How to knit socks?

People learned to knit stockings and socks a long time ago. In the northern latitudes, it is difficult to do without these simple objects. And even now, when the assortment of such products in stores is large and diverse, many prefer to knit them themselves. This is a great gift for loved ones on New Year's or birthday, and the magic itself, when an even thread turns into something practical and warm, is extremely pleasant. How to knit socks? You will learn about this from the article.

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What to knit?

The traditional material from which socks have been knitted for many centuries is wool. This is understandable, because it has a lot of excellent qualities:

• perfectly keeps heat;
• woolen products serve for a long time, and if necessary, they are easy to fix;
• You can pick up threads of any thickness and any stiffness.

But traditional materials have their drawbacks. They are also available in wool yarn:

• with improper care, knitted products easily change size - sit down or stretch;
• insufficient quality wool pricks and can be very stiff;
• As a rule, this material sheds.

Dealing with deficiencies is easy enough:

• Wash wool products, including socks, in warm, but not hot water. Colored items (like yarn) are tidied up separately from other clothes.
• As for stiffness, now on sale you can find a lot of varieties of yarn, which does not have these shortcomings.

Important! If the skin is not very sensitive, socks and stockings can be knitted from the stiff wool of home spinning.

Other materials

Warm socks do not have to be knitted from wool. On sale you will find many other materials that have the same heat-shielding properties, but differ in texture:

• acrylic;
• acrylic with wool;
• cotton with wool.

Pure acrylic retains heat even better than wool. It has only one drawback - in its structure this material is very similar to cotton wool, does not hold its shape well and easily breaks. Therefore, it is usually mixed with other fibers.

Important! If you bought acrylic yarn without any impurities, when knitting, add cotton or wool thread.

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Choose a thickness

Before knitting socks with knitting needles, it is especially important for beginners to choose threads. And the matter is not only in their quality, but also in thickness.

Important! In principle, socks can be knitted from everything, even from “iris” or “chamomile”, and sometimes it has to be done (for example, caring golfs for caring mothers and grandmothers knit from such threads, but most often crocheted).

Choose the threads and knitting needles:

• It is best to choose a warm soft yarn, not too thin, about 2-4 mm thick. Most of the varieties of threads that you will find in the store are just of such thickness and have, so you can choose almost any.
• Having dealt with the threads, pick up the knitting needles. And here it is necessary to decide whether you will knit on two or five. The second option for inexperienced needlewomen seems scary, but in fact, it is easier. The most common sizes of spokes are 2 and 3.

Important! Regardless of which method you choose, the knitting needles must match the yarn exactly, otherwise the knitting will turn out to be uneven, too loose or too tight.

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How to knit socks on 2 knitting needles?

Socks can be knitted both on circular and on straight knitting needles. The simplest model is with a seam in front. Of course, you will try on your creation in the process, but it’s better to measure your foot.

Take measurements

You need:

• foot length:
• toe length:
• girth of the foot;
• lifting height;
• ankle girth;
• top height.

The length of the foot is very easy to measure. You can do this with a centimeter or a regular ruler:

1. Lay a piece of paper on the floor.
2. Stand on it with one foot.
3. Circle the foot (the pencil should be kept strictly vertical).
4. Measure the distance between the most convex points - it is best to connect the extreme point of the heel and the end of the thumb.

Important! To measure the length of the toe, mark the little finger root on the pattern, draw a perpendicular to the midline from this point, and measure the distance from the intersection to the end of the thumb. Lifting height is measured from the place where the toe goes into the main part, to the ankle.

Count the number of loops

If you are thinking about how to knit socks with knitting needles for beginners step by step and have already found threads and knitting needles, proceed to the next step - now you need to understand how many loops to collect, in what order to add them. To do this, select the mating.

If you first started knitting, the best option is stocking for the bottom and 2x2 elastic for the top:

1. Tie a sample with a length of 5 cm and a width of 3 cm by stocking (1 row facing. 1 row purl, then the pattern repeats).
2. Count the number of loops horizontally and rows - vertically.
3. Divide the results by length and width, respectively.

Important! These results are needed to determine the number of loops in one or another part of the product, for example, to understand how many there should be where the toe goes to the top, you need to multiply the number of loops of 1 cm by the appropriate measure, that is, by the girth of the foot.

