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Learn to Knit Socks

Learn by watching!
1. Get your pattern – $8.00 US via PayPal

2. Get your yarn and needles – worsted weight yarn and size 5 US double-pointed needles.

3. Get your knit on – the pattern references the videos below to get you through the tricky parts. (You must have an internet connection to view the videos.)

Video 1 – Working with double-pointed needles and starting the cuff.

Video 2 – Dividing for the heel flap and knitting the heel flap.

Video 3 – Turning the heel.

Video 4 – Working the gusset.

Video 5 – Toe shaping.

Video 6 – Kitchener stitch (grafting the toe).

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196 comments on “Learn to Knit Socks”

  2. Dear Staci,

    Your tutorials are filled with clarity and enthusiasm that is contagious! 🙂

    I am wearing the socks I knitted for myself and am now knitting for friends. Love it!

    One question. I notice it less with Cascade 220 superwash yarn, but with classic wool it is more visible:
    the stitches that are at the beginning and end of double pointed needles, in the knitted fabric show up as a loosely knitted vertical line. I do give these stitches a tug when I knit them, but wondering what your comment is on it. Overall, the socks look great. I also assume that with magic loop method, as the stitches will be on the cord, it will be easier to avoid this.

    Thank you for your great work and contribution to women’s happiness and well-being (and that means, everyone else’s too…)! 🙂

    Elvi (VA)

  4. I really want to knit this sock but I don’t want to buy it. Is there a free pdf for making a sock?

  8. Staci, I love all of your videos and have learned so much from you that I believe I am a better knitter.
    I was wondering if you have considered having a lesson on knitting socks on 9″ or 12″ circular needles?

  10. Staci,
    My friends birthday is coming up and she had a pair of socks that your grandma or great grandma mad her. And they are falling apart. I wanted to make her a new pair but she has bigger feet due to a foot problem she had when she was younger. Is there away to make this pattern for people with bigger feet and what size(s) does this sock normally fit for? I think she might be a size 10 to 10 1/2.

  11. Hi Clara – this pattern fits any shoe size, all you have to do is knit the foot part longer to match the wearer’s foot length. You can find a chart online that will tell you how many inches long the different shoe sizes are, which makes it easy. So foot length is no problem. The only way this pattern may be too small is if the person has an especially wide foot.

    S t a c i

  12. Hi Staci: I haven’t done any sock knitting for awhile and had a basic question about ribbing on DPNs. Is there any way I can learn to knit faster? I currently use the “throw the yarn” method and this gets very slow when ribbing. Where can I find a video to improve the speed of my knitting? Thanks.

  13. I don’t have a video on that, Lucy, but I’ve found that practicing the way you naturally knit (throwing, in your case) will help you build up speed over time. If you’re interested in trying something different, you might try “flicking”, which is very close to throwing, and much faster. It is the way I knit:
    http://youtu.be/y547Q5Hjcuo

    S t a c i

  14. Hello Staci,

    I hope you can help me. My mind is drawing a blank for the proper word term for help. To explain i knit my socks toe up i finished a pair useing a 100g hank so i made this pair one at a time instead of dividing the hank. Long story short i did not realize till I had the second sock complete that i made my first sock in the foot section 4” instead of the normal 5” for my husband. I do not mind ripping out but this is to extreme even for me. I tried to buy another skein in the same dye lot but I was sent a different lot and this hank is noticeable lighter.
    Here is what I don’t know the proper terminology to look up but I was thinking of running a life lines around the sock skipping a row in between and clipping the row to add on my additional inch and Kitchener stitch it back together. Does this sound like the route i should take? I just can’t rip a 3” cuff, 5” leg, and 3” gusset/heel flap out to get back to my foot section. If explained this clearly I would like a link to read and see if possible a video on how to do this correctly. Hoping for advice and help.

    Marilyn Wiley

  15. Hi Marilyn – I think I understand what you’re thinking of doing. I don’t think it’s a good idea…you’ll unravel a row in order to add an inch to the foot of the sock. When you do that, you’ll have live stitches on one side only that you can easily pick up. The other side won’t be live stitches – and won’t be easily available for kitchener stitch. I think the most practical thing is to rip back and reknit the foot of the sock in the correct size.

