If you are new to knitting and have decided your first project will be socks, the range of patterns available can feel overwhelming. The good news is that sock knitting need not be daunting, and once you have finished your first one you will wonder what the fuss was about.
The shape of the thing
A sock is a tube with a right-angle bend in it. That bend is the heel, and it is the only genuinely interesting part.
Most socks are worked from the top down: ribbed cuff, straight leg, then the heel, then the foot, then the toe decreases. Toe-up construction reverses that and lets you try the sock on as you go, which is useful if you are unsure about length.
The heel
The part everyone worries about, and it is worth demystifying.
A heel flap and turn works like this: you knit back and forth on half the stitches to make a flap down the back of the heel. Then you “turn” it – a series of short rows that build a cup shape by working progressively across the stitches. Then you pick up stitches along the flap edges and decrease back down to the original count.
It sounds complicated written out and it takes about twenty minutes. It is a set of instructions to follow rather than something to understand in advance, and it makes sense once it is in your hands.
A short-row heel is an alternative and simpler, though it fits some feet less well.
Yarn
Sock yarn, which is fingering weight and usually contains nylon. The nylon is not optional in any real sense – pure wool socks wear through at the heel and toe within a season.
Superwash, so they can be machine washed. Socks that need hand washing do not get worn.
Needles
Small – around 2.25 to 2.5mm. Socks need a dense fabric to wear well, so the gauge is tighter than the yarn’s ball band suggests.
Double-pointed needles, two circulars, or one long circular using magic loop. All three work; try them and use whichever irritates you least.
What to expect on a first pair
It will take longer than you think. Fingering weight on small needles covers ground slowly, and that is normal rather than a sign you are doing something wrong.
The first sock teaches you the construction. The second goes considerably faster.
Second sock syndrome is real – the enthusiasm for making an identical thing again is lower. Cast the second one on immediately after finishing the first, before the momentum goes.
Fit
Measure the foot. Socks should be about ten percent smaller than the foot so they stay up and do not bag.
Make the leg as long as you like; that part is entirely preference.
