Day Seven - The Toe

Ah, the Toe. The end of the sock is in sight and you will have a simple pattern that you can knit over and over and over again.

Once again, the toe is all math and you will be using the decreases ssk and k2tog. Ssk leans the stitches to the left and k2tog leans the stitches to the right in the decrease. This important as it will shape the toe during the decrease.

The toe for this sock is a standard round toe and is knit in two parts.

Row 1
Needle One: Knit to last 3 stitches, k2tog k1
Needle Two: K1, ssk, knit to end
Needle Three: Knit to last 3 stitches, k2tog k1
Needle Four: K1, ssk, knit to end

Row 2
Knit

Repeat these two rows until you have half the remaining stitches on your needles.

Then repeat Row 1 every row until you have 25% of the original number of stitches from your cast on remaining. For my sock, I started with 64 stitches. I reduced to 32 stitches, then repeated Row 1 until 16 stitches remain.

Remember at the beginning of this where I said I like to have everything divisible by 4? It makes the final stage much easier to complete.

Sock Pattern

8 stitches to an inch, 10 rows to an inch

Cast On 64 stitches

Cuff
K2, P2 for 16 rows. Place a marker on the first stitch.

Leg
Knit every row for 64 rows

Heel Flap
Set up row: Knit all stitches from needle one onto needle four

Row 1: (WS) Knit 3 stitches, purl to last 3 stitches, knit 3 stitches
Row 2: (RS) Knit 3 stitches, *sl 1, k 1; repeat from * until last 3 stitches, knit 3 stitches
Repeat these two rows for a total of 32 rows.

Turn Heel
Row 1: (WS) Sl 1, Purl 16 stitches, purl 2 together (p2tog), p 1, turn
Row 2: (RS) Sl 1, k 3, slip slip knit (ssk), k 1, turn
Row 3: (WS) Sl 1, purl to within 1 stitch of gap, p2tog, p 1, turn
Row 4: (RS) Sl 1, knit to within 1 stitch of gap, knit 2 together (k2tog), K 1, turn

Heel Gusset
Divide the stitches of heel back onto separate needles, 9 stitches on each.

Pick up and knit 16 stitches along each side, plus two at the top of the gusset.
Needles One and Four should have 27 stitches on each.

Set Up Row
Needle One: Knit to last two stitches, ssk
Needles Two and Three: Knit
Needle Four: K2tog, knit to end

Gusset Decrease

Row One
Needle One: Knit to last two stitches last two stitches, k2tog
Needles Two and Three: Knit
Needle Four: Ssk, knit to end

Row Two
Knit

Repeat these two rows until you have the same number of stitches as your cast on.

Foot
Knit 32 rows.

Row 1
Needle One: Knit to last 3 stitches, k2tog k1
Needle Two: K1, ssk, knit to end
Needle Three: Knit to last 3 stitches, k2tog k1
Needle Four: K1, ssk, knit to end

Row 2
Knit

Repeat these two rows until you have 32 stitches remaining stitches on your needles.

Then repeat Row 1 every row until you have 16 stitches remaining.

Day Six - The Foot

Day Six is just like day three: knitting.

I like to place a stitch on the first stitch before I start so I have a starting place to go to if I lose count of my rows.

You will want the length of the foot to measure from your heel to right where your toes start. For me, that is 7”.

Depending on your tension and your gauge, you will want to measure the foot from heel to needles at the desired length. Remember how I said I like math? For me that was 32 rows, half the number of stitches on my knitting needles.

My pattern now reads:

Sock Pattern

8 stitches to an inch, 10 rows to an inch

Cast On 64 stitches

Cuff
K2, P2 for 16 rows. Place a marker on the first stitch.

Leg
Knit every row for 64 rows

Heel Flap
Set up row: Knit all stitches from needle one onto needle four

Row 1: (WS) Knit 3 stitches, purl to last 3 stitches, knit 3 stitches
Row 2: (RS) Knit 3 stitches, *sl 1, k 1; repeat from * until last 3 stitches, knit 3 stitches
Repeat these two rows for a total of 32 rows.

Turn Heel
Row 1: (WS) Sl 1, Purl 16 stitches, purl 2 together (p2tog), p 1, turn
Row 2: (RS) Sl 1, k 3, slip slip knit (ssk), k 1, turn
Row 3: (WS) Sl 1, purl to within 1 stitch of gap, p2tog, p 1, turn
Row 4: (RS) Sl 1, knit to within 1 stitch of gap, knit 2 together (k2tog), K 1, turn

Heel Gusset
Divide the stitches of heel back onto separate needles, 9 stitches on each.

