Well fall is in the air and the hand knit socks are coming out of the drawers. Some are a bit too felted and no longer fit (always one of a nice set, oh well another cat toy to stuff) and some have enough holes to make a wool colander out of (yuck!). Some just need a bit of darning they go into the fixable pile and some have just wondered away, funny that, mostly the ones favored by DH (we can wear the same sized knitted socks)...not likely to be seen until unburied somewhere with many moth holes...

So the upshot is, Time to Knit Socks again! Thankfully, I have some yarn and for the first time ever, Lidles (the German discount chain) had sock yarn on sale very cheap (wool/poly blend) and several people got me bags. I haven't seen it yet, but I'll be its the stuff I used to get on trips to Germany (or my friend got me there) which means small needles and self striping. I also have some heavier sock yarn from Sweden that my Swedish friend gets me. Most of my current socks are made out of that, it wears well but not forever. But I can use medium needles on it, works well with the berkenstocks I wear most of the year, but too heavy for my deep Winter boots.

Anyway, I thought it might be fun to start a sock knitting thread, with both adventures of sock knitting and our favorite patterns. I start with one of mine, it was my grandmothers and my mom said that her mother used to knit these during the Great Depression and sell or trade them at the store for groceries. Then the shop would sell them on to others. My grandmother's version is called "bed socks" but they have lots of names, they are great for new sock makers because they have no heals to turn. The down side is that they tend to slip if you wear them with shoes, though a lot of people like them better than socks with heals. Its a matter of personal taste, but they will fit most sizes of people.

They were intended for folks to wear to bed in unheated houses, to keep feet warm while sleeping and while getting up in the night and walking on cold floors. Which makes them perfect for homesteaders or anyone keeping their heat turned down. Or older folks with cold feet.

To make it easier to print out, I'll put the pattern in the next post by itself. I hope you enjoy these socks as much as I do. The pattern is very simple for a new sock maker but easy to modify for the experienced knitter into other sizes or needles gages/yarns.

My Grandmother's Bed Socks

You need:
Medium weight/worsted weight Wool yarn (or wool mix)
Size 4,5 or 6 needles double pointed or 12 inch round sock needles
Gage (about 4 stitches to the inch)
Optional - needles 2 sizes smaller than your main needle

Cast on 48 (size sm) 52 (med) 56 (large) stiches

[Or measure the width of your calf in inches and multiply by four, cast on that many stitches but adjust to multiply by for- your leg at the top of the sock is 15 inches. 15 x 4 = 60 so cast on 60 stitches]

Divide the stitches as evenly as you can on three or four needles (five needle sets are easier to use) or place on round sock needle with a marker.

Knit 2 pearl 2 around 1 row and join, be careful not to twist your yarn when joining.

Now K2,P2 for about 10 to 20 inches. The exactly length will depend on how long you want the socks (usually about calf length) and how long you foot is. Remember there is no heal, so sock is just one long tube until you get to the toe.

If your calf is a lot wider than your foot (or you want a knee length bed sock) decrease the number of stitches a couple of times before you get to the "foot" of the sock. I find the easiest way to do this is to:

Knit two together, once per needle, when using 4 needles (4 times) twice. Once about 3 inches below the calf and again right before the ankle area. This makes a harder grip than the more typical knit 2 together/Slip Stitch Knit in decreases in most socks. But either works, both have to be worked around in the K2, P2 pattern.

If this is your first socks or you are pretty new to this, just knit the same way all the way to the foot but don't make the sock too long. At worst the sock will be a bit too wide, but to wear to bed that probably won't matter and you can adjust more next time.

Anyway, once sock is as long as you want, you can make the Toe.

To make toes are really pretty easy, they just look hard.

Row 1 - at the end of the first needle, knit the last 2 stitches together (k2g)
at the start of the second needle, slip 1 stitch over the next stitch and knit together (ssk)
at the end of the second needle k2g
at the start of the third needle ssk
at the end of the third needle k2g
at the end of the forth needle ssk

Ro2 2 - knit around

Repeat these two rows until you have about six stitches left on your needles
(your doing a double decrease that faces different directions but if you get it worn it just wears a little
funny it will still work)

At this point, cut your yarn with about an 12 inch "tail" thread it through a yarn needle and then thread it through the remaining stitches and take them off the needles. Pull tight.

Stick needle inside of sock and go back and forth a few times (inside the sock on the wrong side) but not too much or sock will be lump. Cut yarn.

You now have a sock!
Make another sock and you have a pair.

An alternative to knit 2, pearl 2 for the entire sock is to knit 2, pearl 2 for about eight inches and then switch to just knitting for the foot. But since that tends to wider than knit2 pearl2, it helps to decrease a bit before making the foot or the sock may be too wide.

If this is confusing, there are a lots of places on the net that have good instructions on making toes with pictures.

Door Snake Variation.
But except for making the toe, this socks are pretty much just knitting a snake. In fact, if you need door snakes to keep out the cold and want to practice on double pointed needles before making socks. Just get some cheap yarn and pretend to knit the sock without the toe. Then stuff the tubes with rags or a sewn bag full of CLEAN cat litter, and then sew through the ends to form the tube.

