Patricia Footies

My mom loves to lounge about in handknit socks, and I love to knit them for her. These are perfect for that purpose – pretty and textural but sturdy enough to hold up to lots of wear.

These footies are the perfect project for knitting on the go. The afterthought heel means that all the shaping takes place after most of the knitting is done, so you can knit, knit, knit without a care. The cozy stitch pattern resembles crochet and is easy to follow while chatting over coffee.

For a more detailed guide to working the afterthought heel, see my tutorial here.

Size

Finished Circumference 7 (8, 8.5, 9)” to fit foot circumference 8 (9, 9.5, 10)”

Length – adjustable. Length should be .5” smaller than actual foot length.

Shown in size 8.5”

Yarn

Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino (55% merino wool 33% microfibre 12% cashmere; 137 yards [125 meters]/50 grams): color 340204, 2 skeins

Needles

Size US 3 (3.25 mm): double-pointed needles, set of 4

Size US 4 (3.50 mm): double-pointed needles, set of 4

Notions

Waste yarn for afterthought heel; tapestry needle.

Gauge

24 sts and 36 rnds = 4” [10 cm] in St st.

24 sts and 36 rnds = 4” [10 cm] in pattern st

Abbreviations

Please see our standard abbreviations.

Ndl – Needle

Pattern Notes

Gauge should be taken in the round. Pattern stitch can be snug.  For this reason, when in doubt, opt for the larger size. It is very important to go up a needle size after working the cuff.

This pattern is worked cuff down and includes an afterthought heel.

Sock Instructions

Setup

Using smaller needles, cast on 44 (48, 52, 56) sts as follows: 22 (22, 26, 26) sts over needle 1, 12 (14, 14 16) over needle 2 and 10 (12, 12, 14) over needle 3 and join to work in the rnd. Work in K2 P2 Ribbing for 16 rnds or 2”.

Needle 1 will hold the instep sts and Needles 2 and 3 will hold the heel sts.

Change to larger needles and work cozy stitch for 11 rnds, ending after pattern row 3.

Heel Set-Up

Knit across 22 (22, 26, 26) stitches on needle 1 (instep sts). Using scrap yarn and dropping working yarn, knit across 22 (26, 26, 30) sts on needles 2 and 3 (heel sts). Pick up working yarn and knit sts on needles 2 and 3 once more.

Foot

Starting with row 1, work in pattern across needle 1, and knit all other stitches to end of rnd. Continue in this manner, keeping in pattern over needle 1 and knitting all sts on needles 2 and 3 until sock is 1.5 (2, 2, 2.25)” from desired finished length.

Toe

Rnd 1: K1, ssk, knit to last 3 sts of ndl 1, k2tog, k1. (ndl2) K1, ssk, k to end of ndl. (ndl3) K to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1.

Rnd 2: Knit all.

Rep rnds 1 and 2 until 20 (20, 24, 24) sts remain. Then repeat rnd 1 only until 8 (8, 12, 12) sts remain. Transfer these sts to your smaller needles until heel is worked. This will ensure a proper fit, as you may want to knit a couple more rows after trying on the sock with the finished heel.

Heel Proper

Carefully pick out scrap yarn, transferring sts to larger dpns. 22 (22, 26, 26) sts to ndl 1, 12 (14, 14, 16)

to ndl 2 and 10 (12, 12, 14) to ndl 3. Pick up 1 st at gap between needles 3 and 1 and then k across ndl 1. Using ndl 1, pick up 1 st at other side of gap.  With working needle pick up another st at gap, then k across needles 2 and 3.  With ndl 3, pick up 1 st at gap. (4 stitches picked up.)

Knit one rnd even

Rnd 1: K1, ssk, knit to last 3 sts of ndl 1, k2tog, k1. (ndl2) K1, ssk, k to end of ndl. (ndl3) K to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1.

Rnd 2: Knit all.

Rep rnds 1 and 2 until 20 (20, 24, 24) sts remain. Then repeat rnd 1 only until 10 (10, 12, 12) sts remain.

Finishing

Kitchener stitch both the toe and heel.  Weave in ends. Block if desired.