Toe-Up Sock Pattern

For your first foray into toe-up socks, we are going to make a pair of lounging socks in a medium-thick yarn so that the project goes quickly.

Download the Beginner Toe-Up Sock with a Fleegle Heel - Aran Weight pattern here

Choose Your Materials

Yarn: You’ll need two skeins of heavy worsted-weight wool for these socks – about 180 yards total. I recommend that you choose a machine-washable yarn. Here are a few choices to pick for this project:

• Cascade 220 Superwash Merino Aran
• Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran

Ask the yarn shop employee to wind the yarn into two separate balls (usually not a problem as you will probably by buying two skeins anyway).

Needles: The gauge for this project is 4.5 sts/in in St st (knitted in the round). Choose a 47-to-60-inch-long circular needle with pointy tips, such as Addi Lace, in a size that will cause you to achieve the right gauge.

Start with a size 8 and check to make sure you are getting the right gauge.

Just make a round tube, like we did for the Magic Loop tutorial, block it, and then check your gauge. You could skip this step and just start, if you are careful to check a couple inches into your sock and are okay with starting over. Up to you.

Next, choose which size you are going to make. This pattern comes in two sizes:

• Small-Medium fits a foot that measures 7 inches around the ball of the foot;
• Medium-Large fits a foot measuring 8 inches around.

If your (or the sock recipient’s) foot measures less than 7 or more than 8 inches around, grab a copy of our Any-Size Toe-Up Sock Pattern to make the socks a perfect fit.

Check Your Gauge in the Round

Following The Pattern Easily

You may want to go through the pattern and circle with pencil all the numbers that correspond with your size.

If you were making the Medium-Large, you would circle the number in red: 28(32).

Walk-Through Of Pattern

This first video will walk you through how the sock is constructed, so you have a sense of context when we begin.

Learn Judy’s Magic Cast-On

One of the greatest inventions of all time, Judy’s Magic Cast-On was originally published in Knitty.com’s Spring issue of ’06 and is absolutely the best way to start toe-up socks. This video shows you how.

Cast On For Both Socks

We start by casting on for one sock, and then immediately we use the second ball of yarn to cast on for the second sock.

I’ll show you how to use Magic Loop to work one round, two-at-a-time, and then it’s time to begin to increase.

Clarifying the “Bottom Needle/Back Needle” Concept

The instructions for Judy’s Magic Cast-On have you using the bottom needle, not the back needle, to pull and knit with.

On the first round, rotate your needles so that the bottom needle becomes the back needle.

Tips for Knitting First Round

The trick to not losing your JMCO (Judy’s Magic Cast-On) stitches on toe-up socks is to twist the tail and working yarn of the second sock together a few times so that the stitches don’t fall off.

KnitFreedom student Leila S. shares this advice: “I’ve managed to keep sane with my first rows with JMCO by tying the tail in a loose knot on that pesky first stitch. The knot doesn’t show or alter the look of the other stitches on the first or subsequent rows. It works for me, and, as I said, keeps me somewhat sane.

“Also, instead of cutting the tail to preclude working with it, I’ve found it helpful to weave it in if I’m satisfied with my CO row. That way, the tails are out of my way, and I continue knitting with the toes already shaping themselves into little pockets.”

How the Toe Increases Work

In these two videos, I show you how to do the two kinds of increases found in your pattern, the M1L and M1R, and why we do them. Continue increasing as in the video until your socks contain the specified number of stitches.

Optional: Easier Increases

Several students have said doing the M1 increases, especially on fingering-weight yarn and at the fiddly beginning of toe-up socks, is just too hard.

For them, and you, I’ve made the following video:

Increasing On Your Socks

Since I’m knitting along with you, I’ll show you what this looks like on your socks. You can also review the videos for M1L and M1R in your video dictionary. By the way, this is the hardest part. It’s all downhill from here.

Keeping Track Of Your Increases

Here’s how to read your work so you don’t have to write anything down while you knit.

Here’s what it looks like when you’ve finished increasing for the toes. Tip: tuck your tails inside your socks to keep them out of the way.

Keeping Your Balls Of Yarn From Tangling

You’ll want to learn how to keep your balls of yarn separate when you are knitting two-at-a-time, and there are a few tricks to doing it easily. Don’t let your yarn tangle. Set a good Magic Loop example, and watch the video.

Loose Cast-On Row

If this happened to you, you can fx this issue by working the loose bits towards the tail and then tightening the tail. You can do this at the end or now, whichever you prefer.

