “turning point” I hope you can see the little “seam” looking thing going across.
You turned your heel! Bravo!
When you count your stitches you end up with less then the original heel-flap stitches. DON’T PANIC!!!!! This is perfectly right!
Moving on to the “pick up line”!
You will now go ahead and pick up stitches along the sides of the flap! If you look closely you will see little “V”‘s going down the side of the flap! (You get these little “V”s by knitting the first stitch of every row of the heelflap through the back loop and slipping the last stitch of every row with the yarn in front, that is the side closest to you) Just stick your needle in the first V after the last stitch (you are on the left side of the flap right now, working towards the top of the foot) . Stick your needle all the way through the V, yarn over and pull the loop through the V. You just picked up a stitch. Now, do the same thing with all the other V’s until you get to the next needle!
Knit all stitches on the next two needles (this is the top of the foot) Or if you want to keep the pattern going on the top of the foot, then remember to knit those stitches in pattern!!
Ok! You reached the right side of the flap and have to pick up the same amount of stitches over here as you have on the left side! WRITE THAT NUMBER DOWN! You will need to remember it for the second sock!!!! you should have reached the needle by now. Go ahead and knit the stitches on that needle.
Aaaaaaaaaaah! So many stitches!!!!
You have successfully picked up the gusset stitches! Congratulations!
If you count your stitches now, you should have way MORE then you had before! We now need to reduce the stitch-count gradually back to the original number! This is called knitting the gusset!
Ok lets check what’s going on! You should, right now, have the first half of the heel stitches (right after the marker) AND the picked up stitches of the left side of the heelflap on one needle. Needle #1, then follow two needles with the instep stitches (needles #2 and 3) and another needle with the picked up stitches of the right side and the rest of the heel stitches (needle #4)
- So you would knit to the last three stitches of the next needle. The needle you picked up the stitches on the left side of the flap. Now knit 2 together, knit 1. then knit across the top of the foot (either in stockinette stitch, or in the pattern).
- On the second needle with the picked up stitches proceed as follows: knit 1, then slip 2 as if to knit and knit them both together through the back loop.
- The next row will be worked without decreases.
- Alternate between decrease and non-decrease rounds until you are back to the original stitch-count you had for your sock!
All is right again! The decreases are done and we have the original amount of stitches back on each needle!
Close up: See the little triangel the gusset decreases make? Pretty, huh?
Presto! Heel flap-heel is done!
The rounds will start in the middle of the heel from here on out. So move your marker if need be. (Depending on how you sorted out your patterns in the beginning of the sock you may, or may not have to!)
Wasn’t hard, was it? Now, it’s straight sailin’ from here to the toe!
I personally prefer the simple elegance of a short row heel, since there is less “to do”. Once you are done, you are done, no stitches to be picked up nothing… It is absolutely up to you, what heel you like and use! Some people let a braid go down the side of the sock and let it go down further, to hide the gusset decreases in it. It certainly looks very smart that way! You should definitely try it and do a pair that way!
Ok , more than enough for this week! And there will be homework!
Check out the links I gave you (way down there *points*) and go to the library (or the bookstore) and look through other sock books and see what types of heel other designers like and why. You can now go ahead and make the heel until next week! Use the short row, the heel flap, or maybe you feel already sassy enough to insert one of your own choosing! I would be so proud it would make me cry! See you then!
I will be waiting here for you next Sunday and we will continue on with our sock. It’s going to be super easy next week.. like going on holiday! I promise!
Happy knitting!
Sock heel links:
- Afterthought heel
- Heelflap heel
- Heel flap heel video!
- Short row heel video tutorial
- Short row heel wrapped twice (like I do it) pictures and text, no video
- Knit picks Heels and toes glossary PDF file with 5 different heels and 3different toes for every taste and purpose! Some have a video tutorial with them, most only descriptions. It does give you the names of the heels and toes and that way you can go look for tutorials on your own.
Here we are! So glad to see you! This is the second to last installment for our socks! You have them almost done! All we need is toes and presto! Hand-knitted socks!
The last part will give you a few hints on how to fix holes in the socks after wearing them (these hand-knitted beauties are worth the darning time!) and a few other useful tips and tricks.
For now, lets concentrate on the toes!
All we have to do is add a cap to the sock to make it closed up front. There are, again, different ways to go about this. DECISION TIME! 
You can make a “square toe”, a “star toe”, a “round toe” and numerous adaptations thereof!
