Bitty Twist Socks

An otherwise plain sock knit with a line of twisted stitches down one side – enough to keep you from getting bored without being overly complicated should you be employed by a tiny dictator toddler who demands frequent attention. If you notice any errors or think I wrote something down wrong, please feel free to tell me – when you’re writing things up as fast as possible during nap time sometimes you try to cram too much in that needs done and you miss things in proofreading 🙂

Yarn: Knit Picks Hawthorne in Nob Hill
Needles: Size 1/2.25mm dpns

Pattern:

Cast on 64 stitches, dividing evenly across needles.

Knit 15 rounds of k2p2 ribbing (or as many as you prefer if you like a shorter or longer cuff).

Begin twist pattern (see below) over first 6 stitches, knit the rest of the 58 in plain stockinette. Repeat as long as desired for sock cuff.

Twist pattern:
Row 1: purl 2, knit 2nd stitch on needle without dropping the stitch off then knit 1st stitch and drop both stitches off, purl 2
Row 2: purl 2, knit 2, purl 2

When ready to begin the heel, knit 1 last row across top of foot (twist pattern plus 26 stockinette for a total of 32 stitches worked and 32 stitches left to be worked).  On next 32 stitches:

Row 1 – Slip one and knit one to begin heel and turn.
Row 2 – Slip one, purl across.

Repeat these two rows a total of 16 times (or 32 total rows) – end ready to begin a wrong side row (or knit across if you need to).

Heel turn: 

Purl 2 beyond center (18 stitches), p2tog, p1, turn.
Slip 1, knit 5, k2tog, k1, turn.
Slip 1, purl to one stitch before gap, p2tog, p1, turn.
Slip one, knit to one stitch before gap, k2tog, k1, turn.

Continue until all stitches are worked and you have 18 stitches left.

Gusset:

Pick up 16 stitches along first side, knit across instep in pattern, and pick up 16 more on 2nd side of gusset.

Knit one round in pattern. On next round, knit to 3 stitches before instep, k2tog, k1, knit across instep stitches, k1, ssk, knit rest of stitches. Continue alternating rounds of straight knitting and decreasing until you end up with 64 stitches again.

Knit in pattern around and around and around and around until you reach 2 inches less than your foot length.

Toe:

Round 1 –
Needle 1 –  knit to last 3 stitches, k2tog, knit 1
Needle 2 – knit 1, ssk, knit to end of needle
Needle 3 –   knit to last 3 stitches, k2tog, knit 1
Needle 4 – knit 1, ssk, knit to end of needle

Round 2 – Knit around

Repeat until you get down to 24 stitches. Transfer onto 2 needles and Kitchener together to finish the toe.

For the 2nd sock: Move the twisted stitch section to the last 6 stitches of the top of the foot – i.e. knit 26, knit twisted stitch pattern, then knit 32 stitches for the back of the leg/foot portion.