Sock basics for standard top-down socks on five double-pointed needles (dpns)A sock is basically a tube that's closed at one end and has some weird stuff happening around the heel and ankle. (For most people, the heel / ankle is the trickiest part, but it's not as scary as it might look.)
Most socks have the same number of stitches (sts) around the cuff and the foot section. One way to determine the number of sts to cast on is to measure around the widest part of the foot (usually the ball of the foot) and then multiply that number (in inches) by your stitch gauge (how many sts you get per 1"). So, if your foot is 9" around and your yarn is knitting up at 7 sts to 1", your number is 9x7, or 63. Now subtract 10 percent to 15 percent from that number, because you want your socks to have what is called "negative ease" -- they need to be snug, so in their relaxed state they should be smaller in circumference than your feet and stretch to fit.
It makes things easier if your final number is divisible by 4, so that you can have the same number of sts on each needle. In the above case, you might decide to subtract 7 sts from 63, for a final number of 56, or 14 sts on each needle.
Many people prefer to cast on all the stitches onto a single needle and then divide them up onto the four needles. It's also okay to divide your stitches while casting on (that's what I do).
Cuff
Once you have the correct number of sts cast on and have joined the knitting into a round (as always with round knitting, being careful not to twist the sts), you can begin knitting your cuff. This is the easiest part of the sock, and the place where you can most easily get creative. Most cuffs will at least start out with some kind of ribbing, to help them stay up. You can do the entire cuff in rib (1x1 and 2x2 rib are common, but some unusual ribs such as 4x2 or 5x1 will work too; just be sure that the rib pattern works out evenly over the total number of stitches in your cuff). Yarn that knits up into a jacquard pattern doesn't look as good over ribbing, so many knitters using those yarns to do just 1" or so of rib at the very top of the cuff and then switch to stockinette stitch, which shows off the pattern.
There's almost no limit to what you can do on the cuff: lace, texture, cables, etc. -- it's up to you. Extending the pattern to the foot of the sock gets a little more complicated, so I won't address it here. Once you get the hang of sock construction, you will find it easy to branch out.
Knit the cuff to your desired length: 1" to 2" for anklets, 6" to 8" for standard socks, or longer if you prefer. Keep in mind that if you make very long cuffs, it may be necessary to start out with more stitches, because your leg gets wider as you go up. Shaped cuffs are something else you can experiment with later.
Heel Flap
The heel flap is the part of the sock that goes down the back of your ankle. It's worked back and forth over half of your total stitches, while the remaining stitches rest on their needles. So, in the above example of a sock with 56 sts, your heel flap would be 28 stitches across. Two popular ways to work the heel flap are as follows:
Plain Flap
Row 1 (right side): slip 1 st, knit to end.
Row 2: slip 1 st, purl to end.
Repeat rows 1 and 2.
Slip Stitch Flap (produces a sturdier, more snug flap)
Row 1 (right side): [slip 1, knit 1] across.
Row 2: slip 1 st, purl to end.
Repeat rows 1 and 2.
Note that in both versions, the first stitch of every row is a slipped stitch. This is important, because later you will be picking up sts along the sides of the heel flap, and the slipped stitch edge makes this both easier and neater looking.
Continue working the heel flap in your preferred manner until it is about 2-1/2" to 3" long, depending on the wearer's foot size (some people have "shallower" heels than others; I usually make my heel flaps 2-3/4"). End with a right side row.
Turning the Heel
Here's the really cool part: you are going to make the heel "turn the corner" to conform to the bottom of your foot. Turned heels use a technique called short rowing, where you knit back and forth but don't go to the end of the row each time.
Note: SSK = slip 1 st knitwise, slip next st knitwise, insert left needle tip into the 2 slipped sts and knit them together (= one stitch decreased)
Row 1 (wrong side): Purl across half the sts of your heel flap plus one, purl 2 together, purl 1. Now TURN the work.
Row 2 (right side): Slip 1, knit 3, SSK, knit 1, TURN.
Row 3: Slip 1, purl 4, purl 2 together, purl 1, TURN.
Row 4: Slip 1, knit 5, SSK, knit 1, TURN.
Row 5: Slip 1, purl 6, purl 2 together, purl 1, TURN.
Row 6: Slip 1, knit 7, SSK, knit 1, TURN.
Proceed in this fashion, increasing by 1 the number of sts worked before the decrease in each row, until all of the stitches have been worked, finishing with a right side row. You should now have a number of stitches equal to one quarter of your original total for the cuff, plus 1 if it was an odd number or plus 2 if it was an even number. (In the above example, the new number would be 16.)
Gusset
Now you need to pick up stitches along the sides of the heel flap, to make everything back into a tube. At first your tube will be bigger than it was to start with, and you will gradually decrease it at the sides to get it back down to its earlier size. This is what gives the sock its shaping around the ankle area, which is larger than the rest of the sock.