To make the decision easier, look at the foot of your recipient. Are the toes rather wide? are they narrow and going to a point? This will help you decide what toe you want to make. Also think again at the use of your sock. Will it be a hiking sock? You may want a toe that won’t “bug” in the boot. I think the square toe is great for hiking socks, since there is no decrease ridge at the bottom of the foot, that could get uncomfortable. If you have wide toes to knit for, then a square toe might be a good choice. I know my husband prefers the square toe! It gives him more “wiggle room” tehee…
Either way, you will have to decrease the stitches to make the shape. The way you place the decreases determines what kind of toe it is! The square toe has the decreases on either side of the foot, which makes the sides become narrower and the top and bottom of the foot stay nice and flat and gives the whole thing a bit of a “square” look.
Like this toe in my sample sock:
square toeA round toe and a star toe have the decreases spaced out evenly over the needles. This gives the whole toe a more rounded appearance. Like on this pair I have knitted a while ago:
I like the round toes for socks knitted for me to wear. I could not tell you exactly why….
Ok so for the basic square and the basic round toe all you have to do is just shift the places where you make the decreases. That is ALL there is to it! The one thing to remember for ALL toes: The stitches on your needles HAVE to be divisible through 4. No way around it. But you took care of that last week… so we can move on.
I have done a little graphic to show you what I mean. (click on the pictures and they will go big, that will make it easier to read)
Square toe:
Square toe shapingIf we number your needles you would have needles 1 and 4 full of stitches that make up the underside of the sock, needles 2 and 3 are full of the stitches that make up the top of the foot. The round starts at needle 1. So. The decreases for the toe are made at the END of needle 1 and at the BEGINNING of needle 2, at the END of needle 3 and at the BEGINNING of needle 4. That way they are on the outside of the foot. The top and bottom of the foot are flat, as you can see in the picture, there are no decrease ridges to be seen.
You would start out decreasing every other row. Continue like that until you are 2/3 done with your toe! (In the picture I have the line a wee bit high up for where the once every row decrease starts, but I wanted to fit all the description in…)
After that you decrease every row. When all your toes are covered, put all stitches from needle 1 and 4 together on one needle and all the stitches on needle 2 and 3 as well on one needle. You have two needles left, instead of four. One for the top of the foot stitches and one for the stitches from the bottom.
You need to sew that leftover hole closed somehow. The best way is the Kitchener stitch. I have a little tutorial on the Kitchener stitch right here for you. There are bunches more online though, if this does not make sense to you.
Kitchener stitch quick picture tutorial (I hope this helps!):
Insert needle into the first and second stitch opposite the side where the yarn tail comes out. Draw through.
Lift up and twist your work, so you can see the underside, the opposite side to where you just pulled your needle through. Insert needle in first and second stitch on this side, draw through.
Repeat this procedure, always going through one stitch you already went through and one new one on each side until all stitches are worked up. Bring yarn to inside of sock and secure end.
Round toe
Really the only difference between the square and the round toe is WHERE you put your decreases!
Look here in the picture, the red lines will show that the decreases are not only on the sides of the foot, but on the top and bottom as well.
Round, or star toe.Now for the star toe we again number our needles. Again needle 1 and 4 are the bottom of foot needles, needle 2 and 3 are the top of foot needles. Instead of decreasing at the beginning and end of the needles as for the square toe, you decrease on needles 1-4 the same way, as follows:
Knit 1 stitch, knit the next two stitches together, knit the rest of the stitches on that needle! Knit all stitches in the next round.
Go on like this until 2/3 of the toe is done, then decrease as established in every round.
When all your toes are covered and you only have a few stitches left on your needles (I like to go until I have about 3 stitches left on each needle -that would make it 12 over-all when I knit in sockweight yarn), you will cut the thread and thread a yarn needle. Now slide the needle through the stitches on the knitting needles. Pull your knitting needles out of your work and cinch the hole closed! Pull the needle to the inside of the sock and sew in the tail!
Presto!
Again, there are tons of different versions of toes out there. With the Internet now you can just Google them and find video tutorials for some and written ones for others. Or go to the bookstore/library and read up on toe-treatments. Try out as many as you can! It’s fun! You will eventually land on a few ways to do your toe, that are just more comfortable to you than others and they will eventually become your “fall-back” method for it. Nothing wrong with that!
