Sock it to Me
The guide to choosing the perfect knitted sock construction for you and your feet!
We want to offer our fiber buddies a great understanding of how to dip their toes in the sock-y waters. In this knitted sock construction article, we detail different construction methods, toes and heels. Furthermore, we give some examples of when one might method might work better for you, over another. Knitted sock construction comes with many decisions and choices.
Before we start on the construction methods we also want to mention that there are many different needle combinations you might use. Some of these include Double Pointed Needles, two circulars, two at a time, magic loop and more. This is something we will save for a post for another day. The world of sock knitting is vast and we don't want to overwhelm anyone [or write a 12 page thesis :)]
Getting Started: Toe-up or Cuff-Down
So you want to do a sock, and the pattern is written for both toe-up and cuff down. Which do you choose? This is somewhat of a heated debate in the world of avid sock knitters; buildings have been knocked down, friendships have been tried, and socks have been thrown at maximum velocity. I kid, but it really can get to be an intense debate for some.
Some people swear by toe up and some people will insist that there is nothing superior to cuff down. In my opinion, (please don't throw that sock at me) they are both valid, great methods. Each have their strong points and their weak points. We suggest trying both types to decide which works best for you.
Toe-Up
Are you adverse to the Kitchener stitch? Are you unsure of how much yarn you might have left? Do you hate picking up stitches? Then, Toe-up might be for you.
With toe up, you will have to use a more advanced start to the sock (something like Judy's Magic Cast On, or a provisional cast on). Because of this, you will not have to pick up many stitches or, likely, graft at the end. If you are unsure of how long you want your cuff., or if you are unsure of if you have enough yarn for said cuffs, you can split your yarn into two balls. Then, knit your socks until you run out of yarn!
The downside is, you will have to more than likely have to knit short rows,. A lot of the time this includes stitch wrapping. You will also have to make sure your bind-off is not too tight. As far as knitted sock construction goes, it is hotly debated which type of sock is easier to fit as you go, so I won't give either method the star in that category.
Cuff-Down/Top-Down
Do you want your cuff to have a great fit? Do you want a heel that lasts forever? Are you not a fan of complicated starts? Do you hate wrapping stitches? In that case, cuff down might just be your cup of tea.
With top down, it is easier to get a good fit at the calf, as you will be able to try the cuff on at the beginning. You won't have to guess at adding or subtracting stitches to create a comfortable cuff fit.
There are also, in general, more patterns out there which are written for the top-down variety of socks. The other great benefit, is that if you knit top down you can knit a slip stitch heel flap. These wears amazingly. I have never gotten a single hole in my slip stitch heel flap heels. In the case of any type of heel flap, you will have to pick up stitches. You will also have some decreasing to do.
Mid-Sock Decisions: The Heel of the Matter
After you have chosen your method of starting, it's time to decide what kind of heel might work best for you. If you have not tried a lot of these heels, try picking a pattern at random. It will likely tell you what kind of heel to knit. However, if you want the best fit for you and your foot, it is sometimes better to pick a pattern that has the type of heel that you like the best. There are many specific heels. Some of these include Cat Bordhi's Sweet Tomato Heel and the Fish Lips Kiss Heel. These are really fun to try. However, we are only going to go over some more common heel constructions here.
After Thought Heel
Afterthought heels are great for complicated color work. In addition, if you would like to just knit without any shaping for a while (it makes a great knit-night project). This entails, knitting the whole body of the sock in a tube. You can decide to go either top down or toe up. If you want to get crazy, knit the left toe up and the right cuff down. Either way, you just use scrap yarn to indicate where to later pick up stitches, and knit the heel when you are done with the sock.
The downside to this is that the heel is not necessarily the most comfortable, custom fitting one. It is REALLY great for things like Christmas stockings, which are in most cases just really large socks.
Heel Flap
One of my personal favorite heels, the heel flap creates a sturdy section (even better if it is of the slip stitch variety), and if you have high arches it fits like a dream.
You can technically do this toe-up or top-down, but top-down creates a far more defined heel flap. You can customize this heel to have any design you want if you aren't doing a slip stitch style. The downside to a heel flap is that you have to pick up stitches and do a gusset that involves decreases.
Short-Row Heel
If you find that you do not like having to do a gusset section, a short row heel might be for you. These are pretty quick heels and aren't too complicated. They also usually fit pretty darn well. The downside to this is that it can create small holes in the knitting, and is therefore a little less sturdy of a heel.
Let's Talk Toes
One of the last elements of sock knitting is picking a type of toe. This is a blog post in itself, so I am going to just briefly list some basic options here. Something that is very interesting, is that you can actually create toes to fit any type of foot by changing where increases or decreases are, but as I said, that is a little more in depth and takes a while to go over.
When it comes to symmetrical toe knitting, some of the options you will come across are, provisional, SSK and K2tog decrease toes, Judy's magic cast on toes, or rounded toes.
A lot of the time, the type of start you chose narrows this down for you. If you are knitting toe-up socks you are likely to be doing a provisional cast on which has the seam of the sock on the top of your foot, or Judy's Magic Cast on, which is seamless. If you are knitting top-down you are likely to encounter a SSK, K2tog decrease toe with a Kitchener stitch at the tip, or a rounded toe which usually has a Kitchener to close at the tip as well.
When you get more advanced at socks in general, we would encourage you to check out toes for all different shapes. These different toes have increases and decreases strategically placed for the shape you are trying to achieve.
All of these choices are personal and can vary from project to project, depending on your needs. Let us know in the comments section what your favorite heel/toe/method is!
Yarn Choices
No matter which ways you decide to take on your knitted sock's construction, great sock yarn is a must! In many cases, a great choice is a blend of superwash wool and nylon. This creates a soft, washable, strong sock that keeps its' shape. We carry many types of sock yarn here at The Nook. Our favorites are 75% Superwash Merino/25% Nylon blend or an 80% Superwash Merino/25% Nylon blend. We recommend them in many cases.
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