Friday, September 7, 2012

Perfect-fit Newborn Socks

I promise to post some action shots as soon as I have a pair of tiny feet to model the socks.
These might not be the tiniest newborn socks ever, but they will fit!  I created this pattern to combat my personal pet peeve about commercially made newborn socks.  I've found that the feet of store-bought socks are too short and the heel doesn't line up with baby's heel.  (It's no wonder they get kicked off as soon as baby kicks those legs while demanding his midnight feeding!)  And I firmly believe that a pair of brand-new, adorably small feet deserve a pair perfectly fitting wool socks.  Wouldn't you agree?

So I started with a newborn-sized cuff and made the foot a bit on the long side to accommodate real-life baby feet.  I paired the added length with 2x2 ribbing that goes all the way to the toe for stretch and longer wearability.

Here's what I came up with. It's ribbed, it's cute and, best of all, it fits!  (And hopefully for longer than baby's first few weeks.)
 
 
 
Materials:

About 60 yards fingering weight wool (I used Knit Picks Stroll in Wonderland Heather)
Size 1 needles or size to get gauge

Gauge:

8.5 sts per inch in st st

Instructions: (make two)

Cuff:

CO 32 sts, distribute across 3 DPNs and join in the round without twisting. Work in 2x2 rib for 24 rounds.
 
Heel flap:

Work back and forth in st st on these 16 sts as follows:
 
Row 1 (RS): knit
Row 2: sl 1, purl to end
Row 3: sl 1, knit to end
 
Rep rows 2 and 3 six times (12 more rows worked), ending after a RS row.
 
Turn heel:
 
Row 1: (WS) sl 1, purl 8, p2tog, p1, turn
Row 2: (RS) sl 1, knit 3, k2tog, k1, turn

Repeat rows 1 and 2, decreasing across the gap, until all heel sts have been worked and 10 sts rem.
 
Gussett:
 
PU 7 sts along edge of heel flap, knit across instep sts cont in rib pattern, PU 7 sts along other edge of heel flap and knit 5 heel sts -- 40 sts.  The middle of the heel is now the beginning of the round.

Round 1: Knit one round plain (continuing rib pattern along instep sts)

Round 2: Knit to 3 sts before the end of needle 1, k2tog, k1; knit across instep sts in rib pattern; k1, ssk, k to end of round.

Rep rounds 1 and 2 until 32 sts rem.

Foot:

Continue knitting in the round, cont rib pattern, for 20 rounds.

Toe:

Stop working rib pattern on toe.

Round 1: k to 3 sts before end of needle 1, k2tog, k1; k1, ssk, k to 3 sts before end of needle 2, k2tog, k1; k1, ssk, k to end of round.

Round 2: knit

Rep rounds 1 and 2 until 12 sts rem, ending after round 1.

Graft toe closed with kitchener stitch and weave in ends.  Now slap 'em on the newest, freshest baby you can find!

37 comments:

  1. I am so excited to try this pattern! I have been eagerly awaiting it and now I just need to put in an order to knit picks for some cute sock yarn! Yay!

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    1. Carrie, I'm so glad! Please let me know if you have any questions or notice any mistakes in the pattern. :)

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    2. Socks are worn in every practical sense by everyone from infant kids to old people. The pervasiveness of the socks make it a mind blowing restricted time thing. Since they are vital attire ornamentation, yxsock.com/

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  2. Such cute socks! Our daughter Claire (child #3), was born on Sept 2nd and needs a pair of socks that won't fall off. I hope to cast-on later today!

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  3. Baby socks that will actually stay on? Yes please! Thank you so much for sharing this pattern. I've pinned it for future reference.

