This original pattern is ©1998 and 2001 by Kim Salazar. (Special acknowledgements to Judy Gibson,
the inventor of the no-sew toe method). Please see the copyright note
at the end of the pattern.
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Notes
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The socks in the picture are all the smallest size, and show some of the
infinite treatments you can do on the foot and ankle. I made all of these for
my daughter, Alex. They are mostly knit from Lion Brand WoolEase, Plymouth Encore,
or from scraps of assorted DK-weight acrylic/wool blend yarns. Anything of comparable weight will do,
although I'd suggest not mixing brands in a single sock unless you are very confident
that they knit to the same gauge, and can be washed in the same way.
The medium blue pair is in a Cleckheaton DK, and has an rib and eyelet pattern (Row1: K2, K2tog, YO; Row 2: Knit). The
blue and red pair is in Encore and has a mosaic stitch pattern from B. Walker's Charted Knitting Designs (page 207).
Its companion sported the matching dancing boy. The third and fourth pairs are both
in WoolEase scraps left over from other sock projects. Companions of each of these
reverse the striping sequence, so that they are pairs, yet are not exactly alike. The point is
that this pattern is extremely flexible and can be used as a launching point
for your own creativity. Experiment! Have fun!
Instructions are given for women's small(women's large, men's regular, men's large)
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Materials
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Heavy double-knitting or light worsted weight yarn
- For men's socks shoe size 13+ - approx. 360 to 400 yards
- For men's socks shoe size 7-12.5 - approx. 250-340 yards
- For women's socks shoe size 8-11 - approx. 200-240 yards
- For women's socks shoe size 4-7 - approx 150-190 yards
- US #5 double pointed needles - one set of five
- US #4 double pointed needles - one set of five (optional, only use if you like snug ankle ribbing)
- Tapestry or yarn needle for weaving in the ends
- A safety pin or scrap of yarn for marking
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Gauge
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6 st = 1 inch in stockinette on US #5 needles;
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Special Instructions
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These abbreviations and symbols are used in this pattern.
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| M1 |
Make One - Pick up the bar running between the stitches on each needle, knit through
the back of this new "loop" to make an invisible no-hole increase.
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| yf |
Yarn Forward - bring the yarn to the front of the work WITHOUT making a loop over top of the needle.
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| YO |
Yarn Over - Make a one-stitch eyelet increase by passing the yarn over the top of the needle.
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| K2tog |
Knit two together - Make a decrease that slants to the right by knitting the next two stitches together.
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No-Sew Toe Cast On
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Take two of the needles and wrap the yarn around them, figure-eight style. The yarn should
loop around the bottom needle and cross to the opposite side of the top needle.
Loop over it and then return between the two. The result should look something like this:
Continue wrapping the yarn this way until you have 8(8,8,10) loops on each needle.
Let the end dangle free with no knots or other securings - you'll need to work looseness in the first
row out towards the end later. Knots will interfere with this in-flight adjustment.
Take a third dpn and knit across the top needle. Take the fourth dpn and knit across the bottom
needle. Be careful not to twist stitches - one needle's loops will be "backward" with the leading
edge of the loop on the rear side of the needle. Make sure you knit into the rear side of these
"backward" loops.
You now have a very narrow and slightly awkward strip of knitting suspended between two needles.
There should be 8(8,8,10) stitches on each needle. Don't worry if the stitches running down the center
are loose, in a couple of rows you can tighten them up by carefully working the excess down towards
the dangling tail end.
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Toe Shaping
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For women's small through men's regular (men's large follows after this instruction set):
Row 1: k1, M1, k3. Using another dpn, k3, M1, k1. Using a third dpn, k1, M1, K3.
Using the fourth dpn - K3, M1, K1. You should now have 4 live needles in your work,
each with 5 stitches on it.
Row 2: Knit all stitches on the first needle. Mark the first stitch on the second needle
by inserting a scrap of yarn or safety pin in it as you knit it. This marks the center bottom
of the sock. Knit all stitches on remaining needles.
Row 3: *k1, M1, k4. K4, M1, K1* repeat
Row 4: Knit
Row 5 and subsequent odd rows: Continue adding one stitch after the first stitch of
the first and third needles, and one stitch just before the last stitch of the second and
fourth needles.