Pick up and knit 16 stitches along each side, plus two at the top of the gusset.
Needles One and Four should have 27 stitches on each.

Set Up Row
Needle One: Knit to last two stitches, ssk
Needles Two and Three: Knit
Needle Four: K2tog, knit to end

Gusset Decrease

Row One
Needle One: Knit to last two stitches last two stitches, k2tog
Needles Two and Three: Knit
Needle Four: Ssk, knit to end

Row Two
Knit

Repeat these two rows until you have the same number of stitches as your cast on.

Foot
Knit 32 rows.

Day Five - Turning the Heel and Knitting the Gusset

Day Five is not as complicated as many people may think, but you do need to pay attention to what you are doing.

You are going to create the heel itself and pick up the stitches for the gusset.

Row 1: (WS) Sl 1, Purl half the number of stitches on the heel flap, purl 2 together (p2tog), p 1, turn
Row 2: (RS) Sl 1, k 3, slip slip knit (ssk), k 1, turn
Row 3: (WS) Sl 1, purl to within 1 stitch of gap, p2tog, p 1, turn
Row 4: (RS) Sl 1, knit to within 1 stitch of gap, knit 2 together (k2tog), K 1, turn

Repeat rows 3 and 4 until there are half the number of stitches of the heel flap plus 2.

You will now put the stitches back on their original needles, half on needle one and half on needle four. Your working yarn will be between needles one and two.

Pick up the same number of stitches per row knit, plus two. The reason for the garter stitch is it is easier to pick up stitches along the edge. The two additional stitches you need to pick up are going to be between needles one and two. This is the top of the guesset. Needles two and three form the top of the foot. You will then pick up two additional stitches, and then the same number of stitches as you have rows.

When you read the words “pick up”, it means pick up and knit. This is the first of two set up rows before doing the guesset decrease.

The reason for the two additional stitches is to create a more secure closure at the top of the gusset. You will then so a new set up row to close the gusset.

Needle One: Knit to last two stitches, ssk
Needles Two and Three: Knit
Needle Four: K2tog, knit to end

You will then knit the next two rows as follows:

Row One
Needle One: Knit to last two stitches last two stitches, k2tog
Needles Two and Three: Knit
Needle Four: Ssk, knit to end

Row Two
Knit

Repeat these two rows until you have your original number of stitches.

This is what my pattern now looks like.

Sock Pattern

8 stitches to an inch, 10 rows to an inch

Cast On 64 stitches

Cuff
K2, P2 for 16 rows. Place a marker on the first stitch.

Leg
Knit every row for 64 rows

Heel Flap
Set up row: Knit all stitches from needle one onto needle four

Row 1: (WS) Knit 3 stitches, purl to last 3 stitches, knit 3 stitches
Row 2: (RS) Knit 3 stitches, *sl 1, k 1; repeat from * until last 3 stitches, knit 3 stitches
Repeat these two rows for a total of 32 rows.

Turn Heel
Row 1: (WS) Sl 1, Purl 16 stitches, purl 2 together (p2tog), p 1, turn
Row 2: (RS) Sl 1, k 3, slip slip knit (ssk), k 1, turn
Row 3: (WS) Sl 1, purl to within 1 stitch of gap, p2tog, p 1, turn
Row 4: (RS) Sl 1, knit to within 1 stitch of gap, knit 2 together (k2tog), K 1, turn

Heel Gusset
Divide the stitches of heel back onto separate needles, 9 stitches on each.

Pick up and knit 16 stitches along each side, plus two at the top of the gusset.
Needles One and Four should have 27 stitches on each.

Set Up Row
Needle One: Knit to last two stitches, ssk
Needles Two and Three: Knit
Needle Four: K2tog, knit to end

Gusset Decrease

Row One
Needle One: Knit to last two stitches last two stitches, k2tog
Needles Two and Three: Knit
Needle Four: Ssk, knit to end

Row Two
Knit

Repeat these two rows until you have the same number of stitches as your cast on.

Day Four - The Heel Flap

Day four is where we are going to start working the heel, probably the hardest and most complicated part of the sock.

We are going to number our knitting needles for this next step: One to Four. Needles two and three are not going to be used again until we start the gusset decrease.

To set up our heel, you are going to use needle Four to knit all the stitches from needle One onto it, so you have half your stitches, on a single needle. This is your set up row.

The first row is going to be referred to as the Wrong Side row. In your pattern you will have the notation WS to indicate that it is a purl row. The other row is the Right Side or RS row. We are also going to start using shorter notations in our pattern. Slipping one stitch from one needle to the next purl wise is notated as (sl 1), knit stitches are notated as (k), and purl stitches as (p). An asterix is used to indicate the start of a pattern chain.

