The Sock

A sock is the quintessential transitional garment. Heat up winter nights with a toasty pair of knit socks, use a bight handpainted yarn to put a little spring in your step or enjoy knitting in the noon day sun with a small portable sock project! You pick the season and I've got the yarn and the toe up, cuff down, cabled, stranded colorwork or beaded pattern you're in the mood for.

There are two methods to knit a sock, from the cuff down to the toe or from the toe up to the cuff. Designer Kate Atherley's patterns teach sock knitting in an easy step-by-step format giving a new sock knitter a rewarding experience and teaching an experienced sock knitter a few new tricks. If you're new begin with Atherley's Training Sock, sized for infants, you'll learn the basics on a sweet tiny sock.

Training Sock

Move on to the Classic Top Down and Top Down Basic Ribbed socks to master the cuff down technique, then try the Classic Toe Up Sock to see which method you prefer.

Classic Top Down

Top Down Basic Ribbed

Classic Toe Up

Once you've mastered these basics, you'll discovered socks make great, small templates to learn new techniques, move on to cables with Atherley's Classic Cabled Sock.

Classic Cabled Sock

Or Fair Isle with Atherley's Houndstooth Socks.

Houndstooth Socks

Learn the wrap stitch with HeartStrings' Red Hots Anklets the pattern stitch incorporates wrapped stitches to simulate this popular cinnamon flavored candy and they're knit with only 1 skein of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock, the Ysolda Red colorway is perfect!

Red Hots Anklets

Knitting for a man? Nelkin Designs' For My Man Socks and Gardiner Yarn Works' Desmondus both include larger sizes.

For My Man

Desmondus

And you can even explore beading with Sivia Harding's cuff down Buried Treasure socks, they combine cables with beading and Nelkin Designs' cuff down Whirling Socks, they're beaded with an interesting spiral stitch pattern.

Buried Treasure

Whirling Socks

Now you're ready to select a beautiful handpainted fingering weight yarn! For one of these basic patterns you may opt to let the yarn do all work with a multi colored variegated such as Pigeonroof Studios' Original Sock, Zoe Sock by Shalimar, Silky Sock by Great Adirondack, Claudia Hand Painted Yarn's Fingering or Flat Feet by Conjoined Creations.

And to show off your stitch work in one of these textured and beaded designs use a fingering weight yarn handpainted in a semi solid colorway producing a subtle change of color throughout. You'll love the results of Socrates by Alpaca with a Twist, BellaSock by Crazy for Dyeing, Shepherd Sock by Lorna's Laces or Anzula's Sebastian.

Whether you're are new to sock knitting or a long time aficionado you can always get the support you need in my Ravelry group, Sandrasingh.com. Start a thread with your question and you'll love the response you get and wealth of knowledge.

Visit Fingering to see even more sock weight yarns and visit Socks, Boots & Slippers to see all my sock projects.