Socks Not Joined On One Side

Sometimes people are concentrating so hard that they forget to come back to ready position, and consequently get turned around. Here’s what to do.

Removing Socks from Two-at-a-Time Needles to Unravel Then Put Back On

If you’ve really messed up one or both socks, OR you’ve knitted too far before starting your gusset increases, you will need to take the socks off the needles and unravel a few rounds.

Here’s how to do so correctly.

You’re doing great! You’re totally past the hard part. Now, let’s make a heel.

Knit Foot

Continue to knit even until your socks reach the fronts of your ankles, as shown in the video below. Once they are at this point, you are ready to start making the heel.

Increase for Gusset

You’ll be increasing again, just like you did for the toe, only this time, only increase on one side of the sock – the “heel” needle.

Increase following the pattern and the video above until you have the specified number of stitches on your heel needle.

Tip: so that you don’t have to write anything down, review the video above on how to tell where you are on your increasing.

Tip: If You Forgot to Increase for Gusset

Many people forget to increase on the left side of their knitting when doing the gusset for the Fleegle Heel. All of a sudden you’ve got 19 stitches on one toe-up Fleegle heel and 20 on the other.

To fix it, drop your stitch down and re-add the M1. You can do it!

Turn Heel

If this is your first time turning a heel, make sure you have a quiet spot and no one talking to you.

Watch the video and then follow along in the pattern. Once you have turned one heel, go directly to the second sock and do it all over again, with the second ball of yarn, only this time, check out the next video and see if you want to try it.

Bonus – How To Knit (Well, Purl, Really) Backwards

This technique is optional, but take a look and see if you feel comfortable trying it.

It will save you a lot of time because if you know how to do it, you don’t have to turn your work back and forth every row.

This technique is very useful in Entrelac knitting, where you constantly have to turn your work after only a few stitches, and, of course, in turning any sock heels or doing any kind of short-rows.

Final Heel Decreases

When you finish turning the heel, you’re almost done.

You’ll need to work a few more rounds with strategically-placed decreases to bring the number of stitches on your heel needle back down to the original count.

Knit Cuff

Continue to work even until your cuff measures 5.5-6 inches from the top of your heel. You can mark your first round after you finish turning your heel so that this is easy to measure later.

Work In Rib For 1 Inch

Pretty straightforward. Review the 1×1 Rib Tutorial in your Video Dictionary if you get stuck here.

Bind Off Using The Invisible Ribbed Bind-Off

Another invention of pure genius (not mine!), this bind-off blends right into your ribbing, and is just as stretchy. Don’t use a regular bind-off – you won’t be able to get your foot into the sock, I promise.

To do the invisible ribbed bind-off, cut a long tail of at least 6 times the circumference of the project you want to bind off. Thread the tail on a tapestry needle.

Set-Up:

1. Go purlwise into stitch 1 (the stitch closest to the needle-tip)
2. Go knitwise FROM THE BACK into stitch 2.

Identify stitches 1, 2, 3, and 4. These labels do not change until you finish the repeat.

Repeat:
1) Go knitwise into stitch 1, remove stitch from needle
2) Go purlwise into stitch 3
3) Go purlwise into stitch 2, remove stitch from needle
4) Go knitwise FROM THE BACK into stitch 4

An easy mantra to repeat:
1) Knit off purl,
2) Purl off knit

Below you can download an illustration of the steps of the invisible ribbed bind off that has proved to be helpful for many of my students. Download Invisible Ribbed Bind-Off Illustration

Weave In Ends And Block

Here’s how to weave in your ends on ribbing and inside the toe.

You may want to block your socks – here’s a photo comparison to show how much nicer a blocked sock looks and fits.

Especially if you are giving these socks as a gift, blocking adds the final touch by letting the sock relax into its new shape as it dries.

If you’d like to watch a video to see how to block your socks, here’s how to block your knitting.

You can buy sock blockers at your local yarn store; they are made of plastic or wood and shaped like a foot.

If worse comes to worst, you can always put them on your own feet and order your family around for a few hours. “Honey, can you get that? I can’t get up, my socks are blocking.”

You’re done.

Hooray!

Congratulations – you’ve just accomplished something many knitters never have. And now that you’ve seen how easy it is, I know you’ll be saying, “Everyone should know how to do this!”

I hope you enjoy the super-easy technique of toe-up socks, and that you (or someone you love) are wearing your gorgeous new socks with joy. You’re totally on your way to Knitting Superstardom – and you already know more than almost everyone at your LYS.

Hey, why don’t you post a photo of your new socks on our Facebook Page? I would love to see them.