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  4. Hi, so great to find a logical easy sock pattern! The only thing Im having a problem with is ...we originally cast on 32 stitches... and then in the gusset section we pick up 2 lots of 7 stitches - this gives me a total of 46 stitches. But then when I go to split the stitches across 3 needles to get 16 on one needle, and 12 each on the other 2 needles...this only equals 40 stitches....so I am 6 stitches too many. How do I split them among the 3 needles? Your help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Gabby

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    1. Hi Gabby! Thank you for pointing out the error in my pattern! You are correct that there should be 46 sts on your needles after picking up sts for the gusset. I've updated the pattern accordingly -- you'll have 15 sts on needle 1, 16 sts on needle 2 and 15 sts on needle 3. My apologies! :)

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    2. Thanks very much! This pattern is so much easier than all of the others Ive tried :)

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    3. It turns out that this was an error... there should be 40 sts after picking up sts along the heel flap. Sorry about that!!! I've since corrected the pattern.

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  5. Good morning Kelly, Thank you for the nice sock pattern. I am not experienced knitter , and this is my first socks project. So I'm having trouble with the math. So , after the turning you end up with 10 sts. this combined with the 16 equals 26. Add the 14 picked up and so this makes total 40, no? Forgive me if I've missed where the other 6 come from which you end up with. Perhaps I will proceed . Perhaps.

    Joel

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    1. Hi Joel, I'm sorry for the confusion. You're correct that there should be 40 sts after picking up sts along the heel flap. I've deleted that extraneous line leftover from an older version of the pattern. My apologies!

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  6. Hi,thank you for the quick help! Yes! I proceed now! Thank you,again for your reply, and for helping me with this. Life is good! Joel

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    Replies
    1. I'm glad life is good! :) I just realized that that mistake was the result of me misunderstanding someone else's confusion with the pattern... and then making it worse! Anyhoo, glad you're enjoying the pattern. Don't you just love knitting socks? :)

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    2. So what IS the correct division across needles? Is it 16 12 and 12?

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  7. Hi! Thank you for this pattern! It is cute as can be, and I was able to follow it fairly easily. I finished my first sock a few minutes ago but mine came out huge!!! I think it could fit my 5 year old:(. He is a tiny guy though. I seem to have the correct gauge. Is there any way to make this smaller? I have tried "adjusting" a pattern before but it always takes me such a long time. Thank you again! I can't wait to try them on (baby due in 3 more months). I absolutely love the rib pattern!!!!

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    1. Hi! You're quite well, and I'm glad you're enjoying it! Is it possible that maybe you're not getting the correct gauge? The pattern calls for 8.5 sts/in in st st, and when followed correctly, the pattern only makes a sock to fit the smallest of babies. Unless you cast on an inordinate amount of stitches, the sock really shouldn't fit someone more than 4-6 weeks old. Best, Kelly

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  8. Just finished my second pair of these and wrote a review of the pattern on my blog:
    http://knittingpatternreview.blogspot.com/2013/05/kellys-perfect-fit-newborn-socks.html

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  9. Hi, I came across your pattern and would like to try it, but need to know if your instructions (Make 2) is telling me the pattern makes 2 socks at the same time or I make one sock at a time. Please clarify. I have three babies to knit for and I think these socks are a perfect fit (pun intended) as a gift.

    Thanks!

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    Replies
    1. It means to make two socks, one at a time. :)

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  10. Hello there,

    I've been searching for (and trying) great patterns for newborn socks and love this one. It's simply written and turns out quite nice. The one place where I'm stuck though is turning the heel. If I follow the directions: "Row 1: (WS) sl 1, purl 8, p2tog, p1, turn
    Row 2: (RS) sl 1, knit 3, k2tog, k1, turn

    Repeat rows 1 and 2, decreasing across the gap, until all heel sts have been worked and 10 sts rem." it doesn't work for me. I start with the 16 sts on the one needle after making the flap. The first two rows work out fine of course but after that I seem to run out of sts or something. Can you spell it out for me a bit?

    Thanks!!

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    1. Hi David! Is the part that's confusing the line that reads, "decreasing across the gap?" My apologies for my pattern-writing laziness. I was 8.5 months pregnant when I wrote it. ;) So, what this means is you're not really repeating rows 1 and 2 exactly as they're written. Instead, you'll slip one stitch, work until you reach the "gap" formed where you turned the previous row, then decrease across the gap, work one stitch and turn. You're done when you've worked all the stitches and you have 10 heel stitches left. I hope that helps. Please let me know if I've misunderstood where you need help!

