Surprise Sock

This sock is started at the back of the heel instead of at the toe or at the leg ribbing. Starting at the heel has quite a few advantages.

You can work on one knitting machine bed, so it can be knit on any single bed machine. This lets you knit fair isle, lace, tuck, slip or weaving designs easily because you are using your main carriage.

It is easy to short row shape the heel and toe. You can change colors for various sections of the sock quickly also.

You can hang one side, or both if you like to eliminate hand sewing seams in the foot. If you hang one side, then when you get back up to the instep, you can hang the stitches from the heel and proceed up the leg of the sock – still in pattern – and have only one seam to sew up afterwards.

Disadvantages – I’m not crazy about any seams in the foot at all. I personally prefer circular, toe-up socks. But I wanted to show another alternative for those of you who don’t have a ribber, or don’t want to fuss with working between both beds.

The above was taken from a demo I did in October 2000 at my knit club. I was supposed to demo this “new-to-me” sock technique at Bonnie Triola’s seminar, but had to cancel out at the last moment.

The pattern using Lorna’s Laces was just knit this past December.

Size – to fit my foot - a size 9 AA to AAA

Yarn – Lorna Laces Sheperd Sock Yarn 80% super wash wool, 20% nylon

Tension – 4 on 4.5 mm knitting machine

Gauge – 8.5 stitches and 13 rows = 1 inch

Pattern

Cast on 35 stitches with waste yarn and knit 10 rows. Knit 1 row with ravel cord.

Change to main color yarn and knit 4 rows at tension 4. Your carriage is on the right.

Heel Shaping – Set your machine so that stitches brought to E position will not knit (Hold), and put one needle on the left side into E position. Knit one row, wrap the needle in E position, and knit one more row back to the right (KWK) remembering to bring one stitch on the right side to E position. This is short row shaping.

Keep on KWK till you have 12 stitches knitting. Now it is time to start bringing needles back to working position (WP). Increase back out by putting 2 stitches opposite the carriage back into WP. (I put the needles in C position, so the carriage will knit them.) Knit across. Now bring one of those needles back out to E position (that will form an automatic wrap when you knit back across to the other side). Before you knit back, bring 2 needles on the opposite side to WP.

Continue bringing needles back to WP until all needles are in WP.

Sole – RC-000. Knit 83 rows for the bottom of the foot.

Toe Shaping – Short row exactly as you did for the heel shaping.

Upper Foot – This is where you decide whether to join both sides of your sock or to knit it flat and have one seam up the side. It’s your choice. The sock at the top was knit flat so the lace carriage could be used to knit a pattern. If you chose to join both sides, you’ll have a circular knit foot.

First I took the last stitch on the left edge of the sock onto a transfer tool. Take the outside loop of the side of the knitting and hang it on the needle, then rehang the toe stitch. This crosses the stitches and prevents a hole forming when you start the side seam. That needle will have 2 loops on it.

Knit 2 rows and continue picking up the outside loop along the edge of the sole, hanging it on top of the last needle in WP. Knit and seam as you go. You can pick up the knot on the edge of the knitting, but it’s a lot harder to get the transfer tool into that knot.

Flat Sock Version

When you get to the last loop to be picked up, hang it on the needle, but also hang the 35 stitches from the back of the heel. You now have 70 stitches in WP.

RC-000 – Knit 112 rows in pattern of your choice. (I waited to start my patterning till I got to row 12 because the lace transfers would have been bumpy inside by shoe.)

You can easily increase stitches on each edge if you only hang up one foot seam, or you can increase the stitch dial tension to make the leg wider. You can rib, or knit in pattern. I hung a hem and would insert a bit of elastic to keep the sock from drooping.

Ribbing – Transfer stitches for 1x1 rib and knit 11 rows at tension 4/3. Knit 1 row at tension 5/4 with your ribber lever at I – (loosest setting). Bind off.

Make another and you'll have one set of toasty toes this winter!

Diane Miller

(c)copyrighted January 14, 2001

Circular Sock Version (Vikki’s version)

This worked for any size foot from a women's medium through a man's medium when I used a soft blend. Only fit a women's medium when I used an acrylic - 7st. x 10 rows gauge.

Cast on 66 needles for 1x1 rib. Knit 40 rows for a shorter cuff or 60 rows for a longer cuff. Transfer all stitches to main bed and scrap off half on waste yarn.

Knit 30 rows. Add second strand of yarn here if desired.

Shortrow for heel to 11 stitches and back out.

Knit 50 rows for sole, and then shortrow to 11 stitches for toe and back out. Take out second strand of yarn. Picking up both sides of knitting, knit 50 rows. You're attaching the sole to the top of the foot ending at the top of the short row for the heel. Continue to pick up and hang both sides, and knit 30 rows. You'll be back up to the ribbing.

Turn the sock inside out. Take the 33 sock body stitches off on a garter bar or waste yarn. Rehang the ribbing on waste yarn wrong side facing you and hang the sock body on the same needles, wrong side facing you. Pull the sock body stitches through the ribbing stitches and back stitch bind off.

This leaves only the ribbing seam to stitch up.

Vikki Clayton