The heel flap we are going to do is a simple heel flap with a garter edge. This is a simple, strong heel. Heels get a lot of wear and tear, so they need to hold up to it.

Row 1: (WS) Knit 3 stitches, purl to last 3 stitches, knit 3 stitches
Row 2: (RS) Knit 3 stitches, *sl 1, k 1; repeat from * until last 3 stitches, knit 3 stitches

You are going to repeat these two rows for the same number of stitches as you have on these two needles.

If you have an odd number of stitches, row two is altered to read as follows:

Row 2: (RS) Knit 3 stitches, *sl 1, k 1; repeat from * until the last 4 stitches, knit 4 stitches.

My pattern now reads as follows:

Sock Pattern

8 stitches to an inch, 10 rows to an inch

Cast On 64 stitches

K2, P2 for 16 rows. Place a marker on the first stitch.

Knit every row for 64 rows

Set up row: Knit all stitches from needle one onto needle four

Row 1: (WS) Knit 3 stitches, purl to last 3 stitches, knit 3 stitches
Row 2: (RS) Knit 3 stitches, *sl 1, k 1; repeat from * until last 3 stitches, knit 3 stitches
Repeat these two rows for a total of 32 rows.

Day Five - Turning the Heel and Knitting the Gusset

Day Five is not as complicated as many people may think, but you do need to pay attention to what you are doing.

You are going to create the heel itself and pick up the stitches for the gusset.

Row 1: (WS) Sl 1, Purl half the number of stitches on the heel flap, purl 2 together (p2tog), p 1, turn
Row 2: (RS) Sl 1, k 3, slip slip knit (ssk), k 1, turn
Row 3: (WS) Sl 1, purl to within 1 stitch of gap, p2tog, p 1, turn
Row 4: (RS) Sl 1, knit to within 1 stitch of gap, knit 2 together (k2tog), K 1, turn

Repeat rows 3 and 4 until there are half the number of stitches of the heel flap plus 2.

You will now put the stitches back on their original needles, half on needle one and half on needle four. Your working yarn will be between needles one and two.

Pick up the same number of stitches per row knit, plus two. The reason for the garter stitch is it is easier to pick up stitches along the edge. The two additional stitches you need to pick up are going to be between needles one and two. This is the top of the guesset. Needles two and three form the top of the foot. You will then pick up two additional stitches, and then the same number of stitches as you have rows.

When you read the words “pick up”, it means pick up and knit. This is the first of two set up rows before doing the guesset decrease.

The reason for the two additional stitches is to create a more secure closure at the top of the gusset. You will then so a new set up row to close the gusset.

Needle One: Knit to last two stitches, ssk
Needles Two and Three: Knit
Needle Four: K2tog, knit to end

You will then knit the next two rows as follows:

Row One
Needle One: Knit to last two stitches last two stitches, k2tog
Needles Two and Three: Knit
Needle Four: Ssk, knit to end

Row Two
Knit

Repeat these two rows until you have your original number of stitches.

This is what my pattern now looks like.

Sock Pattern

8 stitches to an inch, 10 rows to an inch

Cast On 64 stitches

Cuff
K2, P2 for 16 rows. Place a marker on the first stitch.

Leg
Knit every row for 64 rows

Heel Flap
Set up row: Knit all stitches from needle one onto needle four

Row 1: (WS) Knit 3 stitches, purl to last 3 stitches, knit 3 stitches
Row 2: (RS) Knit 3 stitches, *sl 1, k 1; repeat from * until last 3 stitches, knit 3 stitches
Repeat these two rows for a total of 32 rows.

Turn Heel
Row 1: (WS) Sl 1, Purl 16 stitches, purl 2 together (p2tog), p 1, turn
Row 2: (RS) Sl 1, k 3, slip slip knit (ssk), k 1, turn
Row 3: (WS) Sl 1, purl to within 1 stitch of gap, p2tog, p 1, turn
Row 4: (RS) Sl 1, knit to within 1 stitch of gap, knit 2 together (k2tog), K 1, turn

Heel Gusset
Divide the stitches of heel back onto separate needles, 9 stitches on each.

Pick up and knit 16 stitches along each side, plus two at the top of the gusset.
Needles One and Four should have 27 stitches on each.

Set Up Row
Needle One: Knit to last two stitches, ssk
Needles Two and Three: Knit
Needle Four: K2tog, knit to end

Gusset Decrease

Row One
Needle One: Knit to last two stitches last two stitches, k2tog
Needles Two and Three: Knit
Needle Four: Ssk, knit to end

Row Two
Knit

Repeat these two rows until you have the same number of stitches as your cast on.