Silja & Reggie Toe Up Socks - FREE pattern

All video demonstrations 

are linked here.

Unfortunately, some of the 

links in this pattern are dead.

(you can find out why here)

***

I've tried to make this pattern as visual as possible. There are many links to video demonstrations, most of which have been made by myself.

Norsk versjon finner du her.

Yarn is 1 strand of Aran weight Free Style by Dale Garn  and 1 strand of variegated sock weight Eventyr by Trysil.

The Pattern

Needles: 

80cm or 100cm long circular needle, 

size 4.5mm - 5,5mm, depending on tension, 

Plus, double pointed needles (optional)

Yarn: 

Aran or chunky/10-12 wpi (I often use three strands of 4ply sock yarn).
For Aran weight, 100g of yarn will make two medium length socks.

Using 80-100cm long, circular needles and the Judy's Magic Cast on method, cast on 16 stitches - 8 stitches on each needle. Click this link to see a video demonstration of how to start and complete the toe.

Using the Magic Loop method of knitting, which is demonstrated in the video linked above,

Round 1: Knit one round.

Round 2: Knit 1, Make 1, Knit to the last two stitches on the needle, Make 1, Knit 1. Repeat on the second needle.

Repeat these two rounds, increasing by 4 stitches every second round, until there are 16 stitches on each needle, 32 stitches total.

As soon as there's enough fabric on the needles,  place a marker to indicate the front of the work. The front of the work is the side facing you when both the tail end of the yarn and the working yarn are coming from the right hand side of the knitting. This is the sole side of the sock.

Knit until the sock reaches 11cms from the heel of your foot. If you want snug fitting socks, subtract 1cms. If you have wide feet, you might need to add 1cm. Try them on, if possible.

How long the knitting is from the toe will depend on the size of your foot.

Below is a table of the most common adult shoe sizes in centimetres and inches. European, UK and US sizes are given. This is useful if you're knitting socks for someone else who isn't available for measuring.

Shape the gusset

These socks are knitting using three strands of sock yarn, one variegated. Yarn is 2 strands of Silja sock yarn by Gjestal and 1 strand of Kaffe Fasset's  Design Line 6 colour, produced by Regia.

Now, start gusset increases on the first needle only. The first needle is the needle closest to you are at the beginning of a round. Each round is 32 stitches total, 16 stitches on each needle. 

Round 1: 
Starting on the front, Right Side of the work, knit 1, then make a stitch by knitting into the front and the back of the next stitch. This is called KFB (Knit-Front-Back). Knit to the last two stitches on the first needle, then KFB, K1. 

Knit the rest of the round, or in other words, knit all 16 the stitches on the second needle.

Round 2: 
Knit all the stitches in the next round. 

Repeat these two rounds - one increase round, one knit round - until you have 32 stitches on the first needle, and you should still have 16 stitches on the other side. 48 stitches in total.

Turn the heel

Here's a link to a table, which explains the whole heel turning process, row by row. There's also a colour diagram with symbols.

Abbreviations:
W&T =  wrap and turn

K = knit

P = purl

YF = yarn forward - bring the yarn to the front of the work between the two needles

YB= yarn back - take the yarn to the back of your work, between the two needles

S = slip

Start at the beginning of the round, on the first needle with 32 stitches.

With the right / sole side of the work facing you

Knit 22 stitches, slip 1 stitch onto the right hand needle (S1), bring the yarn forward (YF) between the two needles, slip the slipped stitch back onto the left hand needle, take the yarn back to the back of your work, (YB) then turn your work

You have just worked a wrap and turn!

When you have turned the work, you should see the purl side/inside of the sock now facing you. 

P12, (until you are 10 stitches from the end of the row), S1, YF, slip the stitch back onto the left hand needle, YB. Turn your work.

That's your second wrap and turn.

Take a moment to get to know your wrapped stitches.  They look different and there's a gap in the work to one side of the wrapped stitch and a stitch which is a lot closer to the wrapped stitch on the other side.

Work each row knitting, or purling, up to the stitch before the wrapped stitch, and wrapping that stitch.

K11, S1, YF, slipped the slipped stitch back to the left hand needle, YB, turn your work

P10, S1, YF, slipped the slipped stitch back to the left hand needle, YB, turn your work

K9, S1, YF, slipped the slipped stitch back to the left hand needle, YB, turn your work

P8, S1, YF, slipped the slipped stitch back to the left hand needle, YB, turn your work

K7, S1, YF, slipped the slipped stitch back to the left hand needle, YB, turn your work

P6, S1, YF, slipped the slipped stitch back to the left hand needle, YB, turn your work

K5, S1, YF, slipped the slipped stitch back to the left hand needle, YB, turn your work

P4, S1, YF, slipped the slipped stitch back to the left hand needle, YB, turn your work

There should be 4 regular stitches left in the middle of the row, with 5 wrapped stitches either side. 

Now, pick up the 5 wrapped stitches on the knit side and 5 wrapped stitches on the purl side. Use this video demonstration to see how - jump to 6:40.

After picking up the wraps, with the wrong side of the work facing you, you'll have two very distinct gaps in your row of stitches. 

Left hand needle: there should be  9 stitches on the left hand needle, gap between the two needles, 

Right hand needle: 14 stitches, gap, 9 stitches on the right hand needle.

The heel flap

Video demonstration here

With the right side of the work facing you, there are two alternatives to knitting the heel flap.

Alternative one: 

slip the first stitch, as if to knit, then knit 12, upto the last stitch before the gap, then work an SSK.

Alternative two: 

S1 purlwise, K1, to the last stitch, then work an SSK. 
Sl1pw, K1 is demonstated here.

Eye of Partridge - Slip 1 purlwise, Knit 1

SSK = Slip, Slip, Knit.

Slip the next stitch as if to knit, slip the next stitch as if to purl - that is one stitch either side of the gap - then knit those two slipped stitches together. 

Then turn your work, purl 12, to the last stitch before the gap and purl together the next two stitches - one stitch either side of the gap.

Repeat these two rows until you have just two stitches remaining either side of the 14 stitches.

S1, K12, SSK, K1.

You should now have 17 stitches on the first needle.

Knit the regular 16 stitches on the second needle.

On the first needle, Knit 1, K2 together.

Knit to the end of the row.

You have now completed the heel of your sock.

Continue knitting until the sock is two inches shorter than your required finished length - this can be anything from 1cm to 1m of knitting. For longer socks, you'll need to work increases at regular intervals, every 10cms or so, to accommodate the increasing circumference of your leg. 

Longer socks.

For the last two inches or so of knitting, work rib stitch. 

This can be 1x1 rib (knit 1 stitch, purl 1 stitch), or 2x2 rib. If you want to, you can switch to a smaller gauge needle and double pointed needles. You can also make the ribbing much longer than 2 inches; it's really a matter of preference.

Eye of Partridge stitch on the heel gives extra thickness.  These also have 2x2 ribbing around the top. Yarn is Trysil Labbetuss.

Casting off.

One of the most important things about sock knitting is making sure the cast off is stretchy enough to allow you to actually get your foot into the sock when it's done!

My preferred cast off is the one demonstrated here.

Knit the first two stitches, and then knit those two stitches together through the back loop. In the demonstration linked above, she knits the knit stitches and purls the purl stitches, which is something I never do. It's down to personal preference.

For striped socks, I knit the toe a single colour, then add the second colour and knit every other row in the contrasting colour until I get to the heel flap. I then knit the heel flap and top in a single colour. For the pair pictured above, I used a variegated yarn (Big Delight by Drops) for the contrast colour.

Please contact me with any questions!

Some borrowing from this pattern also.

Chunky Knit Socks

Here are some of the chunky socks I've knitted over the past few weeks.  The pattern will be posted in a separate post.

Colour Blocking

Here's Wikipedia's definition of colour-blocking. 

In knitting or crochet, it's a great way to use up odd balls of yarn, or to rescue a project if you run out of yarn or the yarn you're using is discontinued.

Here are some examples of colour blocking in knitting fashion and art.