Divide your heel stitches in half, leaving half on the current needle and putting the other half on an empty needle. With the right side of the work facing you, take the needle holding the leftmost heel stitches and use it to pick up stitches along the slipped stitched edge of the heel flap, moving upward toward the cuff, one stitch per slipped stitch. On a typical sock this will be somewhere between 16 and 21 sts, but it could be more or less depending on how deep or shallow you made the ankle, how thick or thin your yarn is, etc.
Now take an empty needle and continue knitting across the first needle full of stitches that have been "resting" all this time, then with a new needle continue across the remaining resting stitches (i.e., work across all the resting sts as you normally would with your dpns; these stitches are the top/instep of the sock). You should now be at the other side of the heel flap, with an empty needle in your hand. Proceed down the heel flap by picking up stitches just as you did for the other side, except now you are working from the cuff downward and starting with an empty needle. Pick up the same number of sts that you did on the other side, then continue across the live stitches that are waiting on the last needle (the ones remaining from the section where you turned the heel). You should now have a tube again: two needles will have the same number of stitches as they did for the cuff, and two needles will have more stitches, because you've picked up all those stitches from the sides of the heel flaps.
Gusset Decreases
Now that you have a tube again, start working stockinette st in rounds. The needle that starts at the center bottom of the heel as you work around is Needle 1, and so on, with the needle that ends at the center bottom of the heel being Needle 4.
Round 1: Knit all around, knitting through back loop on the picked-up sts along both sides of the heel flap only; otherwise knit normally.
Round 2: Knit until 3 sts remain on Needle 1, knit 2 together, knit one; knit across. Needle 2 and Needle 3; on Needle 4, knit 1, SSK, knit to end.
Round 3: Knit.
Repeat rounds 2 and 3 only until all four needles have the same number of sts on them again (i.e., the original number of sts that you had for the cuff, evenly divided among your four needles).
Foot
Now continue working stockinette st in rounds until the foot of the sock is about 2" shorter than your desired finished length. (If the sock is for you, you can try it on while it's still on the needles. Make sure the stitches are pushed in far enough from the needle tips so that they won't fall off as you carefully pull the sock onto your foot.)
Toe Decreases
Round one: Needle 1, knit to last 3 sts, knit 2 together, knit 1; Needle 2, knit 1, SSK, knit to end; Needle 3, knit to last 3 sts, knit 2 together, knit 1; Needle 4, knit 1, SSK, knit to end.
Round 2: Knit.
Repeat these two rounds until you are down to a little less than a quarter of your original stitch count. (If you want a blunter toe, you can decrease on every row for the last three or four rounds -- see Tips.) Adjust the remaining sts onto two needles, so that the top and bottom (of the foot) rows of stitches are parallel and the yarn is hanging at the end of the needle holding the sole sts (knit across a few sts if you need to). Cut yarn, leaving about a 10" to 12" tail. Graft the toe together using Kitchener stitch:
1. Hold the two needles one in front of the other, with the tail of the yarn attached to the back needle (it should be hanging from the right end of the line of stitches from your current point of view).
2. With a tapestry needle, feed the tail purlwise through the rightmost st on the front needle. Pull yarn through and leave the st on the needle.
3. Insert needle knitwise through the rightmost st on the back needle. Pull yarn through and leave the st on the needle.
4. Insert needle knitwise through the rightmost st on the front needle and then slip that st off the needle. Insert needle purlwise through the next st on the front needle. Pull yarn through and leave st on needle.
5. Insert needle purlwise through rightmost st on back needle and then slip that st off the needle. Insert needle knitwise through the next stitch on back needle. Pull yarn through and leave st on needle.
8. Repeat rows 3 and 4 only until all sts on both needles have been grafted together. The yarn should always stay below the needles as you work (i.e., not going over the tops of the needles and forming extra loops). Feed yarn through the last loop, then through to the inside of the sock and weave in the end.
Your toe should look completely seamless, but don't despair if it doesn't. Most people need some practice before "getting" Kitchener stitch.
Weave in any remaining ends and you're done! Well, except that now you have to make the matching sock.
Tips
- The rule of thumb for sock yarns is that you need one skein per average sock. Some are put up in double skeins, though, so pay attention to your label. (If it's 100g, it's probably a double skein.)
- Books such as the Vogue Knitting guide and the Vogue on the Go Sock books have excellent illustrations of Kitchener stitch. The Internet is also a great source of tips and general information about sock knitting.
- The Internet is also a good source of standard sizing charts for shoes and socks -- useful when you're knitting socks as a surprise for someone and don't want to secretly measure his feet while he's sleeping.
- If you are using yarn that is not specifically for socks, you should go down one or two needle sizes from what is recommended on the yarn label. Socks hold up much better when they're knit at a tight gauge. (The yarn label assumes you are making a sweater or similar garment, not socks.)
- Some people like to start off their toe decreases on every other round (as described above) but switch to decreasing in every round for the last 3 or 4 decreases. This makes for a shorter, rounder toe. If you want to try this, wait a little longer before starting your decreases (perhaps till you are 1-1/2" short of your total desired length), because the toe won't be as long.
- If you prefer to work with just four dpns, you can still follow these guidelines; just treat Needle 2 and Needle 3 as a single needle (i.e., one of your needles will have twice as many stitches as the other two).
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