    If you ever run into a ball of yarn that is a different dye lot that the one you’ve been using, you can always use both skeins at the same time, alternating “colors” each row. That is usually enough to hide a slightly different dye lot.

    Good luck!
    S t a c i

  16. hi Stacy,
    just wondering if the pattern for the socks are on paper or to download as PDF.
    And thanks. So far, i’ve manage to knit the cuff and the heel flap. x

  17. Agnes – the patterns I sell are downloadable PDFs that can be printed by the buyer. I also sell some patterns as eBooks, which are not printable.

    S t a c i

  18. I’m a cancer survivor and one of my bucket list items is to make a pair of socks. AS SOON as I finishe a scarf I’m making for my cousin I will be using your pattern and video to knock that item off my list. Thanks so much for your help in making a knitter’s life easier.

  19. OMG! OMG! I am knitting in the roud=nd with DPN!!!!!! Just bought the pattern and watched video 1. I have tried other videos and had no success at all. Thank you so much for such a simple tutorial. I cannot wait to finish my socks!

  21. Hi Stacy, I have a basket full of toe up socks that stop at the ‘turn the heel area’ due to many, many unsuccessful attempts to learn how to work this area out using books, videos, classes, etc. I decided this is the year to attempt to tackle finishing them, and after having them put away for almost 2 years, your videos are helping me make sense of the process and be able to see it in my brain. After several frogs and tinks I am now nearly done with the first one. One thing that would have been helpful for me is in the knitting the heel area. It took three times of working it much too long to finally hear you when say it is a two row step. I was counting the two as one. If you mentioned in the pattern to count 10 V’s or ‘eyes’, or maybe when you share the heel will be 21 rows long, mention that will count out as 10 V’s. I knitted it several times, counted 21 V’s and couldn’t figure out why mine was so much longer than yours in the video and didn’t count out correctly when working the gusset. Now I am nearing the toe on a very snowy day here in New York, perfect for getting to learn this. Along with everyone, I thank you for your teaching method that allows me to finally conquer knitting areas that before I only felt helpless around. B

  22. Hi Staci, I am happy that I just found you. You’re doing an excellent job.
    I am wondering if this pattern can be done on the addi clicks? Also once past the Gusset do u start knitting in the round till you get the desired length? J.

  26. Stacy

    First of all A Very Big Thank you for posting such wonderful videos. They are so doable and the way you explain any beginners can master it . You are the best teacher , I must say. I tried socks with your technique and watched your video where ever I fell short, and they came out very well. I really wish these Tutorial videos remain for ever. There will always be new beginners like me. I really wish there was some tutorial video for making socks on two Needles.

    Once again It is simply a marvelous job offering these video tutorials.

  28. I’m ready to tackle socks next; as an intermediate knitter, would you recommend these or the toe-up ones? Are there benefits to one over the other? Which way is more common?

  29. Hi Sam – if you’re an intermediate knitter, you can really start anywhere. I normally recommend my basic Learn to Knit Socks pattern for beginners, then moving on to Toe-Up, then Magic Loop Toe-Up. I personally prefer toe-up socks, because you can use all of your yarn with no leftovers. But it might be worth it to you to give both cuff-down and toe-up a try, to see what you prefer.

    S t a c i

  30. What top down pattern do you recommend as the next step in knitting socks. Loved your tutorials and FINALLY I successfully “get” heel and gusset! i want to use sock yarn…

  32. Stacy, quick guestion on the heel flap. You say to slip the first stitch as f to knit but it looks like you are slipping as if to purl on the first row. Did i just miss it? Thanks and you rock as always!

  33. Jessica – yes, I misspoke in the video. You always want to slip as if to purl (in any pattern), unless the pattern tells you otherwise.

    S t a c i

  34. Having a really senior moment. A sock pattern I’m following tells me (after I’ve turned the heel & done the gusset) to keep knitting until the sock measures 23cm from the BACK of HEEL. What does the BACK of HEEL mean? Is it from when you’ve turned the heel before knitting the gusset? I’m planning on just trying on the sock to make sure it’s long enough but just curious on the terminology here!

