Knitted Sock: A Recipe

Ingredients:

1 500g ball or 2 250g sock yarn of choice
2 2.5 mm 24” cable needles
Row counter
Darning Needle

Prerequisites:

Long tail cast-on
Knitting in the round
Picking up stitches
Kitchener stitch
Weaving in

Abbreviations:

k – Knit
p – perl
ssk – slip knitwise, slip knitwise, knit
k2tog – knit two stitches together
p2tog – perl two stiches together
sl – slip stitch from the left needle to the right needle perlwise
* * – repeat stitches between the * *

Two sizes (m/l)

Instructions

Cast On:

1. Cast on (56/64) stitches using a long-tail cast-on
2. Divide stitches (28/32) between the two needles
3. Knit first round, joining and being careful not to twist stitches

The Concept:

When you knit socks on two circular needles, the stitches on one needle represent the front of the sock, and the stitches on the other needle the back of the sock. You will ALWAYS only be working on one needle, either the front needle or the back, with the other needle hanging loose. To facilitate this, you may choose to differentiate the needles by color or type (e.g., one metal, one bamboo).

Ribbing:

1. At start of second round, *k,p2,k* to end of first needle. Repeat on second needle to complete second round
2. Repeat step 1 until 18 rounds have been completed

Sock Body:

1. Beginning with round 19, knit from front to end of round
2. Continue knitting in the round until round 78

Heel Flap:

1. Knit front side (first needle) of round 79
2. Reset row counter to 1
3. On second needle, *sl,k* to end of needle
4. Turn second needle so that the wrong side of the sock is facing
5. Slip first stitch then p* to end of needle
6. Repeat steps two through 4 until 24 additional rounds have been knit

Heel Turn:

1. K18, k2tog, k, then turn to wrong side (you will not be at the end of the row)
2. Slip the stitch so that the stitch and yarn are now on the right needle
3. P5, p2tog, p, then turn to right side (you will not be at the end of the row)
4. Slip the stitch so that the stitch and yarn are now on the right needle
5. Knit until you come to the stich BEFORE the gap
6. K2tog, k, then turn again to wrong side
7. Slip the stitch so that the stitch and yarn are now on the right needle
8. Perl until you come to the stitch BEFORE the gap
9. P2tog, p, then turn to the right side
10. Repeat steps 3 through 9 until you have finished the right side with a k2tog and the wrong side with a p2tog
11. You will now have 14/18 stitches on the back needle

Sock Gusset:

1. Knit across the heel flap
2. Pick up and knit 14 stitches down the left side of the heel flap, completing row 79
3. Knit yarn from heel flap back to the front, starting row 80
4. At the end of the row, pick up and knit 14 stitches from the right side of the heel flap and then continuing knitting across the entire back section which will now have 42/48 stitches
5. At round 81, knit across the front needle. On the back needle, k, k2tog then knit across to the last three stitches, then ssk, k. You have decreased two stitches, one at the beginning of the round and one at the end
6. Round 82, K
7. Repeat decrease round (step 5) on rounds 83, 85, 89, 91, 93, with straight knitting on even rounds 84, 86, 88, 90, 92
8. At the end of the gusset decrease, the back needle will now have as many stitches as the front, i.e., 28/32

Sock Foot:

1. Knit from round 92 to 125/135.
2. At this point, try on sock to determine length. You should be about 1” from the beginning of the big toe. If so, continue knitting until you reach this point, at round 135/145. If not, continue knitting.

Toe Decreases:

1. At round 135/145 (or wherever you are) begin toe decrease by k, k2tog, knit to last three stitches, then ssk, k on the front needle, then repeat on the back needle
2. Knit next round
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 until you have 14/16 stitches on both needles
4. Repeat step 1 now each round on each needle until you have 6 stitches on each needle

Finishing:

1. Break yarn, leaving about 18”. Using Kitchener stitch, bind together last front and back stitches.
2. Turn sock inside out, and weave in yarn at toe and sock start.

Repeat for second sock. Unless you want to walk around with one sock on, none sock off.