Knit Socks!

Knit Socks!

17 Classic Patterns for Cozy Feet

BETSY LEE McCARTHY

Photography by John Polak

The mission of Storey Publishing is to serve our customers by
publishing practical information that encourages
personal independence in harmony with the environment.

Edited by Gwen Steege and Kathy Brock
Art direction and book design by Mary Winkelman Velgos
Text production by Jennifer Jepson Smith

Photography by © John Polak Photography, except back cover photograph
by Kevin Kennefick and author photo by www.smilingwillow.com
Illustrations by Alison Kolesar

Indexed by Nancy D. Wood

© 2010 by Betsy Lee McCarthy
Previously published in hardcover in 2004

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages or reproduce illustrations in a review with appropriate credits; nor may any part of this book be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other — without written permission from the publisher.

The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. All recommendations are made without guarantee on the part of the author or Storey Publishing. The author and publisher disclaim any liability in connection with the use of this information.

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Storey Publishing
210 MASS MoCA Way
North Adams, MA 01247
www.storey.com

Printed in China by Toppan Leefung Printing Ltd.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

McCarthy, Betsy Lee, 1942–
Knit socks! : 15 cool patterns for toasty feet / Betsy Lee McCarthy.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-60342-549-0 (pbk : alk. paper)
1. Knitting—Patterns. 2. Socks. I. Title.
TT825.M383 2004
746.43’20432—dc22
2004001522

Contents

Handmade Is Beautiful!

Starter Stockinette

Checkered Textures

Classy Slip-Up

Winter Garden

Little Guys

Low-Roll Sporty

Yoga Moves

Best Foot Forward

You've Got Rhythm (3 variations)

Off the Cuff

Lacy Days (3 variations)

Fireside Stripes

Diamonds & Cables (2 variations)

Straight-Laced

Peaks ‘n’ Valleys

Simple Ribs

Shadow Box

Resources

Acknowledgments

Index

Handmade Is Beautiful!

I'm pleased to present new patterns and material in this revised edition of Knit Socks!, a step-by-step book I wrote six years ago to guide knitters gently through the process of knitting top-down socks. I had previously taught hundreds to knit socks at various classes, workshops, and kitchen tables, and the book enabled me to share my experience with thousands more. I'm pleased that Storey Publishing wanted to reissue this expanded edition as well. My heart sings when I hear about people who were helped by the first book, and this revised edition provides an opportunity to reach even more knitters.

My mother helped me to see special beauty in handmade items back when the word “homemade” implied that the item wasn't necessarily of good quality. My passion for knitting and teaching others to knit emerged from this awareness of beauty in the handmade. The more mechanized and computerized our world becomes, the more we yearn to create items of beauty from our own hearts and hands — items like hand-knit socks! Giving yourself time and permission to learn such activities is a wonderful, soul-nourishing gift, as well as a benefit to others who receive the special socks you knit.

I'm hoping this book will encourage you to try knitting socks and to see that with a little guidance, regardless of your skill level, making a sock is not only easy, but also great fun. The patterns range in knitting challenge from easy to intermediate and thus support gradual skill building. If you can comfortably cast-on, knit, purl, slip, increase, and decrease, you should be able to make most of the socks in this book. I've designed the patterns to provide opportunities to try new techniques on a small project and thus expand your knitting repertoire. Colorful Fair Isle stranding, simple no-cable-needle cables, slip stitches, easy lace, and attractive textured designs, as well as fun-to-create stripes in many varieties, all find their way into these pages.

Since the first book came out, I've listened to sock knitters, and in response, I added new material to answer a question frequently asked by knitters who learned to knit socks on circular needles: “How can I knit socks on one or two circular needles if the pattern is written for double points?” The simple answer is that you can knit any sock pattern on any type of needle, and this edition explains how to do that. (See pages 19–22.) Most of the patterns here are written for beginning and ending on the right-hand side of the sock as worn. Needles 1 and 2 (with a few exceptions that are spelled out) hold the instep stitches, and Needles 3 and 4 hold the heel/sole stitches. A few patterns start and end in the middle of the heel/sole to hide color changes.

Additionally, three new patterns, each with several interchangeable stitch patterns that turn those three patterns into eight, are included in this expanded edition. I hope they will provide hours of knitting pleasure and encouragement to knitters who want to create their own patterns once they see how one basic pattern can be developed into others. I also provide information on the expanding sock yarn fiber options, as well as new sock knitting tips and suggestions for taking your sock knitting to a new level.

More experienced knitters, be assured that this book isn't just for beginners. If you're already a sock knitter, you'll find 17 sock patterns, with size and yarn-weight options, plus tips and techniques for increasing the beauty, durability, and fit of your handmade socks. Most are easy to learn, making them perfect candidates for hours of relaxing, meditative, or social knitting.

Yes, it's an exciting time in the sock knitting universe. While almost nothing seems impossible, I encourage future sock knitters to learn by knitting one sock at a time or to knit a pair simultaneously on separate needles/needle sets (see Tea for Two, page 12). This book is for sock knitters — past, present, and potential. May our spirits be uplifted as we bring joy to ourselves and others by knitting socks together!