Row 6 and subsequent even rows: Knit.
For women's small - when you have 11 stitches on each needle (44 stitches total) you have finished your toe.
For women's large - when you have 12 stitches on each needle (48 stitches total) the toe is done.
For men's regular - when you have 13 stitches on each needle (52 stitches total) the toe is done.
For men's large only:
SRow 1: k1, M1, k4. Using another dpn, k4, M1, k1. Using a third dpn, k1, M1, K4.
Using the fourth dpn - K4, M1, K1. You should now have 4 live needles in your work,
each with 6 stitches on it.
Row 2: Knit all stitches on the first needle. Mark the first stitch on the second needle
by inserting a scrap of yarn or safety pin in it as you knit it. This marks the center bottom
of the sock. Knit all stitches on remaining needles.
Row 3: *k1, M1, k5. K5, M1, K1* repeat
Row 4: Knit
Row 5 and subsequent odd rows: Continue adding one stitch after the first stitch of
the first and third needles, and one stitch just before the last stitch of the second and
fourth needles.
Row 6 and subsequent even rows: Knit.
When you have 14 stitches on each needle (56 stitches total) you have finished your toe. |
Foot
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| Continue knitting around with 11(12,13,14) stitches on each needle. For my women's size 10 feet I knit
until my sock foot measures 6.75 inches (approx. 16.25cm) from the tip of the toe. People less
endowed in the foot department should knit until the growing foot when tried on is long enough to
generously reach to the point where their ankle meets their foot. The sock foot should not be
tightly stretched when measuring. Once you have enough foot length you can begin the heel. |
Heel
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Find the column of the stitch you marked as the center bottom of your foot. The needles to
the right and left of it (needles #1 and #2 respectively) will be the ones on which you work
your heel. The other two needles (#3 and #4) will lie dormant until the heel is finished.
If you like you can move the stitches from #3 and #4 onto a stitch holder or spare piece of string
if you are more comfortable working that way.
Start the heel with needle #1 and work the following directions across both needles as if
they were a single unit. I prefer NOT to move these stitches onto one needle because using
two creates less stress at the ends and tends to minimize any top-of-gusset holes when the
foot top stitches are rejoined to the heel.
If you are using nylon to reinforce the heel, introduce it on the next row.
Row 1 of decrease: K21(23,25,27), yf, slip next stitch purlwise onto right needle. Turn work.
Row 2: Yf (wrapping the yarn around the base of the stitch that was just slipped - it
should look like it has been lassoed by a noose), slip this just-wrapped stitch purlwise back onto the right hand needle, p20(22,24,26), slip the next stitch purlwise
keeping the yarn in front of the work. Turn work.
Row 3: Yf (wrapping the yarn around the stitch you just slipped and returning it to the right-hand needle without knitting it), K19, yf, slip the next
stitch knitwise onto the right needle. Turn work.
Continue in this manner described in rows 2 and 3, working one less stitch per row before doing the yf/wrap/turn. THERE WILL
ALWAYS BE 11(12,13,14) STITCHES ON EACH NEEDLE.
Each row the number of wrapped and retained stitches (as opposed to "live" stitches) will
grow by one. Eventually you will have only 8(10,10,12) "live" stitches - 4(5,5,6) on each needle. The
remaining 7(7,8,8) stitches on each needle will each have a wrap around them. At this point the heel
will look triangle with the top cut off. Along the left and right sides of the triangle will be
the wrapped stitches, evenly placed.
The last row before you begin increasing again is the row in which you purl 8(10,10,12) live stitches.
When that's completed it's time to begin increasing.
Row 1 of increase: K8(10,10,12), knit the next stitch through the back along with the wrapped loop
around its base. (I do this by picking up the loop on the point of my right hand needle, then
knitting the loop and the stitch together), yf, slip next stitch knitwise onto the right needle.
Turn work.
Row 2: Yf, (wrapping the yarn around the slipped stitch so that there are now TWO wraps at
its base), slip the just-wrapped stitch, p8(10,10,12), purl the next stitch along with the loop wrapped around its base, slip next stitch
purlwise (keeping the yarn in the front of the work). Turn work.
