Funky Five Toe Socks
Last summer after walking in new hiking shoes, I
thought that there might be room for five-toe socks in
the wide toe-box. I knit prototypes from my stash of
leftover light fingering weight yarn.
Construction overview: Provisionally cast-on foot
stitches using on a 47 inch cable needle. Join in
the round, set up a Magic Loop, and knit
towards the toes, which you knit on DPNs in
this order - little, next to little, big, middle, and
between middle and big - with spacing rows as
needed. Think of knitting gloves, only you are
knitting rather short thumbs and fingers, and in
a different order. When the toes are finished,
pick up the provisional CO foot stitches and
continue as if you were knitting a regular toe-up sock. Use your favorite techniques for the
gusset, heel and cuff, or follow the method that I outline. Experience knitting gloves and
toe-up socks will be helpful.
You will need to make measurements of your toe anatomy (see the diagram below for my
foot) and adjust the pattern accordingly. You may even need to change the order in which
you knit the toes. Directions are given for the shape of my size US-7 woman’s foot; my big
toe is just less than 2 inches long and 3 ¼ inches in circumference at its widest point before
gradually narrowing. All my littler toes are just over an inch long and about 2 inches in
circumference. My feet are about 9 ¼ inches long and about 9 inches in circumference at
the arches.
Yarn: Premier Yarns Deborah Norville Serenity Sock Weight Solids, 2.4 skeins (120 gm) for knee-high
socks, or any light fingering weight yarn with at least wool and nylon in the blend.
Needle: 47-inch 2 mm cable needle; set of four 2 mm DPNs; tapestry needle
Gage: 14 stitches and 14 rows = 1 inch
TOES – position the socks as if you were looking at your feet.
Provisional CO 64 sts. I used a crochet chain to anchor the provisional CO stitches. Set up a Magic Loop
and join in the round.
Knit ½ inch in stockinette (7 rows)
Knit little toe: On the outside, slip 6 sts from the front needle and 6 sts from the back needle onto DPNs.
CO 7 sts onto a DPN (backward loop CO is fine; I used another provisional crochet CO) to close the gap.
This gives a total of 20 sts. Knit until the toe is just over one inch long (16 rows) or about 1/8 inch
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shorter than the length of your toe. Knit two rows of k2togtbl. Break yarn and use a tapestry needle to
thread remaining stitches. Pull tight to close.
PU 7 CO sts from the little toe onto the cable needle (put 4 sts on the back needle and 3 sts on the front
needle)
Knit ½ inch (7 rows)
Knit the toe next to the little toe: On the new outside, slip 7 sts from the front needle and 8 sts from the
back needle onto DPNs. CO 5 sts for a total of 20 sts. Knit until the toe is just over one inch long (16
rows) or about 1/8 inch shorter than the length of your toe. Knit two rows of k2togtbl. Break yarn and
use a tapestry needle to thread remaining stitches. Pull tight to close.
PU 5 CO sts from the toe next to the little toe onto the cable needle (3 sts on back needle, 2 sts on front
needle)
Knit ¼ inch (4 rows)
Knit big toe: On the inside, slip 11 sts from the front needle and 11 sts from the back needle onto DPNs.
CO 11 sts for a total of 33 sts. Knit 16 rows with DPNs. In the next row, space out three k2tog; (knit 5
rows and another three decreases) 2x; k2tog until 4 or 5 sts remain. The big toe will be about 1 7/8
inches long before the final decreases.
To accommodate the particular anatomy of your big toe, I suggest knitting until the toe is about an inch
long. Try on the sock and space out decreases as required until the toe is about 1/8 inch shorter than
needed before the final k2tog rounds to close the toe.
PU 11 sts from the big toe (6 sts on back needle and 5 sts on front needle)
Knit 3/16 inches (3 rows)
Knit middle toe: Back to the outside, pick up 7 sts from the back needle and 8 sts from the front needle
onto DPNs. CO 5 sts for a total of 20 sts. Knit until the toe is just over one inch long (16 rows) or about
1/8 inch shorter than the length of your toe. Knit two rows of k2togtbl. Break yarn and use a tapestry
needle to thread remaining stitches. Pull tight to close.
PU 5 sts from the middle toe (2 sts on the back needle and 3 sts on the front needle)
Knit the toe between the middle and big toes: Split the remaining sts between the front and back
needles and knit using the Magic Loop (or you can slip sts onto DPNs). You will have more than 20 sts;
on the big toe side, create a gusset by a k2tog and SSK on each row until 20 sts total remain. Knit until
the toe is just over one inch long (16 rows) or about 1/8 inch shorter than the length of your toe. Knit
two rows of k2togtbl. Break yarn and use a tapestry needle to thread remaining stitches. Pull tight to
close.
PU the 64 provisional CO sts for the foot.
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Knit until sock is 5 ¼ inches long and start the instep gussets on the sole of the sock. M1p every other
row on each gusset until a total of 96 sts (32 on foot and 64 on sole). I chose to purl the gusset sts to be
able to identify them later (and avoid counting or having to use stitch markers).
Knit short-row heel: Knit across the sole until one stitch before the gusset sts; W&T; purl back across
until one stitch before the gusset; W&T. Continue the knit/purl W&T sequence until 10 sts remain.
Knit heel flap: Knit across, PU wraps and k2togtbl until one wrapped stitch remains. PU wrap and
k3togtbl. Turn. Purl back across. PU wraps and p2tog until one wrapped stitch remains. PU wrap and
p3tog. Turn. Slip first stitch. Knit/sl across until one stitch before gusset sts; k2togtbl. Turn. Purl back
across until one stitch remains before gusset. P2tog. Turn. Continue knit/purl and k2tog/p2tog until no
gusset stitches remain.
Knit the leg until 1.5 inches before desired length. To fit your ankle/calf circumference, M1 as
appropriate. For my knee-high socks, I gradually increased to 70 sts by spacing two M1 in a row about
once an inch in length. For a cuff, k1p1 for at least 18 rows. Finish with a super stretchy bind-off.
Weave in ends.
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