What You'll Need for the Journey

All you really must have to knit socks is some pleasing yarn, appropriately sized needles, a pattern, basic knitting skills, and a commitment to the project. That being said, a well-equipped knitting bag will enhance your knitting pleasure and increase the likelihood of your success. While you can always discover more gizmos, the few basic items recommended are highly portable, simple, and fairly inexpensive:

• Needles in size required for your project (double point, or one or two circulars)

• Adequate yarn for the project (Each pattern gives the required amount.)

• A working copy of the pattern (Photocopies allow you to make notes on your pattern without marring your book; make photocopies only from your own book, for your own use.)

• Needle and stitch gauge with a built-in ruler and holes for measuring needle size

• Retractable measuring tape showing inches and centimeters

• Tapestry needle (blunt) and a large-eyed sharp needle

• Plastic stitch markers or coilless safety pins

• Small sewing scissors or a yarn snipper

• Crochet hooks in several sizes (Look for a hook slightly smaller than the project needles, so you won't stretch the stitches when you use it; hook sizes B, D, and F cover the patterns here.)

• Pencil and small eraser

• Self-sticking notepads

• Knitting bag that functions well — and makes you smile!

In addition to these essentials, you may also find the following useful:

• Knitting needle point protectors or double-point needle holders (these keep stitches from slipping off the needle when it's not being used)

• Small hand calculator (if you're likely to modify pattern sizes)

• Sock heel and toe reinforcement yarn or thread

Selecting Your Yarn

Once upon a time, selecting sock yarn was simple. Available fingering-weight yarns were limited to “baby colors” (often acrylic and not good sock choices), a few primary colors, and drab “man colors.” Blue Moon Fiber Arts and Koigu had not yet been conceived, and the Yarn Harlot had yet to emerge. What an extreme contrast to what we have before us today in local yarn shops, on Ravelry, and on the Internet — seemingly infinite and ever-growing options.

Colors seduce us, as does the feel of the yarn. Everywhere we look, we see an abundance of spectacular yarn: hand painted, kettle dyed, long color runs in beautiful solids and near solids, self-patterning and/or striping, randomly variegated in addition to endless solids. Wool yarns are long lasting and strong, especially when blended with 10 to 30 percent nylon or mohair and nylon. The softer merino yarns are also durable when spun with a good twist or blended with nylon, silk, bamboo, Tencel, or SeaCell, to name a few of my favorite add-ins. Alpaca blends are an affordable treat, making soft, warm socks that hold their shape and are durable when blended with wool and nylon. (If you choose 100 percent wool or a wool blend without nylon or one of the other fibers listed above, you can reinforce the heels and toes with a special reinforcing yarn to increase durability; see Reinforcing Socks, page 148.) And the combinations get more luxurious and exotic — merino, cashmere, and nylon; merino, nylon, alpaca, and possum; angora, merino, and nylon; angora and nylon; and more recently, buffalo undercoat with wool and nylon.

Wool, the traditional choice, has some real advantages for contemporary sock makers. Wool or wool-blend socks have “memory,” which makes them warmer and less likely to stretch out of shape than, for example, socks made of cotton or synthetic yarn without wool. The choice of a superwash yarn over one that requires hand washing is another consideration. When I need to be practical, I choose superwash (which has the added benefit of generally being softer than regular wool).

Options to wool are also available and include wonderful fibers, such as bamboo, cotton, corn, soy, hemp, SeaCell, silk, microfibers, and viscose. For many knitters, these are the yarns of choice, either because of climate and/or skin sensitivity, or just because they love them — how they look, feel, and wear.

Looking at the who, where, and how of yarns is yet another element of choice. Foreign and domestic producers range from large- to small-scale commercial manufacturers to independent dyers, co-ops, and boutique dye artists whose small batches are snapped up online as soon as they are available. Political choices can be made based on how green the yarn production method is, where the yarn is produced, and whether the yarn is organic. In the end, personal preference trumps. Color calls out loudly to most of us, as do the hand of the yarn, the way the yarn feels and knits up, its durability, and its ease of care. We want yarn that is consistent with our values, our expectations, and our pocketbooks.

For socks, I most often choose yarn blended with some tough stuff, such as nylon, bamboo, mohair, silk, or Tencel, to increase the likelihood that my considerable investment of love, time, and money will pay off in socks that last. I spend 20 to 40 hours knitting a pair of fingering-weight socks; in addition I spend considerably more dollars on yarn alone than it would cost for commercially produced socks. I think of my choice as “durable beauty”: The socks need to have a long, useful life, as well as being knit from yarn I love for whatever reasons. When I buy special yarn that may be less durable, I try to do it with realistic expectations — about the care that will be required, the appropriate recipient, and how often the socks will be worn. And I remember that knitting with yarn I love is a passion and an indulgence, sort of like salmon fishing or making one's own furniture from beautiful woods.

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