Mastermind - Any Yarn, Any Foot

Several years ago, I devised the Evil Sock Genius Lessons, instructions for making socks with any yarn, any gauge. Over time, I have tweaked and refined these guidelines, and now present a basic sock pattern that is, like the best work of an Evil Genius, sheer elegance in its simplicity.

For more concise instructions to knit a typical sock from typical sock yarn, see Mastermind - Sizing Variations.

Targets

• • Socks are better with a firm fabric, so consider working with a smaller needle to get a tighter gauge than the yarn band suggests.

Weapons

• • Desirable yarn. It should not pull apart easily when tugged.

  • Long circular needle in appropriate size for the yarn. Cable should be at least 32 inches long. Knit Picks, ChiaoGoo, and Addi Turbos have soft, flexible cables and smooth joins.

  • Stitch markers; coil-less safety pin type is recommended.

Special Skills

• • Magic Loop.

  • Turkish Cast-On.

  • Various Increase Methods. The different techniques for adding stitches produce different effects, and alter the knit fabric in subtle ways. Feel free to use whatever increases you prefer.

    • KLL: Insert the left needle into the left side of the stitch two rows below the stitch on the right needle; knit the back of the lifted stitch.

    • KRL: Insert the right needle into the right side of the stitch one row below the stitch on the left needle; place that stitch on the left needle, knit it, then knit the next stitch.

    • M1L: Yarnover. In the next round, twist the yarnover by knitting through the back loop.

    • M1R: Yarnover. In the next round, twist the yarnover by working as k-twist (see below).

    • k-twist: Slip yarnover stitch knitwise onto the right needle, changing its mount. Slip the stitch back to the left needle purlwise; the front leg of the stitch now lies in back of the needle while the back leg of the stitch comes down the front of the needle. Knit the back leg like it's a normal stitch, which further twists it to the right.

Knitting the Toe

Begin with your favorite toe-creation method. If you don't have one, try this.

• • Using Turkish Cast-on, wrap the yarn until there is about 3/4 inch of wraps. Or, check the yarn label to see how many stitches there are in an inch, add 50%, and cast on that many stitches.

  • Knit 1.5 rounds.

Begin to think of the first half of your stitches as the sole (bottom) of the foot, and the other half as the instep (top).

• • Knit 1, KRL, knit until 1 st remains on the sole, KLL, knit 1. Repeat for instep.

  • Knit 2, M1L, knit until 2 sts remain on the sole, M1R, knit 2. Repeat for instep.

  • Knit round plain. (If you used yarnovers to increase in the previous round, be sure to twist them in this round).

Repeat the last two rounds until toe is about 1 inch long.

• • Knit 2, M1L, knit until 2 sts remain on the sole, M1R, knit 2. Repeat for instep.

  • Knit two rounds plain.

Repeat the last three rounds until your toe is the right circumference. I find that 8.5 inches around is a good target, or about 12% less than the circumference of the intended wearer's foot.

This is the new beginning of your round, so adjust your Magic Loop by pulling a loop out through the middle of your instep. In this section, you will knit the left side of your sock, then knit the right side.

• First gusset increases

  • Knit another set of heel base stitches, place marker, M1L, knit to next marker, M1R, slip marker, knit to end of round.

  • Knit 2 rounds plain.

• Additional gusset increases

  • Knit to marker, slip marker, M1L, knit to second marker, M1R, slip marker, knit to end of round.

  • Knit 2 rounds plain.

Continue working gusset increases on every third round. The chart below will tell you how many increase rounds are necessary to get to your total number of stitches.

Next you'll work short rows between the stitch markers to turn the heel; feel free to adjust your Magic Loop to make this chore easier.

Turning the Heel

You should now be at the beginning of the round, midway between your two markers.

• • Knit to 2 stitches before marker. Turn work.

  • Slip 1, purl to 2 stitches before marker on other side. Turn work.

  • Slip 1, knit to 3 stitches before marker. Turn.

  • Slip 1, purl to 3 stitches before marker. Turn.

Work the number for short rows designated in the chart below, finishing with a purl row.

Transition round

Slip 1, knit to the gap left by the turning on the previous short row. Make 1 stitch in the gap by picking up the thread running between the stitch on your left and the stitch one row below the stitch on your right needle. Repeat [K1, M1 in gap] until you reach the marker. Continue knitting around the sock until you return to the marker on the right side of the heel. Knit 2, then repeat [M1 in gap, K1] until all gaps are closed.

The stitches between your markers are now ready to be worked as the heel flap.

Knitting the Heel Flap

I describe a plain stockinette heel flap here. If you prefer, there is nothing stopping you from working traditional heel stitch or "Eye of the Partridge" for your heel flap.

Knit to 1 stitch before the marker. Remove the marker, and join the last heel stitch with the first gusset stitch with SSK. Turn.

• • Slip first stitch, purl up to last heel stitch, and purl that stitch together with gusset stitch. Turn.

  • Slip 1, knit across heel flap. SSK the last heel stitch with the next gusset stitch. Turn.

Repeat these rows, knitting the heel flap upwards while consuming your gusset stitches. At some point, you will need to readjust your Magic Loop so that your instep stitches are on one side, while you work the remaining stitches -- all heel and gusset -- on the other.

Finish when your SSK consumes the last gusset stitch (one stitch remains on the other side of the heel flap).

• • Knit the last stitch, then knit across instep.

  • Knit the first stitch after the instep, K2tog, knit across heel flap stitches.

Cuff

Work the leg of your sock in whatever pattern strikes your fancy. A simple ribbing is always a good choice. I typically work 6-12 rounds in plain stockinette, then start my cuff ribbing. The length is completely up to you.

Stretchy Bind-Off

Nothing ruins your work on a pair of socks like binding off too tightly. There are a few techniques you can use to make sure socks aren't too tight at the top; Elizabeth Zimmerman's sewn bind-off and Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-Off are common solutions.

This one is easy, fast, and elastic. Work two stitches in pattern, then slide them both back over to the left needle and knit them together through the back loops. Work the next stitch, slide the two active stitches back to the left hand needle and knit them together through the back loop. Continue until finished.

Evil Geniuses gloat.

Break yarn, weave in the ends, and laugh your Evil Genius laugh as you ponder the masterpiece of your perfect sock creation.

Now clone it, so you have a pair.

Evil Geniuses credit their muses.

Yarmando licenses "Mastermind" under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License. Feel free to use for non-commercial purposes, and if you adapt it, please give credit. Yarmando would like to give credit to the others who inspired this pattern.