  35. Bayla – usually “from the back of the heel” means to measure from the spot where the center of the heel meets the sole of the foot (or the floor). But you are using a pattern that is not one of mine, so you may want to contact that pattern designer for a solid answer. Good luck!
    S t a c i

  36. Staci!! I’m a self-taught knitter and before looking at your tutorial I was sure it was impossible for me, for my level, to knit socks! Even my mother that when she was young she was faboulous in knitting everything, she was tellimg to avoid to knit socks ’cause even her she never did it! 🙂 Well I got over her!! Thank you so much for your amazing work, you’re really the best in teaching!! I haven’t read all your comments (they’re 143!!) and for sure someone’s already asked you about how to do, for other sizes. I used a thinner yarn (the one that I had, I guess 3.5) and in the end it was the perfect size for me that i am small! However i’m wondering about man sizes or medium/large for women. Thank you!!

  37. Thank you for the note, Irene! I’m glad my tutorial helped you so much! Regarding your question…check out my Frequently Asked Questions page, under the header “Socks” for links to patterns that use sock yarn and smaller needles, while still using the same techniques I use in the sock tutorials. https://verypink.com/frequently-asked-questions/

    Really, once you finish one of my sock tutorials, you can move on to tons of different sock patterns that offer different gauges and sock sizes. I really don’t recommend trying to alter a sock pattern on your own…it can be tricky. Also, I offer several different sock tutorials, and some include a range of sizes and instructions for sock yarn: https://verypink.com/category/socks/

    Hope that helps!
    S t a c i

  38. Hi there. Perhaps this question was already asked, but just to be sure … is the $8.00 pattern a pattern for the same sock made in the video? If so, are there illustrations and photos in it? Or does it just contain the instructions for the row patterns? I just want to make sure since there’s no preview shown of the pattern before you buy, so I’d like to know what I’d be buying. Thanks!

  39. Dee – thank you for the note. The $8 purchases the pattern, which gives you row-by-row instructions for the pattern I demonstrate in the video. There is one photo in the pattern which shows you what should be on each needle at one point in the pattern. Thousands of knitters have learned to knit socks from this pattern and video combination – it works! Plus I am always available to answer any questions you might have.

    S t a c i

  40. Hi there Staci, the sock pattern is great until I got to knitting the gusset. I did it all correct following the pattern and the issue is as Im knitting the sock towards getting ready for toe shaping, the stocking stitch is on the wrong side !!
    Did I have to turn the sock inside out to continue knitting. I’m very confused , please help. The pattern is great and very easy to follow.

    Cheers Maria

  42. Hi Staci,

    Thank you for this wonderful class. You have wonderful tutorials and they are easy to follow. I am taking another online sock class and I can say that yours is far superior and much easier to follow and understand.

    I was wondering how long your dpn’s were for this class? I guess it depends on how many stitches are being cast on that will determine the length of dpns one needs for a particular pattern.

    Again, thank you so much. I did purchase the pattern and am looking forward to making these socks.

    Best regards,

    Claire

  43. Hi Claire – thank you for the note, that is a good question. It’s really a matter of personal preference. I like to use longer DPNs, to reduce the risk of stitches accidentally sliding off one end or the other. I usually stick with 7 or 8 inches.

    S t a c i

  44. Staci, do you have a video or suggestion on how to avoid the “hole” when working on the sock gusset? Thanks.

  46. Hi Stacy,

    I really like your video. Finally I find something to realize the heel of the sock. But, I dont know if i’m wrong but I think there is a mistake in the video #3 – Turning the heel. In the first row, you count 12 stitches, after you purl 2 stitches together so we have 13 stitches and then you purl another one. So now, we have 14 stitches and you turn. However, in the video, you said that we had 15 stitches.

  48. I found your post every helpful for knitting socks. This was my first time knitting socks the first 3 socks I knit I didn’t get the guset right until I watched your vidio and I couldn’t finish the toe properly your vidio has been very helpfull.

  49. Hi Staci,

    Is there a secret to not having a hole when picking up stitches for the gusset? This is my “most frightening” part .. makes my hands sweat just
    thinking of it.

    Happy New Year!!!

    my personal challenge for 2015 is learning to knit socks (correctly).
    when I want to try finger wgt yarn is there a top down sock pattern you recommend?

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