Toe Up Sock

100 g sport weight or DK knitting wool
set of 4 double-pointed needles, size 4 (or size needed to obtain
gauge)

Gauge: 6 st, 8 rows per inch. (Sirdar Country Style, or other wools whose official gauge is 22.5 st./4 inches, work well knit a little tight; Paton's Clockheaton is a bit too heavy.)

The Sherman Sock, or "How did you do that?"
Mary Sherman Lycan 9/3/99

The Sherman Sock is named for my late father, Rallston Sherman, an inventor. He always said an inventor is someone who is too lazy to do things the right way.

The Sherman sock is knit from one side of the base of the toe cap, around the toe tip, and up. It is worked flat on two needles for the double-mitered toe and heel, and in the round for instep and leg. Its advantages:

1. As with peasant heels, the identical toe and heel are structurally independent, with no need for gussets or other awkward foot shaping. Use a contrasting color for toe and heel, for a very nice effect. Leg and instep are straight tubes, allowing for maximum freedom in stitch and pattern design.

2. The mitered toe and heel, based on Montse Stanley's suggestions for mitering, are easier to work than wrapped short rows. The decreases and increases are smooth, without holes or long carries inside.

3. Toe-up construction allows for best use of yarn: if you start to run out, make tennis anklets; if you have extra, make long socks.

4. Toe-up construction of identical toe and heel eliminate guesswork on the length of the foot. The depth of the toe cap is the same as the depth of the heel, so you can try on and measure as you go. Just poke your toes into the toe.

5. Toe-up construction allows Fair Isle, lace, and Aran patterns to be knit right side up, except on the first half of the toe cap. If you want your multi-row patterns to come out even, toe-up construction allows you to fit the foot exactly, and fudge the leg length, to accomplish that.

6. Worn-out heels and toes can be reknit as peasant heels.

7. No more toe grafting!

8. Sherman socks are fun to fold flat into little torpedo shapes.

9. The invisible cast-on at the base of the toe cap makes it impossible to tell where you started knitting. Mystify your friends. "How did you do that?"

Abbreviations:

sl 1 = slip 1 stitch purlwise.
P enc (purl encroachment): sl 1 st purlwise; lift st beneath next stitch purlwise; insert L needle into both st from L, behind R needle;
P 2 tog. (a purl variant of ssk).
K enc (knit encroachment): sl 1 st knitwise; lift st beneath next stitch purlwise; insert L needle into both st from L, in front of R needle;
K2 tog (a slight variant of ssk).

Directions:

Toe cap:
With yarn and a contrasting color of smooth yarn or heavy crochet thread,using invisible (provisional) or crochet chain cast on, cast on 26 st.

1. Working flat on two needles, purl 1 row, placing contrasting yarn or thread marker after stitch 13.

(Directions in [brackets] show the placement of the marker [/] as an aid in counting stitches.)

2. Shape mitered toe cap with unwrapped short rows:

*row 1: sl 1, K 24 [12/12]
row 2: sl 1, P 23 [11/12]
row 3: sl 1, K 22 [11/11]
row 4: sl 1, P 21 [10/11]
row 5: sl 1, K 20 [10/10]
row 6: sl 1, P 19 [9/10]
row 7: sl 1, K 18 [9/9]
row 8: sl 1, P 17 [8/9]
row 9: sl 1, K 16 [8/8]
row 10: sl 1, P 15 [7/8]
row 11: sl 1, K 14 [7/7]
row 12: sl 1, P 13 [6/7]
row 13: sl 1, K 12 [6/6]
row 14: sl 1, P 11 [5/6]
row 15: sl 1, K 10 [5/5]
row 16: sl 1, P 9 [4/5]
row 17: sl 1, K 8 [ 4/4]
row 18: (pivot row over tip of toe):
sl 1, P 6 [3/3], P enc
row 19: K 7 [4/3], K enc
row 20: P 8 [4/4], P enc
row 21: K 9 [5/4], K enc
row 22: P 10 [5/5], P enc
row 23: K 11 [6/5], K enc
row 24: P 12 [6/6], P enc
row 25: K 13 [7/6], K enc
row 26: P 14 [7/7], P enc
row 27: K 15 [8/7], K enc
row 28: P 16 [8/8], P enc
row 29: K 17 [9/8], K enc
row 30: P 18 [9/9], P enc
row 31: K 19 [10/9], K enc
row 32: P 20 [10/10], P enc
row 33: K 21 [11/10], K enc
row 34: P 22 [11/11], P enc
row 35: sl 1, K 22 [11/11], K enc, sl 1.*

With second and third needles, pick up 25 st from invisible cast on; remove contrasting yarn.

(Due to the reversal in the direction of knitting, there will be one stitch less than the number you first cast on, and every other stitch will be twisted.)

K across picked-up stitches, untwisting as you go, by knitting into the back of each twisted stitch. Increase one stitch in the middle of the row: 52 st.
(A nice, flat increase, like knit one in the back of the stitch below the next stitch, works well here.)

Instep:

Continue knitting in plain rounds (or the pattern of your choice) until it is time to knit the heel. In stockinette stitch, heel/ toe depth is about 2 1/4" , so instep should be about 4 3/4" to make a 9 1/4" sock.

Heel:

Knit 26 across heel stitches, wrap next stitch as for short row (sl 1 purlwise, yarn forward, sl slipped stitch back onto L needle, yarn back),turn.

Purl 26, wrap next stitch as for short row (sl 1 purlwise, yarn back,sl slipped stitch back onto L needle, yarn forward), turn.

Make another mitered toe, following instrtuctions from * to *

Leg:

On first round of leg, pick up each wrap and its stitch and work the two together.

Ribbed socks: Continue in plain rounds or instep pattern on 52 st for 1/2" to 1" to top of shoe; then continue in K1, P1 ribbing. Bind off using tubular cast-off.

Plain or patterned socks: Continue in instep pattern until length above heel is the same as length between heel and toe. Rib K1, P1 for 2", then bind off using tubular cast-off. (Best instructions for that: Knitting Tips & Trade Secrets, pp. 20-21.)