Well, my people! That was it! All there is to knitting a sock from the cuff down. Go out, knit socks and be merry!
All I ask in return is for you to have fun and teach ONE other person to knit socks their way! Yes… you CAN do that!
When you are done knitting your socks, take a picture and upload it to our Flickr Group! We are waiting to see your wonderful works of art!
We will have one more post coming up about darning hand knitted socks and general care.
Happy knitting!
Oh, I hope you will post your pics for us all to see…..Can’t wait!!!
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Free Range Sock Knitting, Part 6
Well, only two more weeks after this one….I am going to miss you all!!!! Here’s Bridgett!
Welcome back everybody! Another Sunday, another part on our socks! The easy part!
You made it over half way through!!! Was that so hard? No, right?
Last week’s post was a lot to process, so let’s make this week’s short and simple!
It’s smooth sailing for a while from here on out! We are working on the foot! No shaping, no bending, no nothing!
You can decide to let the pattern run down the upper part of the foot or not. You can let it run half way down and then gradually let it disappear. It’s up to you! That is as hard as it gets this week! I swear!
I decided to stop the pattern. I just finished the last repeat of the centre front pattern on the top of the foot after the heel and then went straight in stockinette stitch for the sample socks.
And from the side.Remember to either try it on frequently or really measure closely now! You will have to stop knitting 2 inches before you get the entire foot measurement. So, if your foot measures 9 inches, stop knitting the foot part at 7 inches! (if you can try it on, your sock should go to just the middle of the little toe)
see where it is supposed to end?
Now lets see this in action:
That is it… right there… See… I told you we are going to take it easy this week!
Give yourself a big pat on the back and come back next week when we talk about a home for the little piggies! It’s count-down time! So don’t miss it!
Happy knitting!
Hello again! Here we are for our last Sunday get-together. Sort of sad isn’t it? But fun too, because now you are the proud owner of a new, designed by you pair of hand-knitted socks. YAYYY YOU!!!
Today will have nothing to do with knitting. We will have a look at how we can keep those wonderful works of art looking their best and how we can fix them if they should break down.
You have invested so much time and effort into designing and working up these wonderful socks of yours! Keep them looking good!
Some tips for care:
- Always, always keep the part of the ball band that gives you the care instructions (or figure out a way to mark your hand-wash only socks). The care instructions given on the labels are very important information! I have lots of hand-knitted socks. I have some in superwash wool and some in cotton. Those can go into the washer. I have to admit though that even if a sock is worked in superwash, if it has a lot of patterning, braids, lace, then I wash it by hand. It is much better for the sock. You can lay it flat to dry and pull the patterns in shape.
- Keep the leftovers of your sock-yarn in a little plastic baggie/box/envelope in your sock-drawer! You will be thankful you did when you have a sock to darn! Put some moth repellent herbs with it and you are safe to keep it for some time without anything nibbling on it. (It’s always a good thing to have a sachet with any of the following, or a combination thereof in your sock drawer and with the hand-knits: lavender, cedar chips, cloves, rosemary, mint, thyme, cinnamon sticks, eucalyptus, peppercorn, dried lemon peel. Remember that cedar chips are poisonous, so keep out of reach of small children and pets!)
- I do throw Plain Jane socks in the washer/dryer if they are done in superwash. Without batting an eye. Only the heavily patterned ones get coddled. They do come out nicer then in the machine!
- Sock blockers are nice. I had a very pretty wooden pair, handmade by a woodworker, but I lost them in a move. I have to admit, I did not use them very often. Wooden, or plastic sock blockers are only one size! It’s great if they happen to be YOUR size, or the size you knit the most socks in, but if you happen to have a smaller foot, then a sock blocker that brings the socks out to about a woman’s size US 9 will not help you much. In fact it will rather harm your socks. I have not replaced mine after I lost them. When I knit socks for me or my DH, I don’t block them. I wear them. Period. If I knit socks to give away, I block them by washing them by hand, then laying them flat to dry, making sure to pull the patterns into shape and making them look their best! There are adjustable sock blockers out there. I personally have never used them, so I can’t say much about them. I assume they are a bit better than the non-adjustable ones, but I am really no big help on that one. Really, if you ask me they are not a necessary expense.
- I don’t have wool wash. I’m on a budget and wool wash is expensive. I have it now and then, when a friend gives it to me for my birthday, other than that I make do. I use shampoo. It does the trick in a pinch. I’m not saying don’t buy wool wash! I’m just saying remember shampoo, if you should run out of the wash and are on a deadline!