Row 3: Yf (wrapping the yarn around the base of the slipped stitch), slip the just-wrapped stitch, k14, knit the
next stitch through the back of the loop along with the two loops wrapped around its base, yf,
slip next stitch knitwise onto right needle, k9(11,11,13), turn work.
Continue in this manner, working across the rows, knitting through the back of the loop
(or purling on purl side rows) the next slipped and reserved stitch along with all loops around
its base; then slipping and wrapping the stitch after it until you have "reclaimed" all of
the reserved stitches and all 11(12,13,14) stitches on each needle are again "live."
When all 11(12,13,14) stitches are "live" the heel is finished and it's time to begin working the stitches
on the top of the foot again. |
Ankle Join
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If you have been using reinforcing nylon, break it off before starting the ankle join.
Knit one row around all 44(48,52,56) stitches.
IMPORTANT NOTE: There is a small tendency for a little hole to form at the top of the
diagonal line made by picking up the reserved stitches. I counteract this on the first row
of my rejoin by picking up a stitch at the top of each of the diagonals, then knitting one of
them together with the first stitch on Needle #3 and doing a ssk with the other picked up
stitch and the last stitch of Needle #4. |
Ankle and Rib Pattern
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Simplest sock:
You can handle the ankle patterning any way you wish. I tend not to introduce texture patterns until
the heel is completed because I find anything other than a smooth foot uncomfortable inside shoes.
However, if textured feet don't annoy you, you could begin your texture pattern on the two needles that
form the top of the sock immediately after the toe is completed.
I like stripes and use them a lot. Not only do they use up oddballs and scraps, they take the drudgery out of
figuring out if the two socks are the same length. If you make
your stripes a set number of rows, all you need to do is count the big stripes, not the knit rows. That's much, much
easier. Sometimes I use a "jogless jog" method to camoflage the stair-step spot where I switch colors, sometimes not. It depends on the yarn, my mood at the time, and
the recipient. [grin]
The simplest sock is knit plain in stockinette until
the length of the ankle when folded along the heel shaping is approximately 1 to 1.5 inches less than the length of the foot.
If you like tight ribbing, now is the time to switch to the smaller needles. I don't like tight sock tops so I don't bother.
At this point, I usually use a k1, p1 or k2, p2 ribbing and do ribbing for the remaining length. The goal is to
make the sock the same length from heel to ankle as it is from heel to toe, or to make it slightly longer by knitting the ankle pattern
until the heel to needles measurement is the same as the toe to heel measuremen - then beginning the ribbing. Both proportions are pleasing,
so it's your choice! Bind off VERY LOOSELY and cast on for sock #2. Counting rows is the best way to
ensure that both socks are of uniform length.
When both socks are done, use the tapestry needle to weave in the loose ends at toe and top.
Alternate treatments:
Any pattern with a repeat divisible by 2 or 4 can be used for all sizes of this sock. K1, p1 rib or k2, p2 rib for the entire
length of the ankle both work well. Pearl ribs and traveling ribs (that spiral up the ankle) also work quite well.
Purl rib in the round -
Row 1 *k1, p1*
Row 2 knit
Repeat rows 1-2
Traveling rib in the round -
Row 1 *k3, p1*
Row 2 *k3, p1*
Row 3 *p1, k3*
Row 4 *p1, k3*
Row 5 *k1, p1, k2*
Row 6 *k1, p1, k2*
Row 7 *k2, p1, k1*
Row 8 *k2, p1, k1*
Repeat rows 1-8
Note that the 12-stitch-per-needle women's large can use any pattern with a repeat divisible by 2, 4, 6,
or 12. It's lots of fun to comb through knitting books looking for lace or texture patterns with these repeats.
I tend to avoid heavy cables and twisted stitch patterns. While they can be used, I find I have to factor in extra
width to make up for the limit they place on stretchiness. These socks have a much narrower instep than do
traditional square, box or Dutch heel socks. It can be all too easy to make a pair that is too tight to
pull on. Also, unless you are very comfortable with a loose gauge for stranded knitting,
Fair Isle style colorwork will tend to restrict stretch. If you plan to use any of these treatments for
the ankle, either increase a couple of stitches when you do the two plain rounds after the heel is completed, or
knit a larger size sock from beginning to end.
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Finishing
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When both socks are done, use the tapestry needle to weave in the loose
ends at toe and top.
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