Michelle There are many things to think about when designing a sock. First and foremost, pay attention to foot size and gauge. Decide what size the sock will be based on who you are knitting it for. My sock design will be for me. Determine the gauge with your chosen yarn and needle size. I am really enjoying Cascade Heritage Solids right now. I get a nice tight sock fabric with size 1 needles. There are lots of formulas and patterns out there to help you decide how many stitches to cast on for your size and gauge. I have determined my number of stitches based on two factors – my foot size and knitting gauge, but also the number of stitches and repeats needed for my stitch pattern. It seems a little large right now but I think it should work. I can always reduce the number of stitches for the foot if necessary. I’ll decide that later.
Now that the math is out of the way for the time being, let’s figure out whether this sock will have a cuff or not. I like a bit of a cuff. And I really like it when the cuff pattern transitions in an interesting way into the leg pattern. This might take some experimenting!
My cuff will be about an inch long and then the sock pattern will begin.
Even though I start out with a pretty detailed idea of what I want my sock to look like, I change my mind a lot as I knit. What looks good in my mind doesn’t always pan out in my knitting. I have gone back and re-started a few times!
I’m working now on determining how many pattern repeats I’ll need for the leg length that I want. I want the leg pattern to transition nicely into the heel flap and foot, so let’s see how this develops. I’ll keep you posted!
Michelle