- I normally lay store-bought socks on top of each other and fold over the cuff of one with the other, so they stick together! I don’t really care if the elastic wears out…However, I never ever do that for my hand-knitted socks! They get rolled! No folding for them!
- Invest in a darning egg! It’s worth it!
How to darn a hand-knitted sock.
Darning will extend the life of your hand-knitted socks! It is well worth the while! I learned it from my mother and grandmother. Both were rather efficient in darning socks (at that time we even darned store-bought socks!) My mother’s sister was so good at darning socks, you were almost incapable of telling where the darn was!!! I have yet to reach this level of excellence…LOL
Thankfully, I don’t have any holes in any of my socks at the moment. As much as I love you guys and want to help, but I won’t cut up a perfectly good sock for this…. I have gathered a few links for you instead…. hope those help!
- I really like this tutorial at HJS Studio. I think it shows really nicely how to darn with the duplicate stitch. I prefer this method since it is almost invisible.
- Here, at zig zag stitch is a tutorial on darning with the weaving method.
- There is a tutorial on knitting daily as well!
- And one in Knitty Magazine. I like this one a lot as well. It also shows how to reinforce the heel after you are done knitting!
- I only found ONE video tutorial made by Greenfibers!
Now, lets move on to reinforcing the heels of your socks. If they are thicker, the chance of them rubbing down and getting holes will be less, so this is certainly something to consider!
There are different ways to reinforce the heel. You can do it while knitting it. There are a few slip stitch patterns out there that will pad the heels a bit. Or you can take the yarn double while knitting the heel.
Or you can reinforce it when you are done. As an afterthought so to speak, simply by weaving yarn through the stockinette heel.
I have found a link for you…
This one from Osborne Fibre Studio is an awesome link! It has both ways demonstrated for you!
Now, there may come a time when you have to replace a heel or a cuff on a sock, because darning is just not going to do it any more… and here is how you do that!
I have replaced the cuff on my husband’s sock not long ago… this is how I did it.
Now, I recommend you do not do this on the fly, like I did…..
What you need:
- A bit of contrasting yarn
- sharp embroidery scissors
- your knitting needles
- a yarn needle
First off (sadly I don’t have a picture of it, since I did it on the fly…) Find the row in your knitting that you want to “go back to”. The last row, that is still good, that has no broken stitches in it. You will need 2 rows after that. So the THIRD row with no holes. Now thread the contrasting yarn on your yarn needle and thread it through the stitches in that row.This will act like a “lifeline” in lace knitting. It will tell you where you are and keep the stitches from running any further down than this when you unravel!
Next grab your scissors. This next part may sound a bit scary, but trust me, it’s going to be fine! CUT the thread in the last row without a hole. Just a little snip through one stitch will do! You can now carefully pull the thread out of the stitches. first up, away from the contrasting thread. You can then wind up the yarn and re-use it if need be to re-knit the part you are replacing. Or you can cut every stitch around the sock as I did, since I don’t have the patience to fiddle it all apart LOL Then you can just take the offending part off (If you are fixing a short row heel, then thread a contrasting yarn through both ends of the heel!!!)
I cut the entire cuff off.
If you cut all the stitches, then clean your edge now. the little cut bits will make it hard to unravel…
Cleaned out the bits
Now that the broken part is gone, grab your needles and frog the loose end back to where the contrasting yarn is in the stitches. Take the yarn out as you put the stitches on your needles.Don’t worry, if you don’t remember where the beginning of the round originally was in the sock! It’s really not important for this. Nobody will be able to tell..
Since I did not put in the waste yarn I left the bits in to keep the stitches from running… I do recommend you do the waste yarn thing though!
Knit the cuff back up from that row and presto! DONE!
All I have to do is cast off!
Nobody will be the wiser, or can you tell which sock it was, that I fixed?
DONE
I found a tutorial here on replacing a sock heel by Judith Newman!
All right then! This is it! This is Good Bye! I will let you go on to knit your own socks and revel in the compliments you get on them!
Have fun! Be creative! The sky is now the limit for you guys! I am rather proud of all of you, that hung in there and made it through! Please do upload pictures to our Flickr Group. I would love to see them! So get knitting!
Happy knitting,
Bridgett
Copyright Rambling Designs 2011
