So i’m knitting socks and i’m not using a normal pattern but instead a guide to make socks in general so i’m a little stuck
"heel
work heel over half of the total number of stitches ie over needles 1 and 4. continue in stst in open rows. for border k3 on either side. start at center back and work sts on 1st needle. turn work and work sts on needles 1 and 4 with one needle. work as many rows as there are sts.
Turn heel
divide heel sts in thirds. 1st rw=right side row work all sts of 1st third, work sts of 2nd third to last st, k this last stitch together thru back of loops with 1st st of 3rd third = slip 1st st of 2nd third knitwise and return thus back to needle. work sts together and turn. slip 1st st purlwise and p to last st of center third. p together this st with last st of 1st third. turn again and slip 1st st. Work together each time the last and 1st st of center third with following st until all the sts of the outer thirds are worked in"
i’ve made socks before but with a normal pattern, can anyone just help me understand this? Thanks!
Wow. That’s confusing but I knit socks magic loop style on circulars so the dpn’s complicate it for me. Is this top-down or toe up? I’m trying to decipher if there is a heel flap involved. Can you link to the guide that you’re using? It might all be clear to someone else.
its top down, and its a print out from a yarn shop but i’ll try to scan it tomarow, i asked them there but the person working wasnt sure either and i havnt had a chance to go back and ask haha
Welcome to the forum!
To start, you’ll need half your sts on needles 1 and 4 so if they aren’t distributed this way, move the sts around on the needles so that they are. Start at the beginning of round on needle 1 and knit across, then turn and purl back across needles 1 and 4 working all sts onto needle 1. Now you have the heel sts on a single needle and you’ll be working the heel flap back and forth on this needle in stockinette stitch with 3sts on each end in garter stitch (k3 at each end on every row). Work as many rows as you have sts.
For the heel turn, put in markers that divide the heel sts in thirds so if you have 15sts, mark off every 5sts. On a RS row, knit across 5sts of group one and then 4sts of the middle group, ssk, turn slip one, purl across 4sts, p2tog and turn. Continue in this manner to work across the middle group of sts, decreasing at the ends and slipping the first stitch after the turn. Each time you decrease you’ll be working one stitch from the first or the third group together with one stitch of the middle group of sts. Keep doing this until you used up all the sts in the first and third groups and you’re left with the middle group of sts only.
The details are different but the idea of the heel turn is the same as shown here.
“Dec again the extra sts on needles 1 and 4 as follows: k tog sts 2 and 3 from end of 1st needle, k tog thru back of loop sts 2 and 3 on 4th needle. continue until there is same number of sts as before heel”
OK, so you’re back to knitting on 4 needles again and decreasing at the end of needle 1 and the beginning of needle 4. These are stitches on either side of the instep. Knit the sts on needle 1 until there are 3sts left on needle 1, k2tog, k1 and then knit around to needle 4. Knit the first stitch on needle 4 and then knit the next 2sts together through the back loop.
Work band dec first on every alt row then on every round, ktog each time sts 2 and 3 from end of needles 1 and 3, work tog thru back of loop sts 2 and 3 on needles 2 and 4. when only 8 sts remain divide for each band on 2 needles, join by grafting.
Good for you for getting almost to the end of the socks.
Knit across the sts of needle 1 to the last 3sts, k2tog, k1. Start needle 2 with k1, k2tog tbl and knit to the end of needle 2. Knit across needle 3 to the last 3sts, k2tog and then k1. On needle 4, k1, k2tog tbl and then knit to the end.
I don’t know when you change from working the decreases every alternate round to every round but presumably the pattern tells you when they describe the band decrease.