Cuff-down socks

Nothing fussy, nothing hard—Field Guide No. 11: Wanderlust is portable joy to take with you on whatever journey you have planned.

From the master of mix-and-match design, Wendy Bernard, comes all you need to knit beautiful socks. After making more than 100 pairs, Wendy Bernard knows a ton about the construction of socks—and she knows what we don’t need to know, as we begin our sock-making adventure. In one slim volume, she distills her deep knowledge into everything you need to know, and nothing that you don’t.

These are sock designs that let you begin at the toe or the cuff.

Cuff-down sock patterns are the tried-and-true, traditional way to knit a sock. Choose one of three cuff patterns to start with (1 x 1 or 2 x 2 ribbed cuff or picot hemmed cuff), and knit your way down through the leg, then the short-row heel, the foot, and finally the toe, which is finished with Kitchener stitch.

You can work a pattern all over the sock, in a panel down the front, or—our favorite when the yarn is wild—a perfectly simple stockinette sock.

Especially if you’re new to sock knitting, we advise you to get the lay of the land in stockinette. Once you’ve done a pair of socks that way, incorporating a stitch pattern from the 13 choices (allover and panel stitch patterns) in this Field Guide will be easy.

The 13 stitch patterns are all modern, clever, and add a little zing to your sock making.

Materials
80/20 Sock by Lichen and Lace [100 g skeins, each approx 365 yds (334 m), 80% superwash merino/20% nylon]: 1 skein
Size US 2 (2.5mm) double-pointed needles (set of 4 or 5), or size needed to achieve gauge
Stitch markers

Knitted Measurements
Foot Circumference (measured at ball of foot): 7 (8, 9, 10)” 18 (20.5, 23, 25.5) cm
Foot Length: 9 (10, 11, 11.5)” 23 (23.5, 25.5, 28, 29) cm

Special Techniques
Short row heel
Grafting

Notes
You may choose your cuff pattern from any one of three given on page 11.

You may work in stockinette stitch as written in the pattern, or use an allover pattern or a panel pattern (see pages 24-37) instead of stockinette stitch. If you choose to work a stitch pattern other than stockinette stitch, be sure to read the instructions for allover patterns on page 24 or for panel patterns on page 32 to learn how and where to make adjustments to place the pattern correctly.