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    2. Aha, just found this pattern and had the same question. Thanks for answering Kelly, (and David for asking)

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  11. Hi there!

    On the Toe section, it says to knit to the last three stitches on Needle One. I only had 2 stitches on my Needle One.

    How should the stitches be arranged over the three needles at the start of the Toe section?

    Many thanks!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Mary! After decreasing for the gusset, you should have 16 sole sts on one needle and the rem 16 sts across the other two. My apologies for the confusion!

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  12. I really like the picture of socks, leisure, fashion, multi-element

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  13. Hi Kelly, I'm still stuck on how to turn the heel. I've read what you wrote to David but it doesn't seem to be helping me. I'm working on a circular needle but that has never been an issue for me since it's the same as working with dpn's which I try to avoid using if possible. Maybe you could write the pattern for that section out for me row by row because I'm just not getting it. Are all 16 stitches worked during the decrease?

    These socks are adorable by the way and I can't wait to finish them and thank you for sharing this pattern for free. I can't wait to try out some of your other patterns.

    Thank you so much.
    Linda

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    1. I found something that may help explain on how to turn the heel.
      Row 3:  slip 1, P to 1 stitch before gap, P2tog across the gap, P1, turn
      Row 4:  slip 1, K to 1 stitch before gap, K2tog across the gap, K1, turn
      Continue working rows 3 and 4 until all stitches have been worked and you have 10sts.

      Happy Knitting all you lovely people!!!
      Linda

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  14. Just wanted to say thank you for an excellent, easy to follow pattern. I'm excited to put these on my baby, who is due in April.

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  15. I'm knitting these sweet little socks (found on Ravelry) and am stuck. I've turned the heel and am at the gusset. Here's where I'm confused: "Round 2: Knit to 3 sts before the end of needle 1, k2tog, k1;"

    Is "the end of the needle" the end of the round? I have stitches on three needles so I'm not sure where I'm decreasing and can't tell from the pictures. Thanks!

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    1. Is anyone still monitoring tbese comments? I don’t see an answer to this question.

      It would be so helpful if all the clarifications were incorporated into the pattern itself. These are cute looking socks but it is very confusing to figure out the exact pattern!

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  16. I want to say thank you for such a great pattern! I have been searching for a pattern for infant socks that do not resemble booties, and this was perfect. I'm on my third pair :)

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  17. I made one sock everything looks great, but the foot looks too long. I did a gauge first and was right on. From heel to tip of toe is 4 1/2 in.
    The 20 rounds on the foot section seems too many rounds.

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    1. I thought so too. A bootie is only three to four in. long for a newborn. I am only doing ten or twelve rounds. then the toe... way to long for a newborn.

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    2. I know that I'm late to the party, lol. I love this pattern, too, and have made it three times, now. I agree that the 20 rows is too long for a NB. I made my first pair with a real foot in hand, 12 or 13 rounds before decreasing brought me to 2.25", which worked out perfectly on a 3 week old. Awesome little sock and wonderful for using up the leftover handpainted yarns that I used for NB cardigans!

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  18. Just want to say that these are wonderful socks! I made two pairs for my newborn and four additional pairs to gift. All are well-loved. Thank you for posting such a great pattern!

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  19. Hi, I have recently restarted to practice my knitting skills and just made a pair of socks with your pattern, I will admit that at first glance I thought they might fit a jack rabbit, but I did "slap them on the first newborn I could find" and the parents looooved them! Perfect fit, thanks so much for keeping the pattern available for all the new knitters.

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  20. I've made these several over a few years. This is one of my favorite patterns. Thank you. I give socks with the Fox in Socks book at baby showers. I always tell the mother to be to let me know if they stay on their feet. I also give them a clear ball Christmas Ornament to make a time capsule Baby's First Christmas. It comes with a list of items for the ball. Sonogram photo, hospital bracelet, socks, etc. No one has ever answered my question...Did the socks stay on their feet?

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