Sock-a-Pella

I love to knit socks. It's true. I'm sort of addicted. Of all the things a person could possibly knit, socks are my all time favorite. A lot of people, when this subject comes up, give me an incredulous look, usually accompanied by, "Really?! Socks?"

Yes and here's why. Over the past couple of years, I have exhaustively researched the best methods. Cuff down or toe up. Figure eight cast on, or the almighty Zimmerman. You knitters who have suffered through socks will understand this statement: how to avoid the dreaded gusset hole. And I have finally compiled and stitched together (pun oh so intended) a fool proof sock recipe. It combines several techniques of other knitters and some of my own twisted logic. I hope you enjoy!

The Pattern: Sock-a-Pella

I call this my Sock-a-Pella pattern or recipe because once you figure out how to do these steps in order to knit toe up socks, you'll be singing with or without accompanying music. I've been making socks this way for a while now and I'll never go back.

This recipe is a mixture of many different pieces I've borrowed from other knitters, and I'll give them each credit here. Everywhere there's a blue underlined word, you can hold the control button on your computer and click on the word to open a video or link to the referenced material.

For the closed toe cast on, see this video from Kerrie James.  For the gusset, I have to credit Fleegle at Fleegle's blog. I also cannot stress enough the importance of using YouTube as a resource for learning how to knit stitches or techniques you are unfamiliar with. Very Pink Knits is one of my favorite YouTube channels and the reason I can knit entrelac like a pro.

The rest of this mess is mine and the pattern is simple, but you can certainly change it to make it your own. For instance, try doing a pattern instead of just basic toe-up socks with some ribbing at the top. And try doing two at once instead of one at a time. Be flexible, be adaptable, be sock-tackular!

So here is how I make socks. First, this pattern is for one sock (try doing two at once, I have, it's great!) on magic loop, and the size is for a woman's large, so adjust accordingly.

Typically, I begin by casting on (CO) 8 stitches. Using Kerrie's closed toe cast on method, I double the needle back upon itself and pick up 7 stitches in between the gaps of the original 8 I just made, adding a yarn over (YO) to make the 8th stitch on that side (this isn't shown in the video as far as I remember, that's my little addition). Then, I work one round. After that, I increase each side of each row. That's two increases per side, one when you start the round and one before you finish it. My method is the knit one, make one (k1m1) method for both sides. If you need a tutorial on how to m1 left or right, try this video by the Knit PurlHunter.


***Update: I have started using the kfb increase method for both increase rounds. I like it much better than the m1L or m1R. Give it a try! If you need a link to the kfb method, click here.

I continue increasing on each side every other round. So there's a knit round, and then an increase round. Keep going until your total number of stitches is 48, or 24 on each needle. That is not exact, however. The sock should only be increased until it fits snugly but comfortably over your third toe (pinky toes don't count for much). That number of stitches might be more or less than 48, depending on your feet. Then you can begin your pattern or simply knit in the round until your foot portion is the correct size. I have no specific formula for how large this should be; it depends on your foot. I simply urge you to try your sock on, particularly if you have feet of differing sizes. Don't laugh. It could happen.

After you have made your sock long enough to fit your foot comfortably (I typically will stop when the sock reaches my enormous tendon at the front/top of my foot where it stretches up my leg. Gross, I know but we all have them). Then you have to decide which needle is the gusset needle. Here's where it gets interesting.

You will increase like we did for the toe, but only on one side. The other side (usually called the instep needle at this point in the sock-struction) will be knit like always. Let me repeat that. You will keep knitting on the instep needle. It will not hang limply and forlorn while you busily work away at the heel and gusset. It will be a participant in the sock-citement. You will continue to increase on the gusset needle until that side has two less than your original total of stitches. So, if like me you have large feet, you originally started out with 48 stitches. On your gusset needle, at this point in time, you will increase until your gusset needle holds 46 stitches.  If you had 40 stitches total after the toe was finished, then you will now increase your gusset needle until you have 38 on that one needle. You follow me? If not, there's a chart at Fleegle's blog. Thank you Fleegle for doing math which I hate!

Now at this point, you will be forced to tell your instep needle that it must take a short nap. It might whine and cry but don't let it. You'll be right back. You'll place a stitch marker at the halfway point on the gusset needle. That would mean 23 stitches on either side if you have 46.

Now you get to make the heel. Knit until you are two stitches past the marker, knit two together (k2tog), knit one (k1), and turn the work. On the reverse, you will purl until you are two stitches past the marker, purl two together (p2tog), purl one (p1), then turn. At this point, you will likely not need the stitch marker any longer because you will be able to see the gap between the last worked stitch and the next un-worked stitch. You'll knit or purl those two together, knit or purl one, and then turn; repeat until there is two stitches left on each side. Go ahead and knit through to your instep needle. You'll see why.

THEN, you will have two extra stitches on each side and your instep needle is happy that it is no longer languishing away. What I like to do, to avoid gusset holes, is knit the two gap stitches together and then the last stitch and corner stitch together. THAT sounds very confusing, I know. Plus, that means you have two LESS stitches on your instep needle than you need, right?! Doesn't matter. Just make two more on your next pass. No one has to know. Fleegle has another method that works well too, if mine is too confusing. Check out the Fleegle way here.

I promise I've never seen a gusset hole again since I started using my weird making and decreasing and then making again method. After that is all said and done, you just knit like a crazy person until the sock is as long as you want it up your leg. You can even throw in a bunch of increases if you want knee socks, and then add the two by two ribbing, or whatever ribbing or finishing method you like. Use whatever bind off you like, too. I'm not here to tell you what to do. I use a few different ones, depending on my mood. There's the sewn bind off from Elizabeth Zimmerman, Jenny's super stretchy cast off, or the fancy shmancy picot edge bind off.  By the way, that last one is another YouTube favorite, Liat Gat.  Her videos are also extremely helpful; watch them for yourself here.

And, well...that's it. That's my Sock-a-Pella mash up recipe. Thanks to all the pioneering knitty ladies who have come before me and cursed like sailors to find the tried and true methods that I have combined here to make socks a painless and tuneworthy journey. If you want to see the sweet socks I've made using this method, check me out on Ravelry and take a look at my Tardis socks. And the baby socks. All the socks! Way more socks have been made with this recipe than are shown on Ravelry. Nevermind. Or go ahead and look but just know, there are a plethora of knitted socks running around, made in this fashion. Sock on!