It's a Stitch Up

My last pair of socks were pretty good but with my latest pair I have well and truly nailed the perfect sock, and proved that simple is best. No more baggy-toe, foot-wriggling-into-too-tight-sock, heel-slipping-down – just comfy socks.

Socks in Fyberspates Sheila's Sock merino 4 ply in 'Berries'

Here is the updated recipe (assumes familiarity with sock techniques):

1. Using a standard 4 ply weight yarn (I used Fyberspates Sheila’s Sock), with 2.25mm needles, loosely CO 72 st.
2. Work a 2×2 ribbed cuff to desired length (about 1 inch).
3. Work stocking stitch until total cuff measures 7 inches.
4. Work heel extension on half the stitches, slipping alternate stitches on the knit side, until heel measures 2 1/2 inches.
5. Heel shaping: Start with ws row, work until 15 sts on needle, p2tog, p1, turn, sl first st on next row. Do the reverse on the knit sides (sl1, k1, psso, k1) and continue until edge stitches are reached.
6. Pick up and knit 1 st for every edge st of sides of extension and M1 at corners (I didn’t bother counting).
7. Decrease on alternate rows to 70 sts.
8. Start decreasing for toe 1 1/2 inches before the end, decrease 1 st from the end on each side on alternate rows until 14 sts.
9. Kitchener ends together.

My heel extension is considerably longer than any pattern instructions I’ve seen, making a deeper gusset also. Try this if your sock heels slip down or you struggle to pull your socks over your heel. I don’t have a chunky heel, quite the opposite, so I can’t be the only person who has this problem. You may notice that the foot is narrower than the cuff – this makes perfect sense to me but I’ve not seen it done in other patterns.

I like a tight gauge for socks, hence 2.25mm needles. I discovered the hard way (while hiking) that a larger gauge makes socks that rub. My favourite needles for socks are KnitPro Nova metal fixed circs available from p2tog and Get Knitted.

Got your own sock recipe and tips? Please share!