Cat Toy variation
Use a smaller yarn and acrylic is fine (although cats love wool). Use smaller needles (about size 2 or 3) cast on about 48 to 42 stitches and make tube about 3 to 6 inches long. Then make the "toe" for the face of the mouse. Add eyes of cloth or embroidery if you like. Stuff "mouse" with extra yarn bits, rags and a touch of catnip. Close back of mouse by running a piece of yarn through the back of the tube to close it. Embroider, knit or chrochet a tail.
(this is a great use of extra yarn and fun to give as gifts to people with cats).

OK that's my start, hope everyone will join in the fun!

DC

http://www.thedietdiary.com/blog/lucia/530

The link is for a sock calculator that will produce a pattern for you based on either shoe size or custom foot measurements. My dh and sons have large feet and I couldn't find patterns to work with. The calculator is great for that!! I am having a hard time getting motivated to start knitting a pair of socks that includes 108 cast on stiches though

cool - thanks!

For an moderately experienced knitter, the bed socks are easy. Just knit any basic sock pattern a little large and omit the heal. Rib down the leg and stop for the foot if you like. I find they stay on better if they have ribbing at least on the leg. For an even better fit, decrease down the back, if they are long.

Another alternative is to just knit them as leg warmers, with ribbing at the top and bottom. I wish I'd known how to make these when I lived in Colorado as they are perfect for an extra layer above the shoes. I have a friend in the Irish Civil Defense forces who knits her own and uses these for nighttime exercises.

It may not snow here much but it can sure get cold!

DC

I'll look for some other simple patterns and ideas to post and I hope other people will do so too. For example, I don't knit dish cloths myself, but I know folks that do and enjoy them. They, like the catnip mice, also make good gifts.

I am currently working on another pair of crocheted socks.

I've never tried that, I did once back engineer a Scottish Tam for crochet, starting in the middle instead of at the edges and otherwise following the knitting pattern.

Right now I'm working on the second sock of a pair of socks from German "sock garns" sold at Lides here in Ireland very cheaply. In Germany (as says my German friend who knits) sock yarn is always very small and thin, the same basic 75 to 80 percent wool mixed with nylon for strength. I bought some when I was there about seven years ago and still have a bit left from a friend's care package. Usually I knit socks from the slightly larger Swedish Sock "Garns" but since our friends gifted me with all this nice new stuff I thought I'd experiment.

I've discovered that my problems with small yarns before was trying to use the German 12 inch round needles which are wonderful for traveling, but bend my wrist to far for every day knitting. Instead, my short sock needles (about 6 inches) in size 1 and size 0 (Most of the sock is size 1) are prefect and do not bother my wrists.

In general, for those of you starting out with socks, smaller sock needles and thin yarns make more comfortable socks. But they take a lot longer to knit and don't trap the air as well as a larger, more fluffy yarn. The tight, small sock needles make a hard wearing, light sock you can wear inside a boot or shoe easily. The heavier yarns do better as either outer socks, or as I wear them with Berkenstock Sandals almost year round. I've even been caught out in snow with them and while I would not do this on purpose, for most light snow a combination of heavy socks (more so if doubled with a lighter wool pair underneath) and Sandals will buy you time to walk home or catch the buss without frost bite.

In severe climates I have a wonderful sock pattern that I can post later from Canada. Its easy and was the first pair I ever made, a lady whose sons were construction workers in Canada came up with it. Its only got about 38 stitches for the whole sock in heavy, soft wool. They are intended to wear over other socks to keep out the cold but also make great foot covers for husbands who refuse to wear their slippers. They don't last as long as smaller gage socks, but they are so easy to make it does not matter. You can also make them by doubling or tripling smaller sizes of yarn, so no need to buy extra if you don't have to.

Never tried to crochet socks you mean? If so, I sort of just pulled an idea out of my brain and went to work, this happens with most of my projects. I don't know how to explain how they came to be, but I will try and post some pics of some soon.

Hi All- For the "Socktoberfest" I'm making a pair called "Mother In Law Socks" using some Knit Picks' Risata- a really stretchy yarn with a bit of cotton in it. I got a yarn sampler as a Christmas gift last year and that was part of it.

Couple of really good and inexpensive yarns I've found for socks are Bernat's Sox- which is all acrylic, but economical because 400 yds plus is less than $5 on sale at Jo-Anns. Red Heart started making one called "Heart and Sole" which I've seen cost as low as $3 a ball. It's wool and nylon blend. Really happy to see Red Heart (a US company, Coats ) making something in a "real" fiber. I remember when Red Heart Knitting Worsted meant 100% wool!