Start knitting

The simplest answer is how easy it is to knit socks, you can get if you try to start with three loops, that is, from the toe. Do not forget that this model is with a seam in front:

1. Type 3 stitches on the knitting needles.
2. Knit them face (the first loop is not necessary to remove).
3. On the second row, which is knitted on the wrong side, make increases after the first loop and before the last. The increase is made by reverse crochets.
4. Next, knit the odd rows with the front, the even ones with the wrong ones, knitting the reverse yarn over the odd rows after the first (edge) loop and before the last.
5. Thus tie the entire toe, that is, to the root of the little finger.
6. Next, knit with the same stocking knit, but add it not through the row, but after three, also on the wrong side, to the place where the climb goes to the ankle.
7. Divide the knitting into 3 parts - the back, which will go half of the loops from the middle of the row, and 2 front - for each ¼ of the total number of loops.
8. Remove the front parts on an extra spoke - with two sharp ends.
9. Continue to knit the back part with stocking, without adding anything, but knitting 1 loop at the end of each row with an additional knitting needle.
10. Having tied to the end of the heel, connect all the parts to one knitting needle and knit 2-3 cm in stocking.
11. After that, tie the 2x2 elastic to the height of the upper part.
12. Close the loops and sew the edges of the front with a knit stitch.

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How to knit socks on 5 needles?

The traditional way of knitting socks is on five knitting needles in a circle. This is not such a complicated process as it might seem at first glance:

1. Dial the estimated number of loops, it should be divided by 4 (in this case, knitting goes from above, that is, the main measure is the girth of the ankle). If the number is not divisible by 4, round up.
2. Distribute the loops equally into 4 knitting needles, the fifth - working.
3. Knit one row with the front and close the knitting in a circle (after the last loop on the fourth knit, knit the first on the first, without missing or removing anything)
4. From the second row, start knitting an elastic band, alternating 2 front loops and 2 wrong loops.
5. Knit with a rubber band 5-7 cm.
6. Knit 1-2 cm hosiery, that is, one facial.

Heel

In any instruction on how to knit socks with needles, a detailed description necessarily includes a heel. This is the most crucial moment.

Mentally number the knitting needles:

1. You can do this even before you start knitting, marking the beginning of the row with a bundle of a different color. This will be the first knitting needle.
2. The fourth, respectively, the one that ends the row.
3. The heel will be located on the first and fourth, the front part - on the second and third, which will temporarily be inactive.

How to knit socks on 5 knitting needles:

• Knit a straight fabric on knitting needles No. 1 and No. 4 with stocking knit - note that since you do not knit in a circle, the front rows alternate with the wrong ones.
• Tie in this way 4-5 cm (if the sock is for an adult) and 2-3 cm for a baby sock. Divide the knitting into 3 equal parts (you can free 2 or 3 knitting needles by transferring all the loops to one of them).

Important! If the number of loops is not divided by 3, put the same number of loops on the extreme knitting needles, and one that differs by 1 or 2 loops on the middle.

• Knit the stitches from the left and middle parts, knit the last stitch together with the first stitch from the right part.
• Turn over knitting.
• Knit the middle part, the last loop - along with the first of the side part.
• Turn the job over.
• Make another row, knitting the last loop from the middle part to the first of the side.
• Thus, knit until only the middle loops remain on the knitting needles.
• Connect the loops of the heel and those that remained on the extra spoke, again divide them into 4 parts.
• Knit in a circle face up to the toe.

Toe

When knitting a toe, mentally number the knitting needles - the first and second knitting needles will be located on the side of the foot:

1. Knit together the second and third loops on the first spoke and the third from the end and the penultimate to the second.
2. On the third needle, knit together the second and third loops, on the fourth - the third from the end and the penultimate one.
3. When the stitches are small and knitting on four knitting needles becomes uncomfortable, move the knitting into two: one on the side of the foot, the second on top.
4. Knit by lowering the stitches around the edges until 2 stitches remain.
5. Sew the remaining stitches together.
6. Tear and tighten the thread.
7. Bring the end to the wrong side and secure.

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Top Knitting Options

Warm socks do not have to be knitted with an elastic band:

• You can, for example, make the upper part openwork. It will look especially interesting if you take fluffy wool or mohair.
• If the socks are thin enough and you suspect that they will slip, tie the upper part, adding an elastic band to the main yarn. You can buy one at the sewing goods store. It is also useful to do this if you are planning to knit children's golfs.
• For children's socks, a 2x2 elastic may seem too coarse. You can use the option 1x1 or 3x1 - 3 wrong loops, 1 front.

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Vintage socks

Despite the fact that knitted socks have existed for many centuries, the craftswomen did not immediately figure out how to knit the heel. Each nation has its own subtleties. But the oldest socks were generally without a heel. They were just a pipe, which was pulled together at the toe with a thread drawn into all the loops.

Nothing prevents you from linking something like this now, especially if you are fond of reconstructing old costumes. True, it should be noted that you can only wear such a model with low shoes that do not cover the ankles. The fact is that since such a product does not have a bend, assemblies are formed, and putting on boots will be problematic.

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Stock footage

Now you are ready to fill up your wardrobe with warm knitted socks for the winter. And believe me, wearing them will be much nicer than purchased ones, and their strength and heat preservation properties will probably be much better.