When you ask a knitter to make a sock, there are many things to be considered before they even begin to knit.
First, you have to know or ask what the person’s shoe size is. This, along with a nifty card, will help you with the basic measurements you need.
The next thing that crosses their mind is what yarn to use. Well, this and the first thing can be in any order. After the yarn is chosen and the general size of the sock is decided on, where does the knitter want to begin the sock? Do you want to knit a toe-up sock or a cuff-down sock?
Let’s say the knitter decided on the toe-up design. The next step would be to choose a toe to knit. There are many types of toes. There is the standard toe, short-row toe, whirlpool toe, etc.
Once that is decided, the knitter can begin knitting. But, wait, there is one more consideration I just about missed. Is the pattern of the sock going to go on into the toe or have a toe cap? Now, a knitter can begin.
After the toe is knitted on for 2 inches or so, the pattern starts (if not already started). Patterns can be fun to choose, but there is the leg to think about, too.
Is this pattern going to be able to circle the entire sock without coming together funny in the back? Or how would you join if it doesn’t come together evenly? Or do you even want the pattern to continue around the leg?
Next, after the foot has been knitted, the knitter has to choose a heel. There are also many types of heels to choose from. You can choose from a short-row heel, a plain heel, a reinforced heel, a combination of heel patterns, etc.
After the heel turn, the knitter has to decide on how long they want the leg.
Next comes the cuff. Is it going to be a basic cuff of a knit-purl rib? If so, how many to knit and how many to purl? (Generally, it is a knit 2, purl 2 rib.) Or is it going to have a pattern of its own?
The knit-purl rib helps to keep the leg up and the sock from sliding down the wearer’s leg. It is a general “rule of thumb” that you knit the knit-purl rib with a smaller needle. This is because when you move the yarn to the front for a purl stitch or back to the back for a knit stitch, there is some extra yarn between stitches and it makes the rib looser.
For the cuff-down sock, the process is the same idea as the toe-up sock, but just in reverse. You start with the cuff and end with the toe.
I have found countless tutorials on how to knit a sock. Here is one from Knitty.com, a free online knitting magazine, called Socks 101 by Kate Atherley. You-Tube is also very good place if you are a visual learner, along with many other sites and blogs on the internet.
In the beginning when I learned to knit socks, I used the pattern, no questions asked, no alterations made. This made pretty socks, but not a single one of them fit me. They were too small, they were too big, they fit right in the leg but not on the foot or vice versa. I really didn’t enjoy my socks after I put the time in to knit them, I just ended up giving them away.
I started to make alterations. Little ones, at first. I would increase the number of stitches I casted on to make the leg fit. Then I would knit until I turned the heel and I would keep decreasing and trying it on until I felt it would fit my foot the way I wanted. I would knit until the toe and dread finishing from there.
I dislike the basic toe. I don’t like the way it looks. I don’t like the decreases. I DO NOT like the kitchener stitch.
So, I started looking for alternatives. This is when I found the toe-up sock method. Simple, to the point and you knit the most frustrating part first, the toe.
I worked a few of these socks. I started to get bored and frustrated with my socks, again, so I went looking for some other techniques. This is when I found Cat Bordhi and her book New Pathways for Sock Knitters.
It has changed the way I look at sock construction.
She has you knit baby socks to help you learn the new architecture for each of the eight sock patterns.
This book will have you thinking about your socks and the ways you tend to knit them. There is both the cuff-down and the toe-up socks in this book. She has some really interesting ideas and patterns.
She even has a way to make socks you knit using your favorite yarn, needles and your own gauge. These are called your Master Numbers. These are different measurements of your foot and your gauge. She walks you through how to get these numbers and what they mean.
The basics are just that, basics. I hope this column has inspired you to knit a pair of socks you will truly enjoy on and off the needles. Experiment and have fun. And remember, you can always frog and start over.
I enjoy discussing my yarn habit, sharing local and Internet resources and meeting fellow yarnsters. I can be contacted by e-mail at wovenpixel@yahoo.com. Please visit my blog at wovenpixel.blogspot.com or find me on ravelry.com as wovenpixel.
