MASTERCLASS

About our expert

Rhian Drinkwater is a

knitting writer, editor,

designer and prolific sock knitter, who has created

many beautiful sock patterns for The

Knitter and Simply Knitting magazines.

WHETHER YOU’RE new to sock knitting, or have made a fair few pairs already, there are many different tricks worth knowing to get the best possible results. We’ve put together our top tips for improving the look, fit and resilience of your socks.

PICK A RESILIENT YARN Pure wool sock yarns can feel lovely, but they’re best kept as house socks if you don’t want to see holes in the toes and heels. Many purposely designed sock yarns contain 20-25% nylon for a sturdier finished knit. Tightly spun yarn will also last longer than loosely spun. Meanwhile, cotton-blend yarns will look lovely at first, but can quickly stretch out of shape and bag around your foot.

KEEP YOUR CUFFS STRETCHY Getting the cast-on (cuff-down socks) or cast-off (toe-up socks) right can be tricky. You need the cuffs to cling around the calf and not fall down, but they also need to be big enough to stretch over your ankle. If you’re working cuff-down, use a long-tail or Twisted German cast-on, and consider casting on over two needles. If you’re working toe-up, use Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off, which does exactly as it says and gives the perfect sock cuff finish. You can read more about this cast-off at https://bit.ly/jenyssbo

CHOOSE YOUR HEEL Remember: you don’t have to use the heel type specified in any sock pattern you’re following. Different heel types give very different amounts of room around the ankles, and the one in the pattern may simply be the one that works best for the designer. Heels are generally worked over half the stitches and can often be simply substituted for each other. If the pattern uses a short-row heel and you have a large instep, switch it for a heel flap construction. If your heel is quite narrow, you can even work it over fewer than half the stitches – just leave the edges in stocking stitch. Read more in our heels masterclass in Issue 138.

Find the heel type that suits you - a Dutch heel gives a wider fit, for example

THINK ABOUT COLOUR CHANGES Knitters often work socks in their favourite yarns rather than the ones the socks were originally designed in – this is a great way of personalising them, but do remember that the colours might work differently, and different sock elements work better with different colour changes. If you’re using a self-striping sock yarn, an afterthought heel is the best way to preserve the colour order. For a variegated yarn, a short-row heel will mean that the stitch count stays consistent on both the leg and foot of the sock – the longer round lengths given by a heel flap gusset will ‘pool’ the colour changes differently.

AVOID HOLES AFTER THE HEEL Once you’ve finished your heel flap and are working in the round again, it’s really common to find holes in the fabric either side of the heel flap. To avoid these, pick up one or two extra stitches either side of the top of the sock. So pick up your gusset stitches down the heel flap, then continue down the same column of stitches for an additional stitch or two, before beginning to knit across the top of the sock. Then when you’re ready to work back down the other side of the heel flap, pick up your first couple of stitches from the leg of the sock, in line with the edge of the heel flap. Voilà! No pesky holes.

TWIST THOSE STITCHES When you work your second round after the heel, work all the picked-up stitches along the sides of the heel flap through the back loop. This helps tighten them up and makes the edges much neater.

AVOID SECOND SOCK SYNDROME We all know the joy of finishing one sock, only to have to go right back to the beginning of the pattern to knit the second one. If you struggle to cast on that second sock right away, instead being lured away by more tempting new projects, try knitting both socks at the same time. This can be done using two sets of needles, or one long circular where you knit one round of one sock, then one round of the second, round and round as you go.

Try your hand at darning to help your socks to last a bit longer

PREPARE FOR DARNING No matter how many tricks you try, you’re sure to get holes eventually in a knit that gets as much friction and wear as a sock – most probably at the heel or toe. Don’t throw away all your hard work; instead, invest in a darning mushroom and always hang on to a small amount of the original yarn so you’re ready and waiting when those holes appear. Alternatively, if the hole is in the toe, you may prefer to just rip back the end of the sock and reknit it.

REINFORCE YOUR HEEL FLAP If you are knitting a heel flap, slip every other stitch on each right-side row as you work. This will create a double thickness of fabric, as the yarn strands over the back of the slipped stitches - so you’re less likely to get a hole there when it rubs against the back of your shoe. If you slip the same stitches each row, you’ll get a column effect, which looks great flowing on from a ribbed leg design. If you offset every other row, you’ll get a pretty ‘eye of partridge’ pattern like on the socks pictured above. If you’re particularly prone to holes here, you can also hold a reinforcing thread alongside your yarn for this section, for extra strength.

BLOCK THOSE SOCKS Invest in a set of sock blockers, and whenever you wash your handknit socks, let them dry on the blockers. We promise you, you’ll be amazed at the difference it makes! This is particularly good for gifted socks, as it evens out your stitches and makes the finished project look brilliantly professional.

TAKE THEM WITH YOU! Sock are the perfect portable knitting, and you’ll be surprised at just how much progress you’ll make in odd minutes here and there. If you use double-pointed needles, invest in a tubular knitting holder or needle caps like StitchKeepers (above) to protect the ends on the go – or you can even make your own from two pencil toppers and a couple of pieces of elastic!