I'm working on a quickie pair of Nordic Knee socks based loosely on the Elizabeth Zimmerman pattern in the OLD version of Homespun/Handknit. I'm adding normal toes and heals rather than the "art" version in the book. I realized the paid I made over seven years ago is still wearable, so this style really works (you end up with double yarn in most of the sock). I'm re-enforcing the heal and toe with polyester sewing thread because the wonderful, soft wool from Hershners is just not going to last, otherwise. I'd got a couple of boxes last Summer from my mom as a gift, I'd thought to make a sweater for DH but the colors were all wrong. Lovely colors, just not the shades he likes.

So, I used some of it for a purple/green/blue baby outfit for a baby in Scotland who needs real wool (and Mommy knits so wanted something unusual). A couple of hats during the New York Irish Trade show to put jewelry on as props and now the socks. I may make several pair if these work. They go quickly for knee socks (I re-started after frogging the first attempt yesterday and an on the toe of sock one now) and keep very warm inside and outside of the house. Only drawback is they tend to be too thick for regular shoes, I may do a version that's just leg warmers for days when I need them or need them with boots.

I'm working on my first ever sock, for my first ever pair of socks! It's teal/blue yarn that one of my friends gave me, on 2.5mm needles. Nice easy pattern so far - but in an inch's time it'll be the dreaded Heel Turning.

Noodle bring them by the house if you get into trouble, there are several tricks to sock turning that make it easy but they are easier to show than try to explain.

For others,

Divide your socks stitches in half (more or less) the easy heal rule is to use 1/2 stitches for the heal flap. If you have a narrow heal like me, you can use as little as 1/3 but 1/2 is a good easy starting number. You can fudge it a bit if you have a cable pattern or decoration that you want to keep on the top of the sock. Just try to keep the heal flap an even number of stitches. Write down the number of stitches you are starting the flap with.
Now garter stitch or
heal stitch "Row 1 knit, slip one knit 1 across, Row 2 pearl)
until you can fold the flap down easily into a square or rectangle. If yarn is too heavy to make this logical, knit for 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 inches long.

To turn heal, on right side of flap (the knit side) divide the yarn onto two needles. If the number of stitches is not even, make it as close as possible. Now, knit to the middle of the heal flap, knit one more on the second needle, now decrease by slip-stitch knit (SSK) you slip one stitch, knit in the next stitch and then flip the unknit stitch over the knitted one.

Now, turn around (don't worry about the extra stitches, you get those later) the flap and knit back five stitches for regular sized yarn, seven stitches for really fine yarn (or as little as 3 stitches if making extra-bulky over socks). In general, five stitches works for just about anything.


Turn the flap around and repeat row 1, gathering the next unknit stitch at the end of the row with ssk.

Turn again and repeat the backside row picking up the last stitch with k2T


Now, you just have to pick up the side stitches on the instep (I often use extra needles for this, if you don't have enough you can even use the wrong size to pick up or a crochet hook). Pick up a few less stitches than you have on the side of the instep (if you have about 14 stitches pick up 10 to 12), if you look like you will have holes in the side of the sock, pick up extra ones you can knit them together in a row or two.

Pick up 1 side of sock this way, knit across the top of the top and pick up the same number of stitches on the other side of the sock. If you are working on five needles this is easier, but if you only have 3 needles to knit its still doable. Its even easier if you have two sets of needles because you can leave the flap stitches on while you knit up part of the instep. But you don't have to. If your using round needles, you can put markers where the needles would end, so you know where to decrease.

Now, you knit around, decrease at the end of the first needle/instep side with knit 2 together, knit across top of the sock, decrease on the other side with SSK (slip stitch knit). I like knit 2 together a stitch before the end of the row and then decrease on the other side by knit one, then SSK the next two. But it doesn't matter a whole lot.

Like I said this all takes a lot less time to demonstrate than to try to type out. I'll bet there are some good You Tube clips on doing this as well. There are a number of ways to turn sock heals, but this is one of the standard ones.



Once you have knit five stitches, decrease again, this time with Knit two together.

When you have worked all the stitches on the back flap into one row, count your stitches, you should have as many stitches as you started your heal flap with or very close. When you knit back across you can knit a couple of stitches together in the middle if its not quite right and/or add one more row of the decrease pattern.

Sound on this is not great but the instructions look fine. There are several other instruction sets as well on socks, I thought there would be. People seem to put up how to do almost anything on You Tube!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aN2B47KDNTM
How to Knit Socks, part 3 Turn Heel /Shape heel gusset

Legend. Thanks disastercat!

I was hoping that some of you would post pics of your socks. I did go out and buy some really neat looking sock yarn and double pointed needles today. I have been so anxious to learn to knit socks but keep waiting and knitting hoping to gain more experience before diving into the added needles, picking up stitches, short rows and all these other really intimidating techniques that you hear about from sock knitters. I'm going to just jump in and give it a go. I bought a really nice book from Barnes & Noble called Getting Started Knitting Socks by Ann Budd. It appears to have some very straight forward information and good pictures to go by for a sock knitting newbie.

I do have one question. The yarn I'm buying indicates that it is washer and dryer safe however most of the knitters as well as this book states that hand made socks should never be put into the dryer. Do you dry your socks in the dryer?