How to Knit a Sock With Worsted Weight Yarn

You can knit a thick, warm pair of socks from worsted weight yarn.

Socks knit with worsted weight yarn are great for outdoorsmen and women who love a thick, cushiony sock inside their boots. Worsted weight socks knit up quickly at about 4 stitches per inch, and a worsted weight sock is a good first sock project. This article describes how to make a man's sock, but you can change the number of stitches to make a smaller sock, or use sport weight yarn to get a smaller sock.

Things You'll Need

• Worsted weight yarn, preferably sock yarn with some nylon in it, 6 ounces
• 5 double pointed needles (dpn), about size 6
• Yarn darning needle

Instructions

1. Cast 44 stitches onto 4 double pointed needles. Join the knitting into a circle, being careful not to twist the cast-on edge. The whole edge should stay on the outside of the circle when joining. Use the fifth needle to knit into the first stitch on the first needle. Knit 2, purl 2 across the first row, to begin the ribbing for the ankle. Place a marker where you joined the circle.

2. Continue to knit in knit 2, purl 2 ribbing until the sock measures the length that you want. For a man's boot sock, that might be 9 or 10 inches. Now divide the stitches in half for the heel. Half the stitches will stay on their 2 needles and the other half of the stitches will go on 1 double pointed needle. You will knit the heel flap on this double-pointed needle. There will be 22 stitches on the heel flap needle.

3. Slip 1 and knit across the heel flap. Turn. Slip 1 and purl back across the heel flap. Continue knitting the heel flap in stockinette stitch, slipping the first stitch of each row, until the heel flap measures as long as it is wide. Now you will turn the heel at the bottom of the heel flap. Knit across the heel for 11 stitches. Now perform a left-leaning decrease as follows: slip 1, slip another, and insert the left needle into these two slipped stitches and knit them together. This is called slip, slip, knit or SSK in knitting abbreviations. Knit 1, turn. Purl 3 stitches, then purl 2 together, purl 1. Turn. Knit 4, slip, slip, knit 2 together, knit 1. Turn. Purl 5, purl 2 together, purl 1. Continue in this manner, knitting or purling one stitch further in the row and knitting 2 together when you come to the gap between stitches, then knitting or purling 1 stitch. Continue until there are 12 stitches on your needle, on a purl row. Turn.

4. Begin the gusset. Knit across the bottom of the heel, then up the side of the heel, by picking up stitches along the side of the heel flap. The slipped stitches will form a chain that you can stick the needle through and pull up the yarn. Pick up 13 stitches on the first side of the heel. With another needle, knit across the first needle with the ribbing stitches. Knit across the other needle with the ribbing stitches. These stitches are now the instep stitches. Pick up 13 stitches along the other side of the heel flap. Put half the bottom heel stitches on this needle. Now you have 2 instep needles with 11 stitches each, and two gusset needles with 19 stitches each. Decrease the number of stitches on the gusset needles every other round until you have 11 stitches on each of the sole needles.

5. Shape the gussets into triangles. Place a marker at the center of the heel, between the 2 sole needles. Knit 17 stitches, knit 2 together. Knit across the instep stitches. On the next sole needle, slip, slip, knit 2 together, knit 17 stitches. Now you are back at the bottom center of the heel. Knit one round plain. Then on the next row, decrease in the same manner as you did before, knitting 2 together at the end of the first sole needle, knitting across the instep, then making a SSK decrease at the beginning of the other sole needle. Continue decreasing by 2 stitches in this manner every other round until you have 11 stitches on all 4 needles, for a total of 44.

6. Knit the foot as follows. Knit around all 4 needles until the foot is 2 1/2 inches shorter than your desired length. Now you will begin the decreases for the toe, beginning at the center of the sole, where you placed the marker. Knit to within the last 4 stitches, knit 2 together, knit 2. Next needle: knit 2, SSK, to end of needle. Next needle: knit to within last 4 stitches, knit 2 together, knit 2. Next needle: knit 2, SSK, knit to the end of needle. That is one decrease row. Knit the next round plain. Repeat the decrease round every other round until you have 20 stitches left. Next, you'll weave the toe together using Kitchener stitch.

7. Put the sole stitches on 1 needle and the instep stitches on another. Break off the yarn leaving a 12 inch tail. Thread the yarn onto a needle. Name one needle the front needle and one needle the back needle. *Take the yarn needle and slip it into the first stitch on the front needle as if to knit. Slip that stitch off the needle and pull the yarn through it. Insert the yarn needle into the next stitch on the front needle as if to purl. Leave that stitch on the needle, but pull the yarn through it. Take the yarn needle to the first stitch on the back needle and insert as if to purl. Slip that stitch off the back needle onto the yarn. Insert the yarn needle into the next stitch on the back needle as if to knit; leave that stitch on the needle, and pull the yarn through it.* Repeat from the asterisk, across all the stitches until they are all woven together. Weave the end of the yarn into the purl bump of the stitches on the inside of the sock.

Tips & Warnings

• Your hand-knit socks will last longer if you knit them with worsted weight yarn that has about 20% nylon in it. You can also knit these socks with 2 strands of sport weight yarn held together.

References

• "Knitting Around"; Elizabeth Zimmerman; 1989
• Spin Free; Socks Class; Claudia Krisniski; 2000
• Come to Silver: One Sock